(Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire nor its characters. Those all belong to George R. R. Martin, aside from my OC.)
(Erlend POV, Riverrun)
It has been a few weeks since he'd appeared in Riverrun, with his stay being quite interesting, to say the least.
For whatever reason, the Tully sisters had chosen to compete for his attention, much to his exasperation and the amusement of his guard.
Still, it was rather pleasant, for the past few years he'd either been laying waste to Dothraki hosts or engaging in battles with pirates that were more brave than him. There had been little time where he could relax and just unwind, something he could now do as one of his primary goals had been achieved.
Just as he was reminiscing the past few weeks, a spiked mace suddenly came his way, only to be blocked by Ardent, its make being far firmer than any other weapon.
The clash made quite the sight as Erlend dodged and parried any attacks coming his way and his opponent was becoming more visibly frustrated as they failed to penetrate his defenses.
With no hesitation Erlend began to take control, forcing his opponent back. Choosing to start his offense as his opponent struggled to keep up.
The fight came to an end came when Ardent cut through the mace and Erlend used the surprise to kick the man roughly, sending him to his knees.
"Do you Yield, Ser?"
"I do My Lords, it's been an honor." Ser Desmond Grell, Riverrun's master-at-arms said.
Helping Ser Desmond up to his feet, Erlend patted the old knight on the back to show no hard feelings about the outcome of the Duel, with the old knight graciously nodding.
A Similar scene came to Erlends mind from his childhood…
...
(Flashback; Entry)
Erlends attack was blocked by a swing from Lorimas's wooden sword, the young boy only smiled before attempting a spin with another swing. Lorimas remained calm as he moved to block it, only for Erlend to reverse the direction of his attack, unfortunately for Erlend, his sudden move had been expected as Lorimas continued to block and parry each attack until he finally knocked the sword his hand.
(Flashback; Exit)
...
This event strangely reminded him of that situation, where he was powerless against his Uncle and every attack he would make, could easily be countered by what seemed like invincible swordsmen at the time.
Truly he'd come quite far from the inexperienced boy who wanted to play at being a knight.
He looked at the rest of the courtyard, gesturing for the other knights to make their move.
He smiled as another Knight moved towards him, this time it was Ser Robin Ryger, the Captain of the Tully guard, a well-known and tenacious fighter.
"Ser Robin" Erlend said with a respectful nod.
"Lord Erlend" the Tully knight responded.
The two swordsmen circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Ryger made the first strike, fully intent on making this quick, as he knew prolonging this fight would set the odds in Erlend's favor. The strike was easily blocked as their blades continued to strike each other, neither was able to make headway, Ryger showed his skill and speed despite his large size.
Erlend didn't hesitate, moving faster he forced the Captain back not falling for the feint Ryger made, instead sending a swift kick to the knight's leg catching him by surprise.
Going limp from the attack, Ryger couldn't stop Erlend from moving in for the kill. Deftly disarming the man, Erlend held Ardent to his throat, forcing him to yield.
"I yield my Lord, victory is yours" Ser Robin said.
"A pleasure Ser Robin" Receiving a pleased smile in return.
His strength had significantly increased as well, which allowed him to better incorporate hand-to-hand combat into his style. The best way to describe his current physical strength would be that it had surpassed the physical limit that a human could achieve, at least those of this world.
Memories came to his mind as he contemplated the steps taken to achieve it.
...
(Flashback; Entry)
A young boy barely in his 13th name's day stood as he inspected the ritual circle in front of him. The drawn circle had thirteen sections, each marked with a symbol that signifies a specific rune that had been carved using the blood of an animal that could represent it.
1. Wisdom, the blood of a lizard lion (Crocodile).
2. Insight, the blood of a White Raven.
2. Spirit, the blood of a Direwolf.
3. Communication, the blood of a Leviathan (Whale).
4. Patience, the blood of the Old Men of the River (Turtle).
5. Lust, the blood of a Basilik.
6. Power, the blood of a Dragon.
7. Purity, the blood of a Unicorn.
8. Strength, the blood of a Griffin.
9. Wealth, the blood of a Zorse (Horse).
10. Luck, the blood of a Little Valyrian (Lemur).
11. Death, the blood of a Manticore (Scorpian).
12. Renewal, the blood of a Fyrewyrm (Worm).
Of course, the ritual circle itself was made out of the grounded bones of dragons, that his ancestor had slayed, giving it even more of a magical effect as it connected to the concept of conquest.
The ritual itself was both simple and complex, a juxtaposition you could say. Once all the proper reagents were gathered and placed in their proper position. The ritualist had to lie in the centre of the ritual circle. Then, one by one each rune would be infused with their magic in a specific order.
Mind, body, and magic would all be affected by the ritual and the ritualist must stay awake, as their body itself was altered. Should the ritualist lose consciousness at the wrong time, then the backlash would at best cripple them or at worse cause inconceivable damage to their soul.
It had taken years of planning and expensive purchases that would've bankrupted minor houses to get his hand on the blood of each animal that he had to personally kill to invoke the right of conquest. The ritual itself was something he found in the library within Summerswind Manor and had been gifted to an ancestor of his during the second exile.
Members of House Mudd had long since dabbled in rituals and runes, more out of necessity than any actual desire, Summerwind Manor was a clear example of that.
Granted, Erlend had taken the ritual further than any Mudd before him, 13 runes were unheard of and would have killed anyone else, but Erlend had adaptability and was willing to take the risk. The usual number of runes being used was 1 such as the one done by Edger 'the Spirited' and the greatest number undertaken before Erlend was 3 which was done by Aryan 'The Dragonslayer'.
Otherwise, he'd have to wait years for his body to do so naturally and would only be able to achieve one-tenth of what the ritual could give. Poisoning one's self gradually and backbreaking exercises could only do so much.
As he lay down within the circle, he could only lament the pain he would go through.
'The Things I Do for Power'
(Flashback; Exit)
...
Shaking his head, Erlend looked around the courtyard, seeing no one stepping up, then again he'd been beating every single challenger and even took on several at a time.
The Tully men-at-arms had been itching to challenge him since Catelyn had sworn fealty to him and House Mudd, his conquest so far had impressed upon them his leadership skills and not his physical ones.
Now that he'd hammered it into their minds, he could now finally relax a bit. While enjoying the attention of the Tully sisters. Who happened to be watching him beat their garrison's arses.
Sending a wink their way, Erlend turned his attention towards his guards, who'd been itching for their turns.
"Nicely done my Lord" Raymond spoke up.
"Care to show our hosts the skills of the vaunted Banners" Erlend said.
"Of course my Lord" Raymond nodded.
Erlend couldn't help but laugh at Raymond's stern yet proud tone, before lunging at his Guard and starting his duels anew.