After a bit of back and forth, the watcher came up to Luma, who was still staring up at the sun.
It's never occurred to me, but we've been taught nothing about what sort of power stone our sun is, Luma realized. Of course he understood that the sun was a sacred thing, and the elders kept 'dangerous' information to themselves for 'good of the tribe.' But still, he wondered if someone could awaken such a stone after their rising.
The watcher tapped Luma on the shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.
"The chieftain has permitted you to give class," she said, her voice filled with venom. "However I remind you that you pose a threat to the general security of the tribe. Any attempt to rouse the youth, and I will bring this to an end."
Luma glanced at her, silence his response as he walked into the class.
He took his place beside the wooden table, leaning against it as he waited for the students to settle down. I always wanted to do this, he thought.
A few of the students began pointing towards him, and a wave of silence washed over the class.
"My name is Luma," he said, moving closer towards the stands where the students sat. "Some of you may know me, those who don't can ask their peers," he continued.
The students' stared at him with raised brows, confused at what he was trying to get at with that.
He cleared his throat, thinking over his next words carefully. "What I mean to say, is that some of you know I am qualified to give this class," he said finally.
And some of the students nodded, those who didn't looked to their peers and stared back at him expectantly.
"What have you covered so far?"
One student raised their hand.
"Yes, you."
"We've been taught how to identify a power stone by their gleam and clarity," she said, smiling proudly at her answer.
"So you've yet to learn what they mean, and how they work," Luma replied more a statement than a question.
He sighed, before looking down at his tunic. "We will use the power stones on this tunic for the class," he said.
A student raised their hand at that.
"Yes?"
"What is that tunic? We've been told that everyone can only awaken a single power stone," the student said. "And, I don't know if you remember me, but we took our first combat classes together..." he continued, hesitating to finish his sentence.
"Go on," Luma said.
"I mean, I know you're taking part in this expidition's rising ceremony. But it hasn't been completed. How do you already have a power stone, forget that you have all five of them," he finished.
Luma turned to look at the watcher, who was still staring daggers at him.
He shrugged his shoulders. There was no point lying to them, but he felt that if he told them the reason now, they wouldn't take his instruction seriously.
"I'll answer your question at the end of the class," he said. "For now let's just focus."
"The first of the stones, is known as the listener stone. First because it is that which listens to the whispers of the sun," Luma said, and he thought back to his dreams.
In a way, they felt exactly like something the sun would whisper. Though he'd never heard of a crimson sun before, and the vision of him holding a silver mask had been wrong, so perhaps it was just a dream, some reaction caused by taking in too much stimulat at once.
A student raised their hand.
"What does the sun whisper?" she asked.
Her classmates rolled their eyes at that. Perhaps they believed that such things were not easily answered, since the sun was taught as an entity beyonf their understanding. But still, Luma tried to think of a suitable answer.
"The sun whispers everything. The location of radiation ore, the name of your future children, the hair color of that person who will kill you," he said. "And sometimes it whispers nothing."
The students nodded at that, finding the answer satisfying.
"The second of the stones, is known as the enabler stone. Second because it is that which share's the sun's energies," he said, staring at the purple stone on his tunic.
"It is capable of enhacing the abilities of every other stone," he continued. "At the expense of the user's own energies of course."
Another student raised their hand.
"I don't understand that. If it is at the cost of their own energies, then won't they eventually run out and become useless?"
Luma nodded at that. "My class thought so too. Afterall, I'm sure many of you have never even seen an enabler," he said.
And the class nodded as well.
"Enablers recover faster than every other stone holder. They are also stronger and faster, with the expection of criers, making them useful even when their energies have depleted."
The students began to whisper with each other at this. Luma remembered when he himself had learned about it. They were probably changing their minds on what stones they hoped to awaken once their rising came.
"The third of the stones, is the healing stone. Third because it is that which brings balance to the others," he explained. "The healing stone is said to use the energies of the sun and earth to cure ailments and mend wounds. But much of its working still can not be explained."
"I heard that only woman can be healers, is that true," a small voice called out.
Luma scanned the class, and found that it came from a tiny boy, who looked several years younger than everyone else.
"That's partially true. The elders say that women are more balanced in their relationship with the sun and the earth. A balance which is required to awaken the healing stone," he replied. "However, there have been instances of male healers throughout the history of our tribe."
The little boy nodded happily at that.
"The fourth stone, is the watch stone," Luma said with a sigh, turning to face the watcher. "For security reasons, it is a stone not taught about publicly. And I fear that sharing what little I know may get me into trouble," he added with a tired smile.
"Okay. The final stone, and the one I know all of you are eager to learn about," he said, looking down to the black stone. His mind went to Shala, wondering how she was doing in the lower caves.
"The fifth stone is known as the cry stone. Last because it is the furthest from the sun, a shadow cast by its light," he said.
"The crier stone is that which expels negative emotion. It converts the holder's most tragic events into power that can be used to save others."
"Among the stones, it is the most powerful, and the most dangerous. Many holders have gone insane from its power, and much of the tribe's prison is filled with them," he said.