The Alchemical Academy of Goldwind was considered to be one of the most prestigious institutes of its kind in the world. Others had formed in distant lands over time, but almost always by former students and with a certain fealty sworn to the Academy. Even if personal pride dictated otherwise, anyone who knew of the Academy would identify it as the leader of alchemical studies and research.

It adhered to several key principles, some practical and some poetic, but most famously the Academy was an institution that open to almost anyone. One of the goals of the original Alchemists was creating a style of magic that anyone could access, provided they were dedicated to the craft.

There was a common understanding that anyone could attempt to join the Academy, and would receive the same education as any other student. It was also a common understanding that this did nothing to stop the nobility and wealthy from using the Academy as a political battlefield of sorts. Such things were not done explicitly, as a show of respect to the institution’s neutrality, but they were done nonetheless.

Students of a certain pedigree were likely to enter the Academy with some form of private tutoring or training, perhaps with a specialty already in mind. Certain families had businesses that the children would inherit. Common folk that made it in typically had a basic understanding of concepts, at least in a practical area or two. There was a basic schooling that all children in Goldwind received, which touched on alchemy and the Academy as practical lessons about their community.

This meant that most commoners had a fair chance of passing the written portion of the entrance exam, which was largely a reiteration of topics they had learned of growing up. Unless they had grown up in the Lowmyre, which had no formal public education to speak of and technology that was potentially a century out of date.

There technically wasn’t any law stopping a Weird from applying, but the likelihood of being able to get to the exam was low even before their difficulty with the content would be problematic. And that was assuming they’d be judged fairly.

Bird was nothing if not tenacious, but the written exam had definitely been one of his least favorite things in the world. He had received no schooling, no real tutoring, and there was almost no access to academic knowledge in Lowmyre. His experience was practical, and to him the proper names of processes were more confusing than the questions themselves.

He had to spend extra time on each question to riddle out things like “construct operation range estimation” meaning “How far can the Golem be from their construct”, and then word it in a way that didn’t immediately ring of Lowmyre. Namely by replacing the title of Golem with that of Alchemist. Bird was fairly certain he’d done poorly, but he had at least managed to move on to the practical portion of the exam.

This was what he had been waiting for. It was time that he could just work and prove that he was capable. Worthy. He was a Weird, and could stand on equal footing to anyone if given the chance.

Of course, no one knew that. To the other applicants and the proctors he was just Felix Barda, the student that had introduced himself with a nickname and just spent an hour being visibly concerned about a few sheets of paper. If there was an impetus to keep an eye on him, it was being outweighed by the need to either do well on the exam or making sure the applicants didn’t cheat to do so.

They stood now before a single proctor, rattling off information for the second half of the examination.

“The practical exam shall begin on my mark, once the instructions have been made clear.” Roderick was the name this proctor had given during the written exam, and it seemed he was to serve in this one as well. He was a broad man with an imposing figure, though Bird couldn’t imagine him being much older than himself. His appearance was well kept, with long black hair slicked back to fall behind his shoulders.

Unlike the other robes Bird had seen thusfar, his featured sleeves and the hem trailed to the floor. In motion, sturdy trousers and boots had been visible, as well as a sword at his hip. A gold medallion also hung around his neck, featuring some stylized shield inlaid in silver. If it meant something, Bird didn’t yet know.

“What is the time limit of the exam?” An applicant interrupted with little hesitation, shrinking back when Roderick answered with a harsh stare. The shift in attention drew a few eyes to a handful of other robed individuals, their dramatic approach ruined. They would have simply appeared behind the group otherwise.

“The time limit is three hours. By the end of this time, you merely have to complete some kind of alchemical working.” Roderick motioned to the door behind him, leading beyond the chamber the applicants had assembled in. “In the following room, there are materials and resources for all known fields in alchemy that the Academy believes accessible for beginners. You may utilize whatever resources you desire, but whatever you produce must reveal some amount of talent, potential, and perseverance.”

His eyes trailed over the applicants, fourteen in all. Three had dropped from the group in the written portion of the exam, and to his knowledge one had left on the way here due to nerves. There was little Roderick could do. The exams were open to most anyone, but there was still a certain drive and knowledge required to be a student.

A hand was raised, and Bird watched Roderick call on the applicant, markedly less annoyed than when the one had interjected. The Weird made a note of the motion. Lowmyre’s version was more horizontal than vertical, but the small things were what helped sell a disguise.

“What kinds of alchemy are acceptable?”

“You may not intentionally harm anyone as a part of the alchemy. Target dummies will be available if the alchemy you wish to display involves spellwork or requires a target.” He took a moment to let that note sink in. Every season there was at least one overzealous applicant that set something ablaze. “You may speak to any proctor to request a means to test your chosen alchemy, if means to do so aren’t already available. For example, we have a handful of Golems requiring minor repairs. They are pre-programmed to walk a short distance, and if repaired properly they will begin to do so.”

“I trust there is some kind of compensation for performing above expectations?” A younger man with chestnut hair posed that question. He’d been quite transparent with his family being of higher standing, and his annoyance at the lack of special treatment was thinly veiled at best.

“Though all students are required to attend lectures regarding basic alchemy, if the attending professors and researchers find interest in your abilities today you may find offers of apprenticeships.” Roderick took in the group again, mentally picking a handful that might do so. “This is at their discretion however, and the purpose of this exam is purely to determine if you will be able to solve problems and produce results.”

Bird found part of that statement mildly concerning. He let his hand raise, a little uncomfortable with the gesture. If Roderick noticed the discomfort he did nothing to betray it, motioning to Bird to speak.

“You said attending professors? Is there an audience?” More people meant more eyes on him. More professionals meant more trained eyes on his methods. It wasn’t exactly calming when Roderick nodded.

“Yes. These exams are not open to the public however; the only people in attendance are faculty, here to observe new talent.” The proctor’s attempt at a smile came across far less disarming that he intended, “Do not worry, they have little to do with the judgement and may not interfere with the exam. Focus on your work and you will be fine… Bird, was it?”

“Yes.” He had screwed up his second introduction of the day as well. If he did it a third time, Bird was determined to just lean into it.

“Are there any other questions? No? Excellent, follow me.”

The walk into the following chamber was a tense one for the entire assembly. The thought of faculty and staff seeing their work was nerve-wracking. The impressions the applicants made having sway over their opportunities here at the Academy, even more so.

Bird felt somewhat hidden in the throng of anxious applicants, even if his concerns were compounded with other things. He took it as lucky that everyone else was varying levels of nervous.

The room beyond was far removed from what Bird had been expecting. His experience with workshops had been in the sphere of cluttered and mild disrepair.

There was practically an arena of space, ringed by a high tiled wall. Seating rose up a for a few rows beyond the wall, sparsely filled with differing styles of maroon robes and goldenrod accents.The floor was dirt, surely enough, but tight packed and easy to walk on.

Tables upon tables and workbenches upon workbenches sprawled across at least half of the space, each laden with more tools and materials than Bird could count. He spied some kind of firing range beyond the sea of tools, and near it was some kind of obstacle course and track.

Every time he thought he had seen the breadth of it, something else shiny caught his eye.

“Everything in this room is available for use. We are able to answer questions about the basic nature of resources and objects, but we will not provide information on how they are used. Do your best, and remember that an Alchemist’s best tool is their mind.” Roderick paused for effect, letting the other proctors move through the room to take stations near different areas. “Begin!”

Bird’s reaction to dash over and search for something to work on was mirrored by enough other people that he didn’t fret about sticking out. The hardest part of this exam was currently just the sheer volume of choice and how little he knew about so many of those choices. There were a million things here that he simply had to pass over for lack of knowledge.

One universal constant in Alchemy was that time was always a cost to be considered. The workbenches set up to modify weaponry was tempting, but Bird didn’t trust himself to alter metal and wood in a timely matter. The matter of instilling an enchantment into a weapon was also beyond him at the moment; with so little proper magic in Lowmyre, most modifications he had done were through crystals and scrolls that already had the magic within them.

Spellguns were definitely outside of his repertoire. They resided in Spitfire discipline in Lowmyre’s eyes, since you had to actively cast spells through them or else inscribe them into the different chambers. Bird had no idea how to use his mana outside of just pushing or pulling it, and he’d only ever assembled one spellgun. The memory was years old and of no use.

Chemistry was out of the question. There were several applicants already swarming different tables outfitted with different crucibles and alembics, and Bird had no intention of attempting to compete with that kind of confidence. Some potions also had a lessened effect on Weirds, and he didn’t want to push his luck there if someone knew that and noticed.

Then, his eyes fell upon the area dedicated to constructs and golems. It was a wide spread of parts and joints, motors and wires, just waiting to be assembled and powered. This was a little more in his wheelhouse.

His ability to control Golems was nothing to write home about, but he had worked with Foresight on plenty of repair jobs for some basic constructs and golems. The parts on the tables seemed familiar, and Bird was confident he could get one of the broken ones Roderick had mentioned up and running.

“Are you planning on repairing a golem?” A proctor posed the question as Bird started to look over the five or so that sat near the repair stations. “Each of the five has a different repair need, but all of them lack a power source. In addition to replacing broken parts, you will need to find a suitable power source that can sustain the golem for at least one lap around the track there.”

It was just an oval, made of thick white lines that the golem was no doubt programmed to stay within. Bird made his choice and found a small dolly to take the golem back to the bench.