The Field of Nettles, somewhere in the Gray Wastes of Hades.
"Commander Reyzenhart, my Spinagon scouts say that the Tanarri have bottled themselves up in Ribcracker chasm. They chased our decoys just like you predicted," reported Sergeant Garthraxus, a hulking brute of a fiend with an overgrown spiked beard, wearing a heavy black breastplate over his great barrel chest.
An audible clicking noise and the clatter of shifting chitinous plates responded in approval.
Lieutenant Yamon nodded silently, the flames inside his armor flared briefly at the news. The Narzugon commander shifted uneasily in anticipation of battle.
Targen the chief Spinagon, a short leathery winged devil covered in spikes hissed with delight but was generally ignored by the other fiendish commanders.
"Lord Reyzenhart, your troops are ready. They await your command, " stated Lieutenant Allisonara ,a smirking dark winged woman. Though her demure beauty was undeniable and her face angelic, her iron tipped wings, jagged scars, and fierce tattoos marked her as more fiend than celestial.
Another hiss and chatter sounded from the large stark white creature that looked more insect than humanoid in appearance. It clicked and clacked to the assorted fiends which appeared confused at the sounds.
"Eh,march at half speed?" questioned Garthraxus with a hiss. "Vilehorn will be long gone when we get there. The pit knows it's hard enough to move through these wastes with the lack of flying and shifting available to us. "
Yamon shifted the helmet of his flaming armor downwards slightly before raising it up. The assembled fiends assumed he was vouching his support for the bearded devil.
Suddenly, a long spear, seemingly made of ice, flashed towards Garthraxus. While the bearded devil was famed for his skill with the glaive, it reacted too slow to block the spear as it buried itself into its proud beard. Garthraxus's eyes bulged in anticipation of the killing blow, but was relieved to find he was spared.
A flurry of quick clicking noises sounded from the giant white chitinous insect, before the speed of its klaks and chitters slowed to the point where they echoed around the sharp rock pillars around them.
Garthraxus , Targen , and Yamon all nervously bowed and returned to their posts, glad that they had survived the encounter with their commander. Allisonara however remained behind.
"Why do you torment them so? Why pretend to be something you're not," she laughed as the Bearded devil and the Narguzon rejoined their ranks. Targen did not rejoin the ranks and flew to some uncompleted errand.
A series of rapid clicking noises followed, but the Rrinyes simply held out her hand. "Please, we're alone. No need to cow me with your power," she smiled as she held up her hands in a mocking pleading manner.
The chitin covered ice devil, nodded and his form collapsed into a wholly humanoid figure cloaked in a simple blue and white robe. He had pale white skin and dark blue almost black hair and a short goatee which were both stiff and well groomed. The shifted Gelugon appeared like any of the vast ranks of tieflings that served both sides of the Bloodwar, save for a slight aristocratic demeanor about him.
"Better?" he asked as he brushed off some of the battlefield's famed loose nettles that had snagged on his robe. While the thorny vines were a mere annoyance in his true monstrous form, it hurt his humanoid one since it lacked the protective chitinous plates.
"Much," smiled Allisonara. "As I was saying, you didn't need to do the act with the spear. We've already literally followed you to the Abyss and back, at least you can do is cut them some slack."
Reyzenhart snickered at her comment, and pointed to himself in feigned shock. "The great and terrible Allisonara is lecturing me about cutting their troops slack? Aren't you the one that gave a decimation order to the company of Spinagons under your control? "
The Erinyes frowned and her playful manner vanished from her face," They fled in battle, a lesson must be taught."
Reyzenhart shook his head."There is a big difference between running and being routed from being over runned. Who in their right mind would expect a pack of three foot winged imps that throw spikes to stand up to a platoon of nine foot tall vulture demons. "
"The upper hierarchies' only care about results, not our mercy. The next company of Spinagon would do well to remember their brother's fates," explained the dark winged angel.
Reyzenhart sighed while shaking his head," The enemy out numbers us roughly ten to one. We only beat them because we take advantage of their disorganization. We're like a raft atop a tumultuous ocean, only by working together can we stay afloat. I know that's how they maintain disciplines in the hells, but I think we do not have the luxury of sacrificing our troops to send a message. A simple threat should have been sufficient motivation."
Allisonara considered his words then her bright, almost angelic smile returned. Reyzenhart knew that many of the first fallen angels were transformed into Erinyes devils, a dark mirror image of their once radiant selves, and he wondered if Allisonara was a member of that original batch or a creature creature created by the pits much later.
"You are much too soft my lord. If you were less competent , someone else , myself included, would certainly attempt to usurp your command . I see now that whole act with the spear was meant to re-establish the pecking order back into the Thorn Legion. To hide your weakness and teach them not to question your commands, "nodded the dark angel smugly.
"Actually, I think my spear got caught in his thick throat," joked Reyzenhart. "But seriously , I need for them to do what I tell them to without knowing why. We both know it's the only way to get around this blasted battleground." Allisonara nodded but Reyzenhart knew she didn't fully understand.
The Field of Nettles was a battleground in the Bloodwars that had been contested for countless millennia. A patch of rocky ground three hundred by three hundred miles, choking with poisonous thorny vines that was bordered by impossibly mountains to the east and bottomless pits to the west, and more importantly the River Styx on the north and south. The dark river flowed both to Baator and to the Abyss making it one of the most important strategic battlegrounds in the great fiendish war. However, due to the hotly contested nature of this area, both sides threw countless forces into this area to either gain control or deny the enemy control of it. Countless armies have fought and were grounded up in this area for a few miles of ground that would eventually be lost again. Neither side had ever managed to achieve anything but a foothold in this battleground, but that didn't stop them from trying. Besides the fierce winds that made flying impossible, and the warded rocks that limited teleportation magic, the whole area seemed to work against those that wished to travel. A march that should take a day might take a week in the Field of Nettles. Reyzenhart and his legion had survived here longer than many of their contemporaries and to his credit was even able to hold the enemy shore long enough to launch several crippling raids into the Abyss. A unique feat that endeared him to his own troops, but Reyzenhart knew it irked his superiors greatly.
I'm like a nail that sticks out, just waiting to be hammered , mused the shifted Ice devil.
"Excuse me? " asked Allisonara. Reyzenhart rolled his eyes at his own comment. As a Gelugon or Ice devil, he easily mastered communicating both with clicks and his limited telepathy, however in his tiefling form he often said words outloud instead of thinking them in his mind.
"I'm being recalled back to Stygia you know. Archduke Geryon has requested me in his personal guard. The chant is that yet another civil war is brewing. I've recommended that you take over my position after I leave," revealed Reyzenhart.
"Aww how sweet," teased Allisonara as she slipped into a Sigil accent. "However we both know that the higher ups have most likely a handpicked replacement to punish in mind. I'm sure they'll take your recommendation with the highest level of consideration before they install some clueless berk that made some sort of diplomatic gaffe somewhere. But seriously, that's great for you , and horrible for us. You're the best commander we've had for the last three hundred years, and I doubt your replacement can fill what passes for your giant insect clogs. It still surprises me to this day, that you are not only good at this job, but you seem to relish it as well. In fact, I'll wager the lot of us would be killed and we'll reform back in the hells as lemures or something lowly like that under the command of this new clueless commander. "
Reyzenhart shuddered at the thought. Most denizens of the lower planes were not only hard to kill, but in most cases they had to be killed multiple times. If one of them died while not on their own plane, their spirits, after being greatly weakened, would be sent screaming back to their point of origin. The lower powered ones would simply be reabsorbed into whatever hellish plane spawned them, while the higher ones would be physically transformed and demoted to a lower form. Greater outsiders like himself might be simply banished or reform in their original forms, depending on their power. Most prefer banishment rather than claw through the ranks again, but Reyzenhart disagreed. He had lived so long that he had forgotten his existence before he became an ice devil. A demotion would hurt his pride, but he welcomed the challenge and expectations of new sensations and abilities, however reduced they may be. The exile to his home plane part however was something he could not stand. Most people saw his current posting as a sort of punishment or delayed death sentence, but Reyzenhart enjoyed his time out of the hells. Even if it was to the Gray Wastes, it was something new.
As Reyzenhart considered the horrors of being locked in his homeplane, a dirt smudged human wearing an oversize backpack marched towards him and gave a curt bow. She was tall and had shoulder length brown hair which framed her strong angular features. Reyzenhart waved her to proceed, but saw that her presence troubled his Erinyes comrade.
"Garthraxus's Barbazu and Yamon's Narguzon have begun their march. Kelgor's hound handlers are straggling behind," reported the human named Ella.
Reyzenhart cracked a smile and waved the human away before turning his attention to Allisonara again. "See, I'm not as soft as I look. My strong arm tactics worked."
The dark winged angel ignored him as she watched the human named Ella leave the clearing, when she finally left she huffed in annoyance. "You are your own worst enemy. Nobody would suspect you of being soft if you didn't do stuff like keeping that human around. You treat her like a prized pet for the pits sake, it's stomach churning really. We should just eat her and get it over with."
Reyzenhart smirked," Jealous?"
Allisonara narrowed her eyes at the insult. "Hardly. Her mortal powers cannot match my wits, might or beauty. " To emphasize her point, the dark angel twirled once around in a graceful dance to demonstrate her charms.
Reyzenhart raised an eyebrow at the sight of the pirouetting Erinyes. While he was essentially a giant fiendish insect masquerading as a man, he still appreciated the rare beauty before him. "You really are jealous aren't you? I assure you that I have no plans to err…produce half fiends or tieflings with the lovely Ella. I keep her around for more practical purposes."
Allisonara did not look amused. "We'll discuss eating your lovely assistant later. I have to marshal my dark sisters. I doubt that idiot Garthraxus is scouting the path thoroughly."
"Aye, this might be my last battle here for quite some time. I don't really care about winning or losing, but I do care about leaving alive. Best not leave things to chance," he said in agreement.
The march through the Field of Nettles was quicker than anyone had expected. What should have taken days was accomplished in a few hours by the Thorn Legion. While most of the devils under Reyzenhart's command attributed it to their leader's mastery of the terrain the solution was actually much simpler.
Reyzenhart had figured out a long time ago that this particular battleground seemed to delight in frustrating its combatants. If you wanted to reach a place quickly the terrain would somehow warp itself to cause your journey to be much longer. Conversely the less willing you appear to march into battle, the quicker you arrive instead. It was not a unique feature though, as Reyzenhart had encountered something similar in the caves of Pandemonium and the mazes of the iron city of Dis, but it was strange enough to throw entire armies into confusion. Reyzenhart considered telling his own troops the secret, but he wondered if the act of knowing to go slow would actually mean that they wanted to reach the location quickly, resulting in the plane stymieing them out of spite. It was a ridiculous hypothesis but one that Reyzenhart did not want to test. Best to stick with what works. The ice devil was content to keep this trick his own secret, but was contemplating revealing it to Allisonara after he left.
As the Legion of Thorns approached Ribcracker chasm, Reyzenhart began positioning the elements of his army. He kept his melee troops in reserve while positioning his Erinyes archers, Spinagon spine throwers and oddly enough his Orthon shock troopers near the edge of the chasm. The hulking maggot filled Orthons were commonly used as front line troops, but most commanders often overlooked their missile ability. Reyzenhart thought that in this battle, their skill with the crossbow trumped their mastery of the pike.
Before he committed his forces though, Reyzenhart sifted through his scouts' reports.
Allisonara counted roughly two thousand of the Tanarri in the chasm, mostly dretches and rutterkin, with a few babau whipping them forwards. His own forces numbered close to a thousand, but he still considered this good odds since they were often outnumbered by even greater margins.
Another Erinyes ' report stated that Lady Naome and two companies of mixed devils had been spotted nearby, most likely attracted by Vilehorn's presence as well. This was unexpected but a pleasant surprise. The nature of the battleground made keeping track of ones foes, let alone allies impossible. The lovely Lady Naome was once the consort of Archduke Belial but had fallen out of his favor. As punishment, she was given a company of Baatezu to fight in the Bloodwars and sent to the front lines of the Gray wastes. To everyone's surprise she not only survived, but carved a small kingdom for herself in the wastes. She had always been cordial with Reyzenhart, and the ice devil thought he could always count on her aid if needed.
Lastly, Targen the Spinagon reported a small group of Eladrin, celestial elven spirits that often crusaded throughout the lower planes, in the area. These creatures of light were considered wild cards by Reyzenhart as they attacked both sides of the war indiscriminately. There was no denying their power, but fortunately they were few in numbers.
Satisfied that there wasn't any hidden subterfuge or traps set by the enemy. Reyzenhart ordered the attack to commence.
The Steel devils that he used as bait for Vilehorn were very hard to crack when locked into their phalanx formations, and were able to tie up the front ranks of the Demonic horde. While the chasm walls were treacherous and buffeted by high winds, Reyzenhart had the area scouted and prepared paths for his archers to get into position. From his vantage point at the mouth of the chasm, he saw his troops quickly get into position and then began raining arrows and quarrels down on their foe. Instead of milling about in confusion the demons began assaulting and scaling the walls. Reyzenhart had expected such a tactic and waited for their attack to be broken against the rocks, but to his surprise it appeared that they were quickly scaling the walls.
The ice devil did not expect this. Something wasn't right. He signalled for a general retreat but was interrupted by a fiendish roar from his reserves. Reyzenhart was shocked as he saw Yamon's cavalry supported by Garthraxus's spearmen charge towards the demon host.
"Someone signalled the reserves to charge," noted Ella nervously as she stated the obvious. The battle was going terribly wrong. The archers were supposed to rain withering fire down on the demons as hellhounds were released to keep them bottled up. The Barbazu spearmen and Narzugon cavalry were meant to close the trap not to lead the charge.
A strange feeling filled Reyzenhart as he watched the battle fall apart, something that he never felt before. While he spent most of his life seeking new experiences and sensations this was something he had never encountered before. The dread of failure as he watched all his plans unravel.