Ever since the fall of the Fonlands, Pultine has been a leader among the Pito’s All Blacks. It is a position that suits her. Ever since her birth in the forest on Agê’s Septagon, she has had to prove her ruthlessness to survive the dangers that dwell the forest. Only the strong survive to serve the Vodun Agê in her struggle against the Vodun Gu, who secretly plotted to take over each Septagon of his Vodun siblings. Gu employed dark magic in his pursuit of power and he relied on patient planning and cunning to conquer his siblings, and Agê had grown angry at the secret machinations of her brother that caused epidemics of Essence-resistant illnesses among Fonlanders of every Septagon, and prolonged wars between kin of Fonlanders that led to mass casualties and unrest. Agê was alone in her suspicion of Gu, and this made her even angrier. Her anger inadvertently impacted the mood of her Septagon; Fonlanders of the jungles and forest became more aggressive in response to their mother’s quiet anger, and they all worked towards power to be their mother’s vengeance. But Gu didn’t fight a physical war against his sister, so the aggression that seethed on Age’s Septagon was turned in on itself.
Pultine emerged as a leader of the forest and she was a vision of death in the dark tunic she wore, and the long staff with the sharp hooked blade she carried. It was impossibly large, and she could clear a radius of the forest the size of a city, eviscerating anything captured inside. She had long hair that was always braided, three thick rows to the nap of her neck and then long down her back. She tamed the asanbosam and had a large army at her disposal when she was challenged by Tracia from the jungle. Tracia was like Pultine, a beautiful set of feathered wings, strong feminine form, with the ability to use Essence to devastating effect. Pultine manipulated light, but Tracia’s glitter magic was sharp enough to slice and reduce anything to dust. And Tracia had tamed the eluko, the dark phantoms of the jungle with teeth as sharp as Tracia’s magic. The two had been like sisters when they met, and they led the other Mmoatia of the Septagon in their youth to achieve their supremacy over other Fonlanders, but Tracia betrayed Pultine and aligned with the Yumboes in her pursuit to be the undisputed leader of the Septagon.
When the dark weeds began to grow in her portion of the Septagon, Pultine was isolated from Tracia and the Extreme Mmoatia, and she was desperate for a power upgrade that she could use against Tracia to take her place as the most powerful. When the dark weeds grew into the form of a woman that spoke to her, Pultine was skeptical but willing to listen.
“I do not know how I arrived here,” the female form of weeds explained, “but I believe that your Vodun may have encountered my kind on a distant world and inadvertently tracked me here. I am the child of a very strong mother, and I have grown here long enough to sense that we are kindred. I would like to return to my home, but sadly, I do not think that is possible. But maybe I could be helpful to you. My mother gave me powers that one such as you could make good use of.”
And Pultine did. The dark woman of weeds was not native to Agê’s Septagon, and the things that she taught Pultine were unlike anything previously seen in the Fonlands. The dark woman of the weeds bonded with Pultine, whose mother was a tree so it was no problem for the two to become one. Pultine’s tunic became embellished with the black weeds and she could shoot black vines at her enemies that whipped them, or wrapped them. Pultine learned to use the weeds to control the minds of others even if she was not near them. The black weed allowed her to plant seeds of loyalty in her enemies and loyal subjects alike, and she could see through their eyes if she concentrated.
Pultine’s conquest of the Septagon was complete when Agê appeared to her on the roof of the House of Agê, a large structure in the canopy that Agê occupied when she presided over the Septagon.
“What have you done?” Agê asked with horror. She looked with disgust at the forest that was no longer vibrant and green, but a black, rotting green that turned Agê’s stomach.
Pultine stood from her kneel. “I have created the strong army you desire to battle the Vodun Gu. The dwellers of your Septagon are unified, and we are stronger than the dwellers of any of Septagon. I wanted to please you, mother.”
“What is the taint that sags my foliage? It doesn’t smell like the Essence here.”
“It is the smell of a strong mother of growth like you,” Pultine said and the smile on her face was manic. She could see that Agê was displeased. “I found someone who was lost, stranded here in the Fonlands by chance, separated from her mother who loved her. She taught me how to be stronger, using the magic that her mother gave to her, and I shared it with everything that you have made to make us all stronger. The glory of Une will help you succeed against your enemies, mother.”
“Une…” Agê said it like it was a curse, like it tasted bad in her mouth. “What have you done?” Agê asked again and she lifted a hand, gathering her green energy in her palm, intent on destroyed the black, tainted foliage that had replaced her creation.
But Pultine sliced her in half with her staff and the vines of the black weed rushed inside, hollowing the Vodun out and replacing her insides. When Agê’s husk was full, the two sides came back together. She smiled at Pultine, then said words and moved her hands in intricate patterns that allowed her to travel outside of everything. When she was outside of everything, Agê’s husk found the Uneverse and summoned the white Pito to the Fonlands. When the white Pito arrived, they found the Fonlands to be an easy victim. The Vodun became black Pito, and Pultine was rewarded for her service with a position of power.
Now she is the most powerful All Black Pito in Une’s army, thanks to her fierce fight against the Therin of the Node 2 Sad universe that ended opposition to Une’s takeover. Une rewarded the leadership she displayed there and now Pultine is equal to the white Pito leader. Pultine is currently on Une receiving upgrades before she is deployed to the Talj Junction where the efforts of the Pito have been unsuccessful.
But history had taught her that more than one leader caused problems. Une’s army didn’t need a white and a black leader, it needed one leader commanding both forces. As the leader of the Descendant, Neubril was also the leader of the white Pito, and when her upgrades were complete, Pultine would finally be powerful enough to bring her to heel.
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