words per minute
41
Heartking001
00:00
Speed
Tarkyn threw himself to the ground and rolled beneath the red streak of light,
coming up fast, close to his attacker. Before the other sorcerer could change
the direction of his shaft, he had surrounded himself in a translucent bronze
shield. He stood within a foot of his opponent hands on hips giving what he
hoped was an unnerving smile. As soon as he had recovered, he spun
himself behind, his long black hair fanning out behind him then dropped his
shield and threw a shaft of bronze power at his opponents back. Andoran
ducked. Tarkyn's bronze beam shot over his head and slammed into a rickety
spectator stand. A wooden upright gave way with a resounding crack. He
watched in horror as, with ponderous grace, the makeshift stand sagged to
one side. Dozens of panic stricken spectators scrambled over each other
swarming onto arena of the harvest tournament desperate to get clear before
the stand collapsed. Immediately royal guards surrounded the prince and his
opponent to protect them from the rabble. From within the ring of guards, he
glanced up at the strong, well-built grandstand where the nobility and the rest
of the Royal Family sat, well out of reach of any stray tournament strength
shafts of power. With a show of bravura, a scruffy young lad with more
courage than wisdom vaulted back onto the stand and seated himself in the
front row. On hearing no creaking, a prim lady poked her beau in the ribs to
push him up the steps before her. Then she gathered her skirts and calmly
followed him to sit beside the scruffy youth in the best seats the stand had to
offer. Seeing that the stand still held firm, the rest of the crowd, first in dribs
and drabs, then in a steady flow, remounted the structure to resume their
seats. The woodfolk were stunned. They knew the prince was not happy
about being trapped in the forest but it had never occurred to them that he,
too might not relish the consequences of the oath. After a moment
Waterstone sent Autumn Leaves a sharp glance. You see? I told you Tree
Wind might have been too unkind. Small twigs and leaves kept landing on
him and annoying him. He pulled his cloak up around his head and went
back to sleep. Not long afterwards, he felt something scrabbling under him.
He jerked in alarm and, without opening his eyes managed to feel around
and drag out a cockroach that had made its way beneath his cloak. The red
inside his eyelids told him it was daylight, so a short time later he gingerly
opened his eyes a crack to see what effect this had on his head