DUELING · Pip Sallows

The enchanted practice target now insists on critiquing footwork before any strikes are even attempted.

It began with a simple critique of Cassian Vale’s defensive stance, but the enchanted dummy has since progressed to full-blown pedagogical arrogance. The dummy, a standard-issue wooden construct, now pauses mid-swing to suggest that the student’s wrist flick lacks sufficient magical resonance and historical accuracy.

Other students practicing in the adjacent courtyard have reported similar experiences, with the dummy occasionally offering unsolicited advice on parrying techniques. The Dueling Committee has declined to intervene, stating that if a student cannot handle a lecture from a piece of timber, they are perhaps not ready for true combat.