The night passed and morning came for the village as the dwarfs, rat-kin, and fox-kin awoke to a surprise. Standing in the center of the village was Urist, accompanied by an unbound Sage. Whispering overtook the fox-kin as they wondered what was about to happen.

Sage raised her hand to silence them then looked over to Urist. Nodding his head, Urist stepped aside, allowing her limelight.

Standing tall with her arms crossed in front of her nonexistent chest, Sage’s voice rang out within the crowd, “My kin, our God has sent me a divine message to pronounce this dwarf-”

She took a moment to point at Urist before continuing, “To be our King and follow under his command. As it is His will, we will follow this dwarf until our God says otherwise. We shall act as a united force to rescue our loved ones and kill the necromancers! FOR THE GLORY OF KYUU CLAN!”

Blood boiling, the fox-kin down below raised their hands with a roar chanting Kyuu Clan three times before Sage stepped back to let Urist take the stage.

Although slightly confused at the name Kyuu, Urist put it aside for now and took a small bow.

“Welcome, my new brothers and sisters, to the family. I’m sure your hearts still ache over losing your kin to the undead who hold them prisoner. But worry not as our Commander, Ubel, has come up with a plan to rescue them and kill the necromancers. I’ll now give him the grounds to speak.”

Walking over to Sage, Urist watched as Ubel strode out of a house with bloodshot eyes and made his way to the center of the crowd.

WIthout putting on airs he began to speak, “The operation will begin tomorrow, and we’ll finish the preparation today. The people who I call up will meet me in the command room for a job after breakfast. The rest of you will take down the tents, as we’ll be moving out sometime today.

“The first group to see me will be the leaders of the squads, the second group will be Bishop and Agate together with all gem and light mages. The third group, Sage and Old Crimson. The rest of you prepare for tomorrow. For we shall be going to war.”

Finished with his remarks, Ubel nodded his head and walked off without another word. This left those down below in a daze, making Urist curse under his breath. He shot a look at Unicy.

Hey, you go up and disperse the crowd.

Catching Urist’s signal, Unicy mumbled for a moment before shooting back a look of her own.

Are you kidding me? You’re the king, shouldn’t you do it?

Just do it. It’s awkward.

Cursing under her breath she began walking, “Your interest keeps piling up.”

Taking the stage, Unicy spoke loudly, “You heard the commander, you're all dismissed. Grub will be handed out shortly.”

…

Blink picked at his food while looking at the sky. All around him were people talking and chatting. The dwarfs in one area, the rat-kin in another, and the fox-kin in their own little world.

Despite being considered one people, the racial divide seemed to be strong between the groups as there wasn’t any overlap between them.

Will we really be ok like this?

While lost in thought as he played with his rat jerky, a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Looking up he saw a dwarf clad in red holding a bowl filled with vegetable stew.

“May I sit with you Blink?”

Blink smiled, “It would be an honor, Magic Corps Leader Vlad.”

“Oh posh, when did you get so respectful? Just call me as you usually do, friend.”

Blink acted offended, “How could I act in such a manner?! If I don’t show you respect, the men will act the same!”

Rolling his eyes Vlad sat down next to him, “Oh please, it’s just a title nothing more. I’m sure some still fear me for being a blood mage. And well, learning of my past history of genetic experimentation. But enough about me, what's laying heavy on your mind? For as long as I’ve known you, you’re usually way more carefree. Even when you have to translate for that older brother of yours.”

Blink picked at his jerky, idly nibbling on it, “It’s nothing really. It’s just... look at them all. We’re supposed to be of one kingdom but nobody is crossing the lines and socializing. I mean, I know I’m a hunter but even I understand that this isn't a good situation to be in before a war hits.”

Putting his hand on Blink's shoulder Vlad gave him a slight smile.

“You’re right, it isn’t a good situation and it’ll heavily affect the upcoming morale. This isn’t like you and I, who had the time to build a good friendship. Sure, you guys brought the bodies back and we’d drain their blood. And sure it hasn’t been long, but at least we’ve gotten a little time to get to know each other. It’s the same for the rest of our dwarf brothers and sisters who have had time to make bonds.

“But for the rat-kin, our people still remember the brutal siege and fear them. And for the fox-kin, we don’t know anything about them and vice versa. If we had a month or two of peace perhaps we could break down those barriers, but we don’t.”

“I know Vlad, but I feel like we should do something to make sure we’re on the same page.”

Taking a sip of his soup Vlad shrugged his shoulders, “There is nothing you can do here in this village to create bonds for our people. But don’t worry, we’ll have an opportunity soon to force those bonds to be forged. It’ll happen just the same as it did in my other life, when the praying mantis king doomed our kingdom.”

Blink stopped nibbling on his jerky to turn to Vlad, who was staring straight at him. “You don’t mean...”

“Yes, my friend. War is an excellent place to create bonds. Numerous times in my world’s history kingdoms joined together to fight a common enemy, and this is no different. Although we all are fighting for different things it doesn’t change the fact that we’ll be fighting the undead. And within that common interest lies the way forward. So if you wish to bring everyone together then fight your hardest to show them that we care for them.”

“I… I understand Vlad. Thank you for your words of wisdom.”

“No need to thank me, just do one thing for me.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

Vlad smiled, leaning forward with sparkling eyes, “If you kill a necromancer could you gather some of his blood? I’d like to experiment with it.”

Giving him a dull stare Blink rolled his eyes, “You never change do you, Vlad.”

Eyes full of fake hurt Vlad recoiled, “It’s just a bit of blood. Right? It shouldn’t be too much trouble. Right?”

With a sigh and a slight smirk Blink went back to chewing his jerky, this time through with more of an appetite.

“Fine, fine. If I get my hands on one I’ll make sure to get you his blood.”

“You’re the best Blink!”

“You know it.”