Chapter 68

(Erlend Mudd, Braavos)

He didn't bother looking up as the two Braavosi entered his solar. Continuing to mull over the information he'd received.

Truthfully his mind was on more important matters, Visenya had sent word confirming that there was something unusual going on with the leading Khal. According to the representatives she sent to the massive horde, the man was like a lifeless husk, barely moving or doing anything of note.

Most of the time, it was his Bloodriders who were responsible for effectively running the horde, the only time he'd done anything of note was when one of the lesser Khals acted up, showing inhumane strength and brutality, even among the Dothraki.

An act to establish dominance over the unruly lot.

Startling, but not all that surprising. If his guess was correct, then the perfect stepping stone would soon show itself, giving him all the leverage he needed to establish loyalty and awe among his newest Bannermen.

In a way, Erlend did respect these horse lords, but he would also consider them a shitty version of the Mongols of his original world. They were never able to create something stable, their legacy little more than destruction, enslavement, and raiding. It was the Ironborn nonsense all over again, but land edition.

Just as one of the Braavosi was about to start talking, his shadows converged on the second man and immediately brought him down to his knees.

"What is the meaning of this? We come in peace!" Panic flashed across the leading man's face, as he tried to back away from the shadows. Confused and wary, looking like a man cornered.

His friend was attempting to fight back, but all that did was increase the force his shadows used, leading to him crying out in pain as a few bones cracked.

"You may be, but your friend is another case entirely," Erlend said, unbothered by what was happening.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"I'll be frank with you Basso, your friend is a spy for Anataryon. The minute you walked out of this palace, he'd have knocked you out and you'd swiftly find yourself in the Sealord's dungeons." Erlend explained, not wanting such a useful tool to go to waste.

"What? That's impossible… We've known each other for years. He'd never betray me."

Erlend looked at the merchant like he was an idiot. This fool had the balls to propose and marry his friend's lover, and expected everything to be dandy? Sure the woman was a gold digger, but there were things you just never did to your friends.

Choosing to ignore the idiot, "Once you 'disappeared', this little spy would have consoled your grieving widow and eventually married her once enough time passed for it not to turn into a scandal." He continued, before pausing for a bit. "I'm pretty sure they're still fucking behind your back." He added as an afterthought.

"Oh." He didn't seem all that bothered about it, then again the merchant married her because of his ambitious father.

Some nonsense about raising the family's status and whatnot.

At least the idiot recognized his mistake, there may be some hope for this amateur schemer. It felt like one of those soap operas his sister loved to watch or a shitty budget drama that never took off because it was so niche.

Then again he didn't really seem bothered that his friend was a spy, the man had accepted the fact that one of his closest friends had turned on him quite easily. This one was definitely a politician in the making.

"Now then, let's get to important matters. Anataryon's little plot to rid the world of me."

"You knew?" Basso looked surprised.

"The man has always hated me, and the fact that he allowed the Dothraki to so blatantly gather and amass power right in front of everyone is a dead giveaway of his intentions."

Basso was silent, unable to comprehend the fact that Erlend was willingly throwing himself into such an obvious trap. As those Yi Ti sorcerers loved to say, he was courting death.

"You seem like a reasonable fellow, so I'll give you a chance. Swear allegiance to me now and I will make sure you and your family come out of this whole shitshow squeaky clean." Erlend offered the merchant.

Probably best to also check if Luca's kids were actually his too, come to think of it.

He did need someone to administer the city once the dreg were removed and the man was intelligent enough to keep everything running smoothly till a more permanent solution to the Essosi problem was found.

No need to have him caught off guard by familial drama and a telenovela plot.

Perhaps inspired by the confidence the King showed, Basso hesitantly nodded to himself. Slowly getting to his knees, "I, Luca of the honorable Basso family, swear to always remain steadfast and faithful to His Majesty Erlend, first of his name. May the gods strike me down should I break my oath!" He swore.

Erlend hummed in appreciation, he wondered how frightened the man would become once he realized that the oath was actually binding and very much enforceable.

Ascending to divinity had taken away Erlend's need for magical contracts and replaced them with verbal oaths. His descendants would still need to use magical contracts and runes to enforce permanent loyalty, but swearing by Erlend's name could circumvent that since his divine power would ensure that they followed through, whether they liked it or not.

Oh well, not his problem. Ironically he realized this particular change at court, during a short lull in duties. Who told the majority of his courts to try and suck him up, by swearing eternal loyalty and all that rot? He hadn't, that's for sure.

All's well that ends well, there was now a semi-reliable toolman within this city and he hadn't even needed to lift a finger.

"I take it that you want to personally deal with your former friend?" Erlend prompted, there was no need to keep the man alive otherwise.

The minute they walked into the vicinity of this palace, Erlend had already gleaned everything he needed to know. It was for good reason that their entry went so smoothly.

Contrary to how popular shows and fics like to depict it, unless a Monarch was holding events in public or listening to the pleas and requests of the common folk, it was pretty much impossible to personally speak with him, even if you were a fairly wealthy merchant.

"Ah, I'd rather not, your Majesty. He's still my friend and I am unable to bring myself to harm him." Luca admitted.

Raising his eyebrows at the suddenly squeamish merchant sans future governor or whatever he ended up naming the post, Erlend signaled to his shadows to dispose of the spy. The man was pretty much worthless at the moment, no need to prolong his suffering.

"Your Majesty, I take it that you have a way to deal with Anataryon." Luca tentatively asked.

"I suppose it would be better if you were better prepared for the coming days."

…

(Visenya 'Blackfyre', GC Encampment)

Things were coming to a head. Trouble was brewing and the winds were turning.

No matter how artistic one could make it sound, at the end of the day, something special was going to happen soon.

When she and her troops had first come across the savages, the maiden had immediately warned her to shield her thoughts and to be alert at all times as there was something within the savage's camp that spelled disaster, enough to alarm even her divine counterpart.

Though this danger seemed primitive, as just shielding her mind was enough to keep it unaware. Word had already been sent to her beloved, the horse lord's leader had their own motive for participating in this whole fiasco, and revenge just played a small part in it.

Lounging in her seat, she observed the battle plans shared by the Braavosi.

It was fairly simple, the Dothraki were expected to take the brunt of the Banner's wrath in the front, keeping the Dragon's attention firmly on them. Her Company was supposed to rush at Erlend's left, whilst the Braavosi, who was on his right, would turn on him as soon as his attention was focused on the horse lords.

Taking advantage of the Chaos, various hidden scorpions coated with this 'Dragon-slaying' elixir would be fired upon the distracted Dragons.

Erlend was supposed to die, his Banners losing morale at the loss of their invincible leader, and his greatest weapons either dead or so grievously injured that killing them would be relatively easy.

"..."

It wasn't an overly terrible plan, the simplistic nature left little room for error, and had Erlend been anything like the Dragonrider Targaryens, he would've likely fallen.

She says Targaryens specifically, because a true Valyrian, especially a conservative one would never trust foreign allies, always having a backup rider close by, just in case treachery occurred. 

For all the bickering the Valyrians loved to do, in the face of external threats, their unity would always be strong. There was also blood magic to fall back on, something only she wielded within her family.

It was rather foolish for Anataryon's toadies to reveal his true intent to her. Then again, the Sealord might be under the assumption that they were all in too deep and that her only choice was to go along with the scheme.

Erlend was infamous for his ruthless methods, so even if someone ratted out, they were unlikely to survive once their use expired.

'Blood Magic is a vile art, that should have never advanced as far as it did, your true ancestors would weep for what has become of their descendants…' The maiden's voice rang through her mind, catching the Dragon Queen by surprise.

"Our true ancestors were shepherds, I doubt they'd care, considering how much we achieved using it." Visenya retorted, even Erlend admitted its usefulness, despite the understandable distaste he held for it.

'We're not fucking bloodbags, Senya.' Was the way he described it, if she recalled correctly.

A result of his upbringing as a Mudd no doubt, they were regarded by the Valyrians of old as a good source of quality blood to complete rituals. Her own ancestors' words ironically enough, not hers though. She much preferred another part of him, if she was honest.

'You are incorrigible' One didn't need to guess who thought that.

"You haven't denied it, and I have no doubt you've made great use of my time with Erlend." The silence she received after that was telling.

'It's unlikely the Valyrians would have survived if they ever tried to do the same with our Darling, he has ascended faster than anyone before him. '

"Oh? Darling is a god now… Hmm, he must compensate me for failing to inform me. A moon all to ourselves does not sound too terrible."

'You don't seem all that surprised that he's a god, I thought you'd be shocked.'

Rolling her eyes at the goddess hidden within her mind, "Erlend was already a god amongst men, him discovering a way to truly become one shouldn't be that much of a surprise."

'Yes, I suppose you're right to say that.' The goddess sounded thoughtful, making Visenya shake her head.

Clearly, this one was still far too uneducated in the greatness of her beloved. She had a long way to go.

'Anyways, stop distracting me. What I meant by your true ancestors, was that they belonged to a group of exiled nobles from the Empire of the Dawn. More specifically they were amethyst loyalists who were forced to flee the Bloodstone Emperor's wrath."

Her hand which was about to grab the wine cup froze, Visenya was incredulous about that revelation. "The descendants of those forced out by the Bloodstone Emperor practiced one of the arts that made him so reviled in the first place." She said bemusedly, "Darling will have a field day once he finds out."

'You're taking all these revelations quite well, I must say.' The curious tilt in the maiden's voice was obvious to Visenya.

Shrugging her shoulders, "I have long since learned that most times when there's nothing you can do, there's no point in worrying about it." She admitted.

'I should be surprised, but I really am not.'

"Can't you just read my memories?" Visenya asked, surprised that the goddess was being so obtuse.

'I would need your approval for that, we are equals in a sense and it feels wrong to just take them when I can just ask.'

"You are far too agreeable for a goddess that could swat my attempts to rid you with ease."

'Spend a couple of centuries keeping arrogant pyromaniac divinities from enslaving you, and you'd do your best to avoid becoming like them.' The goddess said plainly.

"That didn't stop the Andals from assuming that they were the chosen people of this world." Visenya hated the Andali for good reason, those self-important peacocks were half the reason her family ripped itself apart for a piece of metal she couldn't give two shits about.

The Realmstone throne was far grander and felt comfortable to sit on. Unlike her imbecilic brother's rubbish creation, it symbolized unity rather than conquest. Erlend liked to push the agenda that the Sunset Kingdoms united willingly under Mudd's rule. Remarkably, it worked. His magic doing the heavy lifting no doubt.

'It's not as if we could do anything to stop them, any visions we sent were always interpreted in the worst way possible.' The maiden sounded annoyed with that, her dislike for her followers quite obvious.

"Just go into their dreams and beat some sense into them," Visenya suggested, that if the maiden could come into her dreams, she should be able to visit others, especially those that were true to their faith.

'I did… They were burned as heretics and witches.'

"..."

"Anyways, what exactly is wrong with the horse lord? even here I can sense an unnatural wrongness permeating through the air." Wisely changing the subject, Visenya decided to dive into the more important topic.

"I'm not sure, it feels like something similar to our situation, but more rudeminatory. Interingsily, I can feel the Khal's vitality slowly withering away the longer time passes."

"So, a failed attempt at reincarnation then."

"That might likely be the case, unlike your body which is gradually getting used to my divine power and has received aid from our beloved, this Khal body was never meant to receive such a significant influx of divine power, which would explain his state at the moment."

"This is troubling, darling must be informed, though I suspect he is already aware. I see no other reason for him not to have destroyed Vaes Dothrak after the attempt on his Uncle's life."

"You may have a point there, a trap within a trap, it does appear to be his preferred method. Though you are guilty of making him so paranoid and manipulative." The accusation at the end of her sentence was not appreciated.

Rolling her eyes at the goddess, "It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." Visenya said unabashedly.

There was also the fact that her beloved was always paranoid, all she did was confirm that his worries were not unfounded.

Just as the two were about to continue their conversation, a faint knock was heard from outside. Frowning at the interruption, she swiftly grabbed her trusted blade and prepared to skewer the idiot who dared annoy her.

A hushed swish, followed by a shadowed figure kneeling in front of her put a stop to that.

"Just an arrogant Khal, who thought too much of himself, your grace." The shadow explained, her expression unreadable as the mask hid her features.

Visenya did not care, there were always a few idiots that thought she was easy pickings, despite her record saying otherwise. "Cut his balls off and flay him. Once done, hang his corpse at the front as a warning to the rest of the savages."

Just as she was about to turn, she paused for a moment. "How was a savage able to get so close to my tent?" The Dragon Queen was displeased, this was a mockery of the company's skills if a mere horse lord could so freely walk around their camp.

"The Braavosi envoy brought him with his entourage when he came to discuss logistics with some of the Commanders. He likely took advantage of their distraction to arrive nearby." The shadow explained.

She could feel the assassin's tense shoulders, the girl appeared to be affected by the unexpected situation thrust at her. Must be her first time on guard duty then, a more experienced shadow would never have shown this much emotion. 

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she let out a loud exhale, "Get rid of the envoy and send his head to the imbecile. I have no time for his games."

'The man is clearly trying to ruin your reputation. I expect that the envoy was meant to discredit you by 'discovering' the Dothraki leaving your tent.' The voice in her head decided to chime in.

Gritting her teeth at the audacity of the man, "Make sure it's a jagged knife." Her emotionless tone had the shadow bow her head and swiftly exit the tent, not wanting to face the Dragon Queen's wrath.

'I have to say, this Sealord fellow must have something wrong with his head, if he's so intent on turning on his allies before his trap is even set. Even the last-minute reveal was done in poor taste.'

"He'll get his due soon enough, the man will be begging for death by the time me and darling are finished with him."

'Good, just be careful not to get too close to the Khal, while he is unable to sense my divinity thanks to your mental shields. Erlend's essence still flows within you, I'm not sure if he can sense it or not and that could alert him to the true nature of this trap.'

"I'll have Balaq or Gorys personally deal with them, it saves me the trouble of killing every single savage that tried to act like a peacock anyway." Visenya hadn't bothered to speak to those savages personally before, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if she continued to do so.

"How long before I can access more of your divine power?" She asked curiously, wondering if she'd gain anything more than a mind shield.

'Soon, it would be better if you copulated more with darling. His essence can speed up the process exponentially.'

The deadpan on Visenya's face was palpable for anyone to see… the maiden was just horny. Not that she would reject such perfect reasoning to monopolize her beloved's time.

"And you have the audacity to call me a deviant."

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Note: The Conversation between the Maiden and Visenya was indeed happening within her head, as far as anyone was concerned, she was outwardly deep in her thoughts. As for Luca, Erlend needs someone to handle Braavos, preferably a local, he won't matter once the Essos arc is done and dusted with. As I like to say often, that's future Erlend's problems, or in this case… future Edmund's.