of success.
As Thorn had expected, Stig was the best at this drill, and he improved each time he stepped into the mesh and took a turn. But the old warrior was pleasantly surprised to see that Hal was not far behind him, and Jesper was pretty much equal to Hal. Of course, Jesper was a thief and thieves tend to be nimble and light-footed—as well as light-fingered. And Hal had always had a fine sense of spatial awareness. It was one of the qualities that made him such an outstanding helmsman.
Ulf and Wulf were both good, although each tended to sneer at the other’s performance—ridiculous when you saw that one was the equal of the other. Stefan was capable but Edvin had problems with the drill, often snagging his foot and falling before he had gone three or four paces. He would set his face in a frown and try again—invariably trying to move too quickly and coming to grief again.
“Slow down,” Thorn told him. “You have to work at it to let itbecome instinctive. Walk before you can run.” Edvin glared at him, red faced and angry at what he saw as his own failure.
“Any other clichés you’d like to share with me?” he said.
Thorn took a deep breath before replying. His first instinct was to wallop Edvin over the back of the head for being so insolent. But he realized that the boy was trying. In fact, he was trying too hard. He could see the others performing the movements with comparative ease and he wanted desperately to match them. He didn’t have the same coordination as the others and he was trying to compensate for the fact by going too fast.
“Listen to my count and slow down,” Thorn told him. “I promise you, you will get it. But it’s something you have to build up to. You can’t just step into the net and do it perfectly each time.”
“Stig did,” Edvin replied.
Thorn shook his head. “Stig didn’t,” he said. “He did it better than you because he’s a little bit better coordinated and balanced than you are. But you can make up for that. You simply have to practice. And build up your speed. Don’t try to match him each time. Work at your own pace and let it build. All right?”
“All right,” Edvin agreed reluctantly, and Thorn waved him forward into the net once more.
“Now, listen to my count. Don’t try to get ahead of me. As I see you’re improving, I’ll speed it up. Understood?”
Edvin’s face was set in determined lines. He nodded, his lips moving wordlessly as he waited for Thorn’s command.
This time, Edvin stayed with the count. Thorn called the steps more slowly than he had before and the other boys lounged on the grass and watched Edvin as he moved, stepping high and withexaggerated care in time with the rhythm Thorn was setting. As he saw the boy was managing the slower pace, Thorn imperceptibly increased the rate of his call.
“Keep your eyes up!” he shouted suddenly. Edvin was letting his gaze drop to the net at his feet and that was an almost certain precursor to a fall. The boy had to sense the rhythm and the proximity of the cords around his feet. If he tried to look at them, he would never keep up with the call, even at the slow speed Thorn was currently setting.
Thorn increased the pace a little further and still Edvin kept his feet. Finally, Thorn called a halt, and Edvin stood, resting his sword on his shoulder, letting his shield arm fall. Thorn patted him on the shoulder.
“Much better,” he said.
Edvin shook his head. “Stig went a lot faster than that,” he said. “So did Hal and Jesper.”
“And so will you,” Thorn told him. “The more you work at it, the faster you’ll get. Trust me.”
“As fast as Stig?” Edvin asked. Thorn opened his mouth to reply, then decided honesty would be the best course.
“Probably not,” he said, and saw an angry light begin to smolder in Edvin’s eyes. “But you will get fast enough to save your life in battle, and that’s not too bad. Face it, Edvin, we all have differing levels of
As Thorn had expected, Stig was the best at this drill, and he improved each time he stepped into the mesh and took a turn. But the old warrior was pleasantly surprised to see that Hal was not far behind him, and Jesper was pretty much equal to Hal. Of course, Jesper was a thief and thieves tend to be nimble and light-footed—as well as light-fingered. And Hal had always had a fine sense of spatial awareness. It was one of the qualities that made him such an outstanding helmsman.
Ulf and Wulf were both good, although each tended to sneer at the other’s performance—ridiculous when you saw that one was the equal of the other. Stefan was capable but Edvin had problems with the drill, often snagging his foot and falling before he had gone three or four paces. He would set his face in a frown and try again—invariably trying to move too quickly and coming to grief again.
“Slow down,” Thorn told him. “You have to work at it to let itbecome instinctive. Walk before you can run.” Edvin glared at him, red faced and angry at what he saw as his own failure.
“Any other clichés you’d like to share with me?” he said.
Thorn took a deep breath before replying. His first instinct was to wallop Edvin over the back of the head for being so insolent. But he realized that the boy was trying. In fact, he was trying too hard. He could see the others performing the movements with comparative ease and he wanted desperately to match them. He didn’t have the same coordination as the others and he was trying to compensate for the fact by going too fast.
“Listen to my count and slow down,” Thorn told him. “I promise you, you will get it. But it’s something you have to build up to. You can’t just step into the net and do it perfectly each time.”
“Stig did,” Edvin replied.
Thorn shook his head. “Stig didn’t,” he said. “He did it better than you because he’s a little bit better coordinated and balanced than you are. But you can make up for that. You simply have to practice. And build up your speed. Don’t try to match him each time. Work at your own pace and let it build. All right?”
“All right,” Edvin agreed reluctantly, and Thorn waved him forward into the net once more.
“Now, listen to my count. Don’t try to get ahead of me. As I see you’re improving, I’ll speed it up. Understood?”
Edvin’s face was set in determined lines. He nodded, his lips moving wordlessly as he waited for Thorn’s command.
This time, Edvin stayed with the count. Thorn called the steps more slowly than he had before and the other boys lounged on the grass and watched Edvin as he moved, stepping high and withexaggerated care in time with the rhythm Thorn was setting. As he saw the boy was managing the slower pace, Thorn imperceptibly increased the rate of his call.
“Keep your eyes up!” he shouted suddenly. Edvin was letting his gaze drop to the net at his feet and that was an almost certain precursor to a fall. The boy had to sense the rhythm and the proximity of the cords around his feet. If he tried to look at them, he would never keep up with the call, even at the slow speed Thorn was currently setting.
Thorn increased the pace a little further and still Edvin kept his feet. Finally, Thorn called a halt, and Edvin stood, resting his sword on his shoulder, letting his shield arm fall. Thorn patted him on the shoulder.
“Much better,” he said.
Edvin shook his head. “Stig went a lot faster than that,” he said. “So did Hal and Jesper.”
“And so will you,” Thorn told him. “The more you work at it, the faster you’ll get. Trust me.”
“As fast as Stig?” Edvin asked. Thorn opened his mouth to reply, then decided honesty would be the best course.
“Probably not,” he said, and saw an angry light begin to smolder in Edvin’s eyes. “But you will get fast enough to save your life in battle, and that’s not too bad. Face it, Edvin, we all have differing levels of
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