The real Teft was wearing a cocky expression, leaning against his cane, when I made it back to where I’d been sitting. Which was, of course, still ruined.
I chose to stand rather than sit in the crater.
Sera and Roland were still standing, too. Roland had returned to where he’d originally been seated.
Lord Teft made a dismissive wave with his left hand. “You can be seated now, children.”
I folded my arms, glanced at the destroyed spot, and then back to him. Sera and Roland sat down, though.
“Close enough. Interesting tactic, Master Cadence, and admittedly not one I would have anticipated. Obviously, calling in outside help would be illegal in a duel, but I didn’t say it was a duel, so I won’t penalize you for it. Your performance was adequate.” He glanced at Sera and Roland. “And the loyalty of your friends somewhat surprising. I could have them expelled for attacking a teacher without permission.”
Roland bristled at that comment, but Teft continued talking. “This is, in fact, why they will be rewarded. In a battle, that sort of unflinching loyalty is a rare and valuable resource. Of course, you’ll need to ensure that you’re being loyal to the right people. Ten points to the two students who responded to Master Cadence’s call. Fifteen for the other gentleman,” he looked at Patrick, “who assisted them without Master Cadence’s prompting.”
Patrick joined the fight? I hadn’t seen that happen; it must have been while I was outside of the class area fighting the double.
I felt a moment of guilt for not including Patrick when I’d called for help. Still, I hadn’t known what his capabilities were, or that he would have helped. It seemed I’d underestimated him.
I looked at Patrick and sent him a gesture of thanks. He nodded in reply.
Teft continued speaking, beginning to pace around the stage. “I suppose most of you were focusing on the show on the stage. I’d like a student who wasn’t involved in that little contest to summarize for the other students what happened to Master Cadence after he fled the stands. Anyone?”
Kent stood up.
“My, volunteering again, Master Kent? Very well, explain.”
Kent stood, gesturing to the area where I’d been fighting. “He was fightin’ a copy of you over there. A simulacrum, I think... one of the Shaper spells?”
The teacher nodded. “Close enough. Simulacra will be the subject of today’s lesson.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. Given Teft’s behavior, I wasn’t aware this “class” was going to have lessons.
Teft paused his pacing, coming to the center of the stage. “A simulacrum is a copy of a living being that is constructed from mana. As Master Kent pointed out, creating a simulacrum is one of the most advanced abilities of the Shaper Attunement. While Shapers are typically associated with creating and controlling spectral weapons, armor, and other objects, the simulacrum spell is far more versatile. It will be many years before any of you is capable of constructing one, of course, but you should be aware of their existence for three main reasons. Would anyone like to speculate on these reasons? Not you, Master Kent.”
I was already standing, so I simply raised a hand.
“Oh, sure, let’s have you give it a try, Master Cadence.”
I lowered my hand. “They’re legal in virtually all forms of duels, and the flexibility they provide makes Shapers the most dominant attunement in most of these scenarios.”
“Close enough. What about the other two reasons?”
I scratched my chin. “You said earlier that perception was important. You were deliberately misleading us so that we didn’t notice the simulacrum.”
“An accurate assessment, but not related to the question I’m asking. We’ll call that one out of three. Anyone else?”
A student I didn’t recognize stood up. He was dark skinned, heavyset, and wore thick spectacles.
“You,” Lord Teft gestured at the student. “Ah, an actual Shaper wants to answer a question about Shapers. Miracle of miracles. I don’t recognize you. Give me your name and answer.”
“Matthew Kord, sir. And, uh, I think what you’re looking for, or one of the things, is that, um, monsters in the towers are usually simulacra?”
“Good, good. Not precisely accurate, but close enough to count.”
I was taken a bit aback. I’d never heard anything like that.
Teft continued his explanation. “Ever wonder why monsters in the tower vanish when slain, often leaving behind crystalline mana? And how there always seem to be more monsters, regardless of how many climbers go through the tower? That’s because they are not, for the most part, actually monsters at all — not in the conventional sense. Modern studies have concluded that the majority of monsters encountered in the towers are mana constructs. They’re not exactly simulacra, in that we don’t believe they’re copies of a single core monster that’s actually alive somewhere. Probably. They are, however, functionally similar.”
He paused for a breath, and then continued. “This is part of your first lesson because I want you to understand the significance of it. Simulacrum spells, when utilized to the highest degree of efficiency, can populate something on the scale of an entire tower with duplicates. The military applications of this are obvious, but consider how it could be utilized to improve society if we could harness the same source of mana that the towers themselves utilize. Mana constructs could be used to replace virtually all labor. This is, for many Shapers, something of a goal.”
He waved at the student. “Now, the third reason they’re important?”
Kord shook his head. “I, uh, don’t know what you’re thinking of, sir. Low risk infiltration, maybe?”