With only an hour left before the festival Kel placed his last block of titanium on the alchemy table before him and placed his crystal necklace in a slot at the back. Though the weren't allowed to use supplemental power sources during the exam, he was training, and as such it was allowed.
He placed his hands beside it and the block of metal glowed green. *Good,* he thought, *It's ready for transmutation.* He closed his eyes and concentrated, willing the structure of the atoms to rearrange themselves. He felt it working, then heard a loud knock on his apartment door, and lost his concentration.
"Kerras!" he yelled. The only other human in his Advanced Alchemy class, Kerras believed it was his duty to defend the human race against being embarrassed by the Dwarves in class. Instead of stiving to be a better alchemist than them, though, his defense of the human race meant trying to beat them in drinking contests, contests which he thought Kel should help him pay for. "I swear, if you just want to borrow more money, I'll shoot you in the ass with a lightning bolt." He went over and opened the door.