Bronze gates shrieked on iron hinges as fifty young alchemists filed into the Grand Cauldron Hall.
A wave of dry heat and bitter sulfur washed over the threshold. High above the arena floor, three tiers of stone galleries held three thousand spectators, their voices humming like a hive of hornets. Banners of the Nine-Cauldron Guild hung from the vaulted rafters, framing a colossal sand-glass filled with crimson dust.
The refining glass held sixty-eight hours and fifteen minutes of sand; the seventy-two-hour examination also allowed three hours and forty-five minutes for cooling and verification.
Kaelen Vance dragged his feet through the entrance archway, taking his goose-down pillow back from Sera at the gate and tucking it into his willow hamper.
Around him, the other finalists walked with stiff backs and pale cheeks as Sera, Barnaby, and Mina headed up the side stairs toward the spectator galleries. Scions from the wealthiest merchant guilds wore brocade robes stitched with protective fire runes, clutching brass cases of custom spirit-charcoal.
“Finalists, take your assigned stations,” an elder’s voice boomed across the flagstones.
The refining floor was divided into fifty square stone bays, each equipped with a standard bronze cauldron and a granite hearth. Translucent energy flickered between the copper floor plates, marking the boundaries of the isolation arrays. Once activated, the barriers would block outside interference while letting the crowd watch every move.
