Chapter 75

(Erlend Mudd, ???)

Sat atop his throne within his dreamscape, Erlend went through his most recent memories. Vividly recalling his experiences and analyzing them critically.

The fight with the Horse God, if one could even call that a fight, was disappointing. Neither he nor the older deity used their full power, whereas the Dothraki deity was limited by his mortal shell, and Erlend was just playing around with the being.

If Erlend wished so, he could've just sealed up his opponent before the figure could have left the protected area, thus looking back at the fight, it was embarrassing, to say the least. 

For someone like him, this was a shameful performance.

The only foe he needed to make a show of beating was the Night King if only to cement his divinity in front of Westeros. Everyone else should be, must be dealt with immediately, lest they start some last-minute power-up bullshit.

Deciding not to dwell on that for the moment, Erlend judged the horse god's powers. There was no denying the fact that it was a being who relied primarily on raw strength, unique compared to its fellow deities within this world.

This further strengthened the idea that it must have worked with the fire demon to pull its trick during the tourney. Erlend had misjudged the flame god, thinking that the being feared him enough not to take action and supremely confident that Melisandre would have received news if it did.

Thankfully, It wasn't anything to be worried about at the moment, as he had vaguely sensed the world's will reassuring him in regards to his fiery enemy.

"You're doing quite well, lad." A familiar voice interrupted his musings.

Erlend raised his head to meet the smiling eyes of the old man who brought him to this world, surprised by his unexpected appearance.

That did not stop him from expressing his gratitude, "Thank you." His words were truly heartfelt, as Erlend had nearly committed a grievous mistake that would have left him at the mercy of the other divines.

The R.O.B. waved off the young god's gratitude, "Nothing but a few words to the world's will. Even then I suspect it would have reduced the effect, or simply never placed it in the first place." He explained.

Raising his eyebrow at his patron, "Truly?" Erlend was taken aback by that admission, of what he understood about the world's will in Planetos, it was a very strict and principled force, far less compromising than most of its counterparts.

He'd read enough novels to understand that.

"Each world has a particular deity or pantheon they favor or support above all else. The Riordenverse has the Greco-Romans, DxD has the Biblical Pantheon, the Potterverse has Death and your world now has you."

"That's reassuring, who would have been the original favorite if I wasn't around?" Erlend asked.

"Hmm, a toss-up between the old or new gods. With the Dawn Pantheon and the Expy Lovecraftians out of the picture, they were its next choice. Incidentally, your presence has destroyed any chance of those disgusting ants from waking."

That sent a feeling of relief in Erlend's mind, "How so?" He had no interest in dealing with that can of worms, so knowing they were a non-factor was pleasant to hear.

"Euron was supposed to be their harbinger, even more so than the Drowned God. You killing him destroyed any possibility of that happening and the drowned shitstain lacks the power or madness to do so alone." That seemed to amuse the old man, who chuckled at his champion's unintentional boon. "Anyways, I'm here to inform you that the key to the other worlds will arrive a few days after you deal with the walking corpse."

"That's troubling, I take it that the key would be more likely to be someone rather than something." Erlend guessed.

He figured it was a toss-up between a person forcefully inducted into the white walker ranks over some sort of gateway. Call it a hunch, but most world invasions tended to happen because of someone fucking up big time.

Either they're being chased by an opponent who is stronger than them, or they were enslaved to their will.

He always wondered how the Night King managed to make it to other worlds, a failed reincarnation or outsider seemed more logical than anything Planetos was capable of so far.

"Yup, the brat is your usual power-hungry average moot who got overpowered abilities for next to nothing. As you realized, he fucked up and practically handed the corpse his powers on a silver platter when he fell under NK, causing the whole mess you're now finding yourself dealing with."

"Are there any other dimensional travelers I have to deal with?" Erlend wasn't too pleased with such a prospect, he didn't want his descendants to deal with such bullshit.

Even worse, he despised the idea that one of them could potentially get their souls mangled or erased due to transmigration. There was a distinct difference between reincarnation and transmigration. 

Most people who weren't transmigrators would naturally be put off by it, Erlend being one such person.

"By all that's me, No! When I reincarnated you, this world was automatically closed off from that happening. The only reason the key is still appearing is because you're here to deal with the brat and it would be beneficial for you in the long run."

Letting out a breath of relief, Erlend relaxed his tense nerves.

Giving Erlend a thoughtful look, "Now then, take this." the old man handed him a shiny stone of all things.

Erlend stared dumbfounded at the stone, recognizing it as soon as outer light hit it, "That's an Arkenstone."

True to his words, the light changed into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow. The precious thing was small enough to hold onto with one hand, and he could vaguely feel the light element churning within it.

Smirking at him knowingly, "This should make your Dragon Queen's ascension process much smoother, allowing her to retain more of the maiden's powers once they fully merge." the old man said, looking mighty pleased with himself.

"The merge won't change her?" Erlend was worried his partner would become something like Tang Wutong, that puppet was disturbing in so many ways.

Erlend could never fathom someone being so cruel as to split their own child's soul, and he refused to see his first meet such a gruesome fate.

"Not really. Visenya would remain the dominant personality. At worst the maiden would just mellow her out a bit. You'd not believe how crazy that girl is."

Erlend sent a deadpan to his patron, of course, he knew how crazy his dragon queen was, but he accepted her anyway. Then again, that said a lot about him as a person.

"Well, that should be everything then." Just as the old man was about to leave, he paused and gave his champion some words of caution. "You should probably watch your drinks more carefully, that Dany girl is quite determined to get in your bed. At least wait till she's legal, while the omni-federals don't have jurisdiction in our zone, it's not something my group looks fondly upon."

His mouth twitched at the old man's advice, there was a reason Erlend avoided drinking or eating anywhere near the reincarnated mother of dragons without triple-checking their contents. She might be nearly as old as him mentally, but he had principles, as skewed as they were. 

So until she was physically legal, he refused to even entertain such a thought.

Also the FBI or at least a higher counterpart exist? Looks like more than a few MCs he'd read about in his previous life were going behind bars.

That amused him greatly.

…

Opening his eyes, Erlend was met with the silky smooth hair of his beloved, and slightly unhinged partner.

Carefully removing himself from her embrace, Erlend decided that he'd had enough rest. It was time to get to work and prepare to deal with that blasted flame god. Sealing him would be for the best, the deity would make for a useful tool once he gained the expertise needed to make his expectations a reality.

Giving his beloved a chaste kiss on her forehead, Erlend went to clean up. It didn't take long for him to get ready, deciding to pay a visit to everyone's favorite eunuch.

The sight he was met with, was one of blood and gore. Visenya had not spared the two at all, with the Cheesemonger looking broken, whilst his cockless friend was one step away from the madness.

A refreshing sight, considering the flowery fuck had been nothing but a hassle these past few years.

Upon hearing footsteps, the eunuch raised his head to meet the sage green orbs of one of his most hated foes. The disinterested look on Erlend's face awakened what little fire remained in the crippled lizardling.

"M…Mo..MONSTER!" Gone was the amicable tone that he was known for, only the vestiges of hatred and fear remained, as the last descendant of the Black Dragon spat at his enemy.

Visenya hardly counted, his beloved was a Targaryen through and through, with her only retaining the 'Blackfyre' name to make their operations easier.

Conjuring a comfortable chair for himself, "Considering what you had in mind for Westeros, you're hardly one to talk, Varys or should I call you Vaegon?" Erlend sat lazily whilst glancing at the confused cheesemonger on the side.

The fat magister was missing a lot of parts, well you couldn't call him fat anymore, could you... He had after all joined his friend in the cockless ranks.

"Of course, the bitch would tell you." Varys seethed, not hesitating to lay the blame on his sister.

Visenya must have put him through the grinder if he was going to ignore the blatant magic happening in front of him.

"Sure. Sure. Let's go with that" Erlend didn't see any reason to clarify the misunderstanding. "I should thank you. If you hadn't encouraged Ferrago and boosted his confidence, it would take at least another half a decade before the rat made his move."

The Eunuch stared at him confusedly, not able to understand what exactly the King was getting at.

"Sure I could have pushed the fucker to go through with his 'scheme', but you bringing in my Golden Company into the board made things so much easier."

Erlend after all had only intended to bring his dragons and the newly trained Banners into the mix, leaving the majority of veterans behind in Heartlands to keep Westeros in check.

While most were smart enough to remain loyal, there was always that one idiot who just didn't think things through. Case in point, House Wylde.

The eunuch's nostrils visibly flared, his face reddening in rage at the reminder that his House's greatest asset truly belonged to Erlend and his 'traitorous' sister, boy did that piss the fucker off.

"Right then, I'm not here to chat. Just need a bit of information from you."

Before Varys could react, Erlend's mental power invaded the poor spider dragon, sending the man unconscious from the sheer pain it left him.

Come to think of it, he should have done this from the very start. There was no real reason to have Visenya torture him… Whoops.

Eh, might as well as let his beloved have fun, he knew she had been itching for revenge for a long time, and he had no reason to deny her that. After a few moments, Erlend exited the eunuch's mind. Moving on to the Cheesemonger, searching for his hidden stashes and safe houses.

He had to give these lot some credit, despite them practically dancing to his tune from the very beginning. They had managed to successfully infiltrate quite a few of the remaining free cities, with a few apparitions here and there, and a bit of mind control, Erlend could shift those spies' loyalties to himself.

It was a win-win situation for everyone. He got to inherit the Spider's network in the East, his Shadows wouldn't get overworked and those spies kept their jobs.

With a pleased hum, Erlend left the cell feeling quite pleased with himself.

Stopping for a moment, "Dispose of them, they've outlived their usefulness." Erlend ordered the guards.

What an anti-climactic end for some of the most influential figures this world had to offer, it was rather pathetic all things considered.

Knowing Edmund, Littlefinger should be dying sometime soon.

Hoster must be crying tears of joy in his grave, his grandson was a future Emperor in all but name, and the fucker that tried to disgrace his House and daughter met his end as he deserved.

Oh yeah, he almost forgot. He'd completely forgotten about Blackfyre and Darksister.

Well, he'll find Darksister and hand it to Visenya, once he deals with that imbecile Bloodraven, no need to keep that fucker alive and give another useful power to the Night King.

Maybe turn the Children into something like House Elves as a punishment for their crimes against the world? That was something to look into.

There was also Lamentation, he'd need to look for it soon, as it would make for a great boon for old Yohn, that man deserved it with all the hard work he put in and the loyalty he had shown to the Crown.

No, it wasn't in King's Landing, he'd already checked before. Hmm… it was probably snatched by someone during the chaos, but who could have it?

How vexing. Erlend couldn't help but let out a sigh of annoyance. Despite everything, he still had a lot of work to do.

'Woe is me.'

…

(Yohn Royce, Firmridge)

The bronze lord felt distinctly that something was off.

Though he couldn't tell why that was, recent events hinted that something greater was at play, something that motivated his King to declare to the world that he wielded power beyond mortal comprehension.

Gaining him notoriety and influence in equal measure. Regardless, he remained true to his word. His loyalty is unwavering in these times of trouble.

If his gut was correct, then it had a lot to do with the expeditions happening beyond the wall, and that brought him to their most recent guest within the capital.

Benjen Stark was an oddity among his late siblings, he was neither as brash or loud as Brandon, nor as quiet and brooding as Eddard. If Yohn had to describe him, then he would say he was the most similar to Lyarra.

Quiet as Eddard, but hidden within was a ferocity that would make Brandon quiver in his boots.

So seeing the man shaken was more than enough to alarm the bronze lord. It was only after they stepped into the Stronghold, did the Stark patriarch felt at ease.

Firmridge provided a sense of security that he was no doubt missing.

"Tell me, my Lord. Do you believe in tales of old?" Benjen started, ignoring the expected pleasantries.

Yohn raised his eyebrows, "I suspect that there is some truth to them. So you could say I do, I suppose." He responded.

There was no point denying the possibility, His Majesty was a living example of what the heroes of old could have achieved, though Yohn suspected that if it came to blows, Erlend would make Garth Greenhand or his maternal ancestor the Falcon Knight quake in fear.

Seemingly satisfied at his Yohn's response, "There's something I fear the King needs to know as soon as possible. Do you know when he will be available?" The Stark revealed his true purpose for visiting.

"Word has been sent from the eastern expeditions, His Majesty intends to first subdue the remnants of the Three Daughters before returning."

"I see. If it's not too rude, I would like to remain in the Capital till His Majesty returns." Benjen said.

"Of course, we'd be delighted to host you." The two walked in silence from then on, with Yohn escorting the man to his assigned chambers.

Well at least he wasn't here to try and manipulate Edmund, many quickly learned the hard way that the boy was far from innocent and naive. He was Erlend's son through and through, right down to the ruthlessness that his father was infamous for. 

Yohn had been one of the first few to notice the sage green flecks within the boy's eyes. No one spoke about it, but its similarity to Erlend's own changed eyes suggested something more.

Was the lad inheriting some of his father's powers? If so, why didn't Jasper or Myrcella's eyes change too? Perhaps there was some sort of requirement they had to fulfill before their eyes would begin to change too.

At the end of the day, it wasn't any of his concern.

Whatever way Erlend decided to bless his children with powers, it was ultimately his choice. Yohn just had to make sure that he and the rest of the Council remained true to their duty.

"Benjen, good to see you lad, I see you've lost some weight, eh."

Yohn rolled his eyes at his friend's boisterous nature, Lorimas had not changed whatsoever.

======

Note: I wasn't sure about changing Edmund's eyes, but I realized it could be useful in the whole 'ordained by god' shtick, so we're gonna clutch that stick for all its worth. Celestial Dragons, pfft… those worms got nothing on the Mudds.