5 Ruining a Slavers Plot

(Erlend POV, Close to Ghoyan Drohe)

The Dothraki Khalasar enjoyed a rather fearsome reputation throughout Essos and a certain infamy outside of it. Largely an undefeated fighting force. They terrorized free cities throughout Essos, sacking various towns and minor cities that failed to pay proper tributes, and enslaving all they can, was it a wonder they were loathed so much?

Yet, pit them against a truly prepared enemy, one fully aware of their strengths and weaknesses and they died just as easily as those they slaughtered.

Standing behind the kneeling Khal, holding his braided hair, I observed the broken remnants of what was once a 15,000-strong Khalasar. The bodies of his blood riders lay on the ground, the rest of his Khalasar hadn't faired in any better many were either buried underground or had spikes of hardened earth going through their bodies, their final expressions being that of disbelief and immense fear, golden and silver medallions strewn all over the ground next to them, as blood seeped out of their still bodies.

"You were warned, both by the magisters and your fellow Khals" I pointed out.

"Maegi" hate and venom poured out of his tongue.

"Last I checked, I still had my cock, the same can't be said about you" With a swift strike I cut his prized braid, shattering whatever prude he held as I destroyed the last sign of the honor his Khalasar held.

"Have at him Velskud" The khal could only scream in pain and terror as he found himself being devoured by a rather vicious dark beast, one he hadn't noticed before.

Whatever irritation Velskud felt by not being allowed to participate was washed away by the pleasure he felt at bringing immense pain to my enemies. As viscous as he was, I was well aware of how he and his siblings felt about me putting myself at risk, yet my pride would not allow me to stand aside and let them face enemies I was unwilling to.

Foolish, perhaps it was, but I had the power to make such a decision and I refused to change it, for better or worse.

(Lorimas POV, Summerswind Manor)

"You're worried" Feeling two arms holding onto me, I simply stared at the map of northwestern Essos.

"Our son is out there alone fighting against a Khalasar of 15,000 men" was my response.

"He has Velskud" my wife pointed out.

"It still doesn't stop me from worrying" knowing full well that Erlend tended to be more ruthless when around that dreaded dragon.

Silence filled the room again, and we just stood there holding each other as I contemplated the situation. Both of us held immense worry for my nephew and son in all but blood.

Khal Daro sought to extort tribute from Pentos, knowing those miscreants would not hesitate to fold. Fully intending to use the extortion as an excuse to return to their slaving ways, Braavos was held up dealing with the pirate fleets that had been harrowing them for the past few moons.

Granted Braavos could've dealt with them easily in a full-scale naval battle, yet those vultures and rats chose to prey on smaller and less equipped vessels, fleeing whenever a properly manned vessel was spotted, making it quite the headache for the Braavosi to deal with.

As for our forces, they were busy dealing with the resurgence of Dothraki Khalasars raiding and pillaging the settlements loyal to Braavos, more than likely incentivized both by the great wealth Braavos held, as well as the promises and honeyed whispers of those ambitious magisters, seeking to weaken Valyria's bastard daughter.

With most of our forces tied up either guarding the Twilight Isles or securing Braavos. Erlend chose to deal with the fledgling Khalasar, thus destroying whatever plot those Pentoshi snakes sought. I know he has killed before but I hoped that at least he'd wait for one of the banners before choosing to face the Khalasar.

Unfortunately, like all Mudds before him, my nephew decided to deal with them himself and refused to wait, leaving me and my beloved wife worried about him.

Despite knowing his capabilities, I couldn't help but worry about him, he's the last I have of my brother. The son I never had, one who was capable of reshaping whole environments and even sinking an Isle the size of Tarth if he sought to. Yet, one I cared greatly for, something I knew my beloved wife also cared for.

We've cared for him since he was a child, and it was hard not to see the child even though he has grown up and could take care of himself.

(Erlend POV, Ghoyan Drohe)

Instead of directly going back home, I decided to visit the ruined city of Ghoyan Drohe, it was Rhoynar city destroyed by the Valyrians during the Rhoynish war. What was once a fair city, green and flowering was now little more than bog and swamp swarmed with flies that inhabited the canals chocked by reeds and mud.

Simply approaching the city I could feel the decay and wrongness within the atmosphere, yet I remained unaffected after finding a suitable area where I could begin my next move, I sat in a Burmese posture, my favored stance when meditating.

After a few minutes, I felt my mind expand, covering not just the city but also Braavos and Pentos. I could see everything within the lands my aura encompassed.

One of my abilities as Lord of Nature was that I could imprint my aura on any animal that I come across, this allowed me to see what they see and listen to what they can hear, and track them wherever they go.

Normally this wouldn't matter as for the most part, any words made by a human to or around animals would seem more like gibberish, hence why they rely on intent to understand us, something that hindered me from being able to truly make use of this ability to connect to their senses.

This is where all-tongue shines through, while Lord of Nature gives me command over animals it does not allow me to truly communicate with them, rather just simply imposing my will on them and connecting to them, sharing their senses.

All-tongue bypasses these restrictions by granting me the ability to communicate with them on a deeper level and give them specific commands as opposed to vague ones. It also allows me to understand what humans are saying while I'm connected to the animal's senses and for them to alert me if they feel like that information is important when I'm not.

A rather complicated process, but a necessary one as I can't warg like Bloodraven or the Starks. At the same where they are limited to particular animals, I can do this to all living wildlife. Through this ability, I was able to extend House Mudd's spy network and discover the Pentoshi plot to reintroduce slavery to their city.

Naturally, this isn't just limited to imprinting animals, using my aura I can feel the very ground I stand on, sense abnormalities, track movements wherever my aura expands upon, and if I wished discover mineral and precious metal deposits, making this an invaluable ability to the security of my house.

Lord of Nature allows me to change the environment and landscape I'm, to shape and change it to my will, at the most basic level it could be compared to bending the elements, except I'm not limited to just four like the avatar. I could also grow plant life, slowing or increasing their aging process, much like hashirama's Mokuten.

Jinhua, has a weaker version of this, though it was quite likely as she grows older, the stronger her connection to nature would become.

Each of my children represents an aspect of nature in their way, Jinhua represents its eternal aspect, calm and steady, yet evolving steadily. Velskud represents its more destructive aspect, savage and harsh, power given form. Verna is the most unique of the two, she is gorgeous, yet hidden behind that beauty lies a predator waiting to strike, she represents the deadly aspect that comes with nature, a single mistake could be one's undoing.

Aside from the abilities granted to me by my power, these are also my skill with the sword, it would be foolish of me to be in a world where one's martial ability is prized above all else. My preferred form of fighting when not wanting to be obvious with my magic, lies with a one-handed sword due to the versatility it provides whilst allowing me to subtly manipulate the battleground around me to better favor me.

All's fair in love and war, and to think I've only truly scratched the surface of my abilities makes me excited about how far I could go with them.