the shadowlands and asshai as they are described , and considering the rumors of what has taken place there , must have been the site of a terrible cataclysm. my original lore for mordú in his canon lord of the rings verse heavily involves a death worshipping cult , as well as the arts and sciences of astrology and astronomy , which are integral to númenórean ( and elven ) culture. for his awoiaf verse(s) i am laboring to adapt these themes as best as i am able.
now , i do enjoy keeping an air of mystery around forces beyond the ken of men , as overexplanation dulls the subject , sometimes. but what little is known of the bloodstone emperor and some magical practices , such as the warlocks of the house of the undying for example , makes me deeply want to incorporate themes of cosmic horror which may or may not be alien. ( pondering the shade of the evening as it is being described by daenerys as feeling alive , writhing , and , really , beyond her grasp ... bloodborne old blood / blood dregs anyone ? ) asshai is said to be built of a black and oily stone , and while that might as well be the aftermath of whatever magical cataclysm has taken place there , i was also thinking about the bloodstone emperor worshiping a black stone that fell from the heavens.
now , mordú is not directly from asshai , but a small temple settlement in the mountains close to it where the dôlguzir cult has settled ( there is lore on the dôlguzir in mo's canon verse on my blog. essentially they are the practicing death cult on númenor , and fill similar shoes in awoiaf ). the dôlguzir are made up of a variety of different peoples , and a variety of different magic practitioners bringing together their crafts. which is how mordú is knowledgeable in a variety of arts. the dôlguzir believe that the night sky is the tapestry between this world and the next , and that it has been wounded by the transgressions of the first men on earth ( making their beliefs related to the legends of the scribes of yin and the beliefs of the followers of r'hllor ). thus causing forces from Outside to bleed into the world , and bring with them powers and knowledge not inherent to mankind. in their belief that is neither good nor bad inherently , but it is quite about intent , means to and end and if one is willing and able to pay the price these powers demand. they do largely worship bakkalon , the pale child , and believe that the tapestry may be pierced to find solace and an eternal existence ( not necessarily 'Life' ) in the arms of death. to them black stone is the blood of the night sky , and not only it but dragons too arrived as the wound bled upon earth. thus dragons are messengers between the worlds and coveted.
mordú may fall out of tradition here and believe that dragons have been created , or at least forever altered , by ancient magical means. his biggest hook and motivator is coveting that secret , to whichever variety of ends depending on plotting etc.
