If you play with Abysia against a Normal level Yomi, say, there is very little that they can do if you start out much faster than them. So take your uber blessed Burning Ones out in smaller and smaller groups until you find the smallest group you can send out that consistently takes over Independent provinces.
Once you know that, you can produce teams of land-grabbing units. Send them out all over the place, take over a strategic area and build your defenses in chokepoints. When you have all that money coming in, build a few castles and recruit more mages for research.
I envy you because you still get to see the joy of destroying your first tough obstacle in Dominions.
Good luck and have fun!