Manipulation: Apparition

Lily blinked. There were two Riganas sitting in chairs before her, but one of them was hazy, as though she was being seen through a pane of dusty glass. Both held their hands up and smiled. "Glad you could make it." Although both spoke, the sound came from the one on the right.
"New magic?" Lily took a seat across from the one on the right and dropped a small parcel on the low table. "All yours."
"Ooh!" Both Riganas reached forward to untie the parcel knot, but the one on the left was about a foot off from making contact. Rigana untied the parcel; inside were four small wrapped pastries. The magus tore one in two, handing half to Lily. "These are from Gyre, its a local specialty. I've been craving them since I was on that little adventure not too long ago."
"You sure the other you doesn't want one?" Lily bit in. Slightly sweet, with a savory middle. Beans? Definitely not meat, meat wouldn't have lasted the journey.
"Very droll." Rigana waved her hand; her clone proceeded to put both of its hands into its own head and make twisting motions. "This is a pretty goofy spell. I don't know why it was researched."
"I'd guess something prurient. You could have all sorts of ribald burlesque shows when there's no flesh and blood on the stage." Lily finished her pastry. "Also make it stop doing that, it's creepy." The apparition now had one arm entirely through its own head, with the hand coming out the other side.

Effect

The Apparition spell conjures an image of the wizard's choosing, creating a reflection of the image in reality. Said reflection can be of anything, but the quality of the image deteriorates based on the familiarity of the wizard with the image of choice. A wizard trained in this spell can typically conjure a nearly perfect reflection of themselves, enough to fool anyone at a glance, as the self is the object anyone is most familiar with. As they conjure images of other things, however, the spell becomes less and less accurate and detailed, as the caster 'fills in' gaps in their own memory.
Once conjured, the image can be made to either mirror the motions of the caster or move independently with some thought and effort. The image is entirely ephemeral, and it cannot interact with solid objects, make sounds, or relay information to the caster. As it is ephemeral, it cannot be affected directly, but breaking the concentration of the caster will cause it to vanish.

Manifestation

Imperfect apparitions manifest as something vaguely shaped like the caster's intent. For example, a wizard attempting to conjure an image of a tree may create one that looks as though it was a child's drawing, without the varied color and detail of a real tree. Said apparitions are fairly easy to pick out as not real.
Perfect apparitions can be conjured with some effort, and are typically either an image of the caster or something extremely simple and low on fine detail (ex: a blank paint canvas). Perfect apparitions are nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing at any given point in time without making physical contact of some sort.

Source

Apparitions require considerable magical stamina to maintain, and only magi of significant power can regularly cast the spell.

Discovery

The magecraft of conjuring apparitions is a relatively recently researched spell, having been published in the Association's seasonal journal in 723.

Material Components

None

Gestures & Ritual

The caster must 'shape' the apparition by running their hands around an outline of what they wish to conjure, as though shaping clay. The Apparition will take shape as the caster runs their hands over it.

Related School

Manipulation

Effect Duration

An average wizard can maintain the spell for approximately thirty minutes.

Effect Casting Time

Perfect apparitions can take upwards of an hour to fully construct. Cheap and simple ones can take mere seconds.

Range

Apparitions lose clarity and detail as they move farther from the caster, dissipating in full after roughly 30 feet.