From the Gallows | Wilbur Soot

Act Twelve: The Preparations

Training for the war is beyond grueling, not only for our soldiers, but for me and Mine as well.

Some days I feel like I'm back on the mountain. Some days the flashbacks are incapacitating. There have been multiple occasions where I've had to step back and throw my jewels into a bathtub of water because of how hard the flashbacks are to overcome, mixed with the current stress I'm feeling.

However, my hardships are nothing compared to my husband's. He not only has to work on his personal training, but he has to oversee his soldiers. Of course, Technoblade, Philza, and I are here to help him, but the four of us trying to help with the training of over thousands upon thousands of soldiers is a near impossible task. So, naturally, my husband has been forced to appoint several chiefs in command.

After evacuating all of the non-fighting citizens of L'manberg to Las Nevadas, my husband made the hard decision of tearing down half of the buildings and structures to make room for our soldiers to train. I suggested to him to use his powers to make L'manberg a bigger space, but he said that he isn't yet strong enough to create such a masterful illusion.

So, whilst me and Mine work on strengthening our supernatural powers, the rest of our people work on their close combat and long range firing skills.

Tommy, of course, insists on fighting in the war, but between me and Mine both being so protective over him, I'm pretty sure he knows that there's no chance of that happening.

The same goes for the rest of my friends. Tubbo, Fundy, Jack, and Niki will not be getting within ten miles of a battlefield if I can help it.

As for Ranboo, as much as it pains me, Mine has made the decision that he is essential to our success with his teleportation abilities. He can teleport soldiers out of harm's way and he can also move himself away from danger with ease.

He, like me and Mine, has been working on strengthening his supernatural ability more than his fighting skills.

The rest of my friends are of course down in the dumps feeling useless whilst Ranboo gets to practice and train with the soldiers, but I'd rather them have a case of FOMO than death.

We've agreed to let them stay in L'manberg until January seventh, but the night of the sixth they're getting shipped off to Las Nevadas. Of course, there's always the risk that my father decides to ambush us earlier, but this is the only way we could get the lot of them to agree not to put themselves in the war.

Training our godly powers is a whole different level of exhausting than the regular physical training that I did growing up.

Trying to channel all of your focus and strength within yourself whilst also fighting off other distractions like the voices and demons often feels impossible. We've been at this for weeks and only once have I been able to take some of my husband's powers and produce an illusion for myself, which just happened to be a feeble, tiny shadow.

Mine is much better at this than I am. He's been able to channel the energy from my jewels and shoot the fire out of his hands on multiple occasions. As happy as I am for his success, I can't help but feel disappointed in myself. He's so patient and calm with me, but at this rate the only powers I'll have by the time that war comes are the ones that I was born with.

However, on the bright side, harnessing each other's strength and speed is much easier than each other's powers. I'm now stronger and faster than I've ever been, and it doesn't take much work to produce that extra strength and speed.

I won't lie and say that I haven't missed having Techno as my mentor. He easily falls back into that role once again, and Philza does the same for my husband when it comes time for our non-supernatural training. I'm thrusted back into a life of grueling exercise, scars, and pain.