The forty fifth year of the Great Reckoning
Outside of the Fortress of Czinmoch, Phlegethos
Reyzenhart blocked the crimson hound with the haft of his spear, even as another bit heavily into his shoulder. The Commander of all the Stygian legions simply grunted as he suddenly shifted his weight back, throwing the one before him off balance, as he tossed the one on top of him forward. With his brief respite he pushed the one he blocked away as he twisted his spear, sending the creature spinning and crashing to the ground.
Three more hell hounds joined his attackers as they warily regrouped. Reyzenhart skillfully used the reach of his weapon to jab at them and keep them off balance, but he knew they were going to attack again soon. Jets of flame lashed at him as several of the hounds breathed their fiery breath at the Commander, but Reyzenhart simply shrugged it off. Flame should be the last thing to use against an Infernal.
Taking advantage of the flames and smoke Reyzenhart took several tactical steps back. From his new, safer vantage spot, he looked at his foes and frowned. Not because of the danger, but because these were not the opponents he was hoping to trap.
As the hounds circled him, the lead dog suddenly yelped as a shard of ice pierced him from the flank. Before the others in the pack could react, a large white insect leapt into their midst from the side. A high pitched whine came from one of the dogs as the great pale insect landed atop of it, crushing its spine with its mass. Even as the dogs scattered, the insect suddenly shifted, and pierced another hound through the head with its long segmented spiked tail.
The pack yipped in fear as it scattered from the great beast.
Reyzenhart looked at the white monster and gave it a curt nod. "Well done Gretaxel, is Lady Cozbinaer safe?"
The beast rotated its head rapidly twice in response, and skittered back to its fellows, three more great insects surrounding a pale young woman with long green hair.
"I'm alright Reinhardt. You should worry about yourself," she said as she pointed at his bloodied shoulder.
The four large white insects klicked and klacked at the comment. Reyzenhart noted that Gretaxel was especially loud and agitated.
Reyzenhart winced partially from the wound, but more for the familiar way Cozbinaer referred to him. "My shoulder is fine. I may be an ice devil, but I'll regenerate from a simple fiery bite from a hell hound. Also…it's General Reyzenhart," he stated, not for her but for his fellow Gelugons. While she often called him by his nickname in private, it irritated him when his subordinates hear her use it. Also it was dangerous. She was his lord's consort, and he had no desire to deal with any scandalous 'rumors' regardless of how outrageous they are.
"Of course General," teased the green haired girl as she did an over-elaborate curtsy for him. "So are these the bad guys we are looking for?"
"No, they're just simple scavengers," said Reyzenhart as he kicked one of the carcasses. " They feed off carrion from former battlefields. From their gaunt appearance, it looks liked pickings have been poor."
"Aww, that's too bad," pouted Cozbinaer. "For both them and us."
Then with a series of mesmerizing prancing movements, she playfully slipped past her guards and bounded further down the abandoned battlefield. Reyzenhart and his Gelugons took a second to realize what had happened before they raced after the beauty.
The air hung heavy with smoke and ash as the girl with the long green hair easily skipped over the burning rocks of the empty battlefield. She lightly hopped to the top of a fallen spire and pirouetted for her small audience. Her fair skin contrasted with her simple but elegant black dress, and the sight of her was mesmerizing as she spun in place. To the casual observer, given her carefree nature, grace and beauty they would have assumed she was a nymph or some other fey enchantress, but her scarlet eyes and slim pointed tail suggested a more sinister origin.
" Please get off that rock Lady Cozbinaer, we don't wish to draw undue attention," said General Reyzenhart as his four white insects clicked and chattered softly behind him. He was in his humanoid form, an average looking tiefling with whitish skin, bluish black hair and a well groomed pointed beard. He was dressed in a plain gray soldier's tunic, often worn by real tieflings in the service of Archduke Geryon, and was unassuming save for his ice crystal spear. Though all the invading Stygian Legions in Phlegethos were placed under his command, the Gelugon commander often skipped with the pomp and splendour of the other Generals and Nobles of the Fiendish hierarchy.
The fiendish woman stopped her twirling dance and regarded Reyzenhart cooly. She pursed her lips and pouted dramatically towards him. "First of all, aren't we friends? As friends, you should call me Cozbi. Secondly if you want me to stop, I think you're going to have to make me. Third, wasn't that the whole point of this? To attract undue attention," she said with a playful smile.
The monstrous insects behind Reyzenhart chattered audibly once again. One of them took a step towards the woman but the General simple held out his hand.
"Not now Gretaxel," he commanded. "Know your place."
The lead insect lowered its head and obediently fell back to the pack.
"Aww don't be so hard on little Greta. Look I'll come down. She doesn't mean any harm. She's just looking out for me. I don't want to cause her any trouble," sighed Lady Cozbinaer as she reluctantly hopped down off her perch.
Reyzenhart offered his hand as she stepped down. He then scanned the blasted plain. Though it was abandoned and far from the main battle lines he knew this place well. It was once a place where tens of thousands of devils were slain, now it was the hunting grounds for a pack of half-starved hell hounds. Several years ago his armies outflanked and then crushed Gaziel's eleven Osyluth Legions. The skeletal devils fought hard with their use of ice magic, but Reyzenhart's Gelugons were masters of cold and easily broke through and routed their lesser cousins. That bloody battle was one of the relatively easier ones, compared to the constant toil of siege warfare that they were now locked in.
"This is a bad plan. We should return to a more fortified camp," said Reyzenhart.
"Nonsense, this is a great plan. In fact, this is your plan," countered Cozbi.
Reyzenhart shook his head. "No this is simply a conjectural proposal that you took it upon yourself to enact. It is much too dangerous to go forward with."
"Ahh, this again. We've been through this before. I'm all yes let's do this, while you're all no no no, this is too dangerous….. but here we are, practically screaming 'attack us' to the enemy. I do not deny the risks associated with this course of action, but we both are loyal servants to our Lord Geryon. To continue with the current plan of attack would mean another ten years of unsuccessful siege warfare. We need …how do the humans call it….a game changer!" said Cozbi with a wink.
"This is still too risky," protested Reyzenhart. "We could get a double, someone like Allisonara…"
"Nonsense, we both know they'll see past a disguise whether its mundane or magical. Besides if it is a risk, its a risk that I am willing to take," countered Cozbi.
The pair glared at each other. While Reyzenhart admired her bravery and considered Cozbinaer a trusted ally, they were often at odds with each other over points like this.
"We should go, this area will not serve our purposes," ordered Reyzenhart. "The enemy is leagues from us."
"Are you sure?" smiled Cozbinaer. "We are behind both Duke Agares' and General Machalas' legions. We're just minding our own business, making our rounds with the troops, raising morale and all the other duties expected of a Consort."
Reyzenhart shook his head. "You are confusing a consort's duties with that of a diplomat's my lady."
Cozbinaer frowned and held out her slim wrists. "Oh? Have I been a bad girl? Shall you lock me in irons, and drag me back to my Lord Geryon and tell him of my plans? He might be mad, but he'll probably like the gesture," she teased as she broke out in a wide grin once again.
Reyzenhart sighed. "Stop twisting my words. You know I would never do that."
"But others would," sighed Cozbinaer. "Gorson, old Agares, and certainly Amon. Oh especially Amon. He would never take any of my 'sass'. Any one of them wouldn't think twice before slapping me down to my place."
"Well, luckily for you they aren't in charge of your security detail," grunted Reyzenhart.
Cozbinaer stepped next to the General, and before he could react, she placed her head gently on his shoulder and gave him a light hug. "I know. I'm lucky to have you as my guardian. You would never hurt me."
Reyzenhart shifted uncomfortably as the insects at his command began clicking at the scandalous display; not that consorts were commonly known for their loyalty and fidelity, but it was unusual to see Reyzenhart on the receiving end of such affections.
"Please, not in front of the Gelugons," said Reyzenhart in embarrassment, as he took a brisk stride away.
Cozbinaer giggled at his discomfort but conceded to his wish and took a comfortable step back and placed her hands at a safe distance away. "Of course, everyone knows the great Reinhardt only has eyes for poor lost Celestials. "
Reyzenhart rolled his eyes, as his minions clicked in amusement. He spared one lowly Aasimar forty five years ago, and he gets this crazy reputation of lusting over Celestials ever since. Not that it was uncommon for fiends to be attracted to their celestial counterparts; most of them considered despoiling heavenly beings a proper fetish, but it wasn't like that. He spared the Aasimar out of a sign of respect. She aided him in a particularly tough battle against a Balor of all things, and it was the only honorable gesture to show her. He knew nothing of her, save a name which he now considers an alias, and a brief kiss they shared. A kiss that now haunts his dreams, and he wondered if he should have simply bit her head off to save himself from this empty feeling.
"So it's true? You and an Assimar defeated a Balor? And then you shared a kiss instead of eating her?" said Cozbinaer with wide eyes. "Was it a romantic kiss? Was she pretty like an angel? Oh what am I saying, of course she is."
Reyzenhart looked confused for a second, before slapping his face with his palm. "Did I say all that out loud? I subconsciously do that sometimes in my humanoid form. Something about confusing telepathy with speech, or something like that. It just slips out sometimes..."
Cozbinaer giggled and leaned towards Reyzenhart and placed a finger to his lips. "Yes I of all people know this. As Infernals we guard our thoughts, our secrets, and especially that cold shriveled shell that we laughingly call a heart. Despite shunning our emotions, we still have them, and sometimes we find them stronger than we can control. Some use this in battle and channel their anger into a berserker rage, while a rare few find something that they care for, something that they value more than themselves. A rare trait for an Infernal."
Reyzenhart wanted to laugh in Cozbinaer's face and deny her deluded observation, but something about her soft scarlet eyes, her smooth voice, and most disturbingly the truth in her words held him silent.
"So…..what's the unlucky girl's name?" she teased.
"Amir..Amirah I think, or that's what her Courre friend referred to her as," admitted Reyzenhart. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this, especially with his personal guard so close but since he met Cozbi, he found it hard to deny her anything. He wasn't sure if it was her fiendish charms, her powerful enchantment magic, or perhaps because he considered her one of his few true friends.
"I like to think it's my fiendish charms," smiled Cozbi as she slowly wiggled seductively to demonstrate. " but sadly it's probably because we're friends."
Reyzenhart hit his face with his palm as he realized he did the talk out loud thing again.
"So, have you two spent any time together since then? Have you courted her ? Have you met on some romantic tryst in Axis, or Sigil? They frown upon the mixed race thing here, but I'm all for it. Does she know what you are, or does she think you're a tiefling? Does she have any idea of your rank? Ooh, this is all so exciting and scandalous."
Reyzenhart sighed and shot a warning shot to his guards who were clacking with glee. "Yes, I am aware of this. It seems everyone is aware of it actually. Someone always seems to throw it in my face. They all know the rumors of General Reyzenhart and his weakness for Celestial beauties. They even ply captured Celestial men and women at me in an attempt to earn my favor."
Cozbinaer shook her head, and a sad look passed over her. "I didn't mean to offend. I wouldn't try to hurt you like that. I wouldn't do that to you, my only friend besides my lord Geryon. Well maybe Allisonara is a friend, but she can be a bitch sometimes."
Reyzenhart nodded. Cozbi looked so sincere. She could be lying to his face and he never would have suspected it. Not that he cared, when he was in her presence. She had that effect on people. "I think because I met Amirah on the Gray wastes it makes finding her impossible, or possibly she was a figment of my imagination all along. That plane is known to do that form of trickery. Since I defeated the Balor Vilehorn's and Lady Naome's forces, I have never seen or heard from Amirah again. No amount of divination magic, tracking, or even paid informants have proven fruitful."
"Wait, you defeated Lady Naome? Belial's old consort?"
Reyzenhart flashed a smile. "I bit her head off actually. Swallowed it, in one gulp when she tried to seduce me."
A look of shock came over Cozbi, before her natural easy grin return. "That sounds oddly titillating. I keep forgetting how savage you can be sometimes. I guess that's why my lord Geryon values your services so highly. Don't take this the wrong way, but beneath all your trappings of civility, you're the most blood thirsty monster here aren't you? Oh well, I'm sure you'll find this Aasimar that haunts your dreams. I don't know if your expectations will overshadow the reality, but please proceed with caution. For one thing, even though you've been pining over her for forty plus years, she might not even remember you. I don't want to discourage you, but she's only a part outsider, while you're a General of Hell. It's been my experience that partners should be equals, or it causes friction between them. Ask yourself, could you humble yourself for her? Exist as she does, or do you think she can handle this…current lifestyle of yours? Also, I assume you were in tiefling form correct? Even if she does remember you, she might not be able to handle your true form. Everyone is not as open minded as myself."
Reyzenhart lowered his eyes. He wasn't sure why he allowed her to discuss his non-existence love life so freely and openly. "Yes, I am aware of all of this. I torture myself over these questions and others many times in the past. I sometimes think that maybe the reason that I can't find her, is that I don't want to find her. I'm more enamored by the concept of Amirah, than Amirah herself. I doubt it is what mortals called love. It's more of a dark obsession I think. I honestly don't know what I would do if I ever find her again."
Cozbinaer looked at Reyzenhart and shook her head with a smile. "It was that kiss wasn't it? That's how I fell in love with Lord Geryon you know. It wasn't his charm, or rippling muscles, or his power. It was just a simple humble kiss. "
Reyzenhart shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to remain silent or at least bite her head off. "Yes….its hard to describe, but it temporarily filled a void in my gut that I didn't realize was there. I've been chasing that feeling ever since."
Cozbi raised a shapely eyebrow and regarded Reyzenhart carefully. "Well, if you do find her may I suggest to not bite her head off?"
Reyzenhart and Cozbinaer both laughed at the comment, even as the shadows grew longer and darker around them.