A respectful silence fell as his powerful body loomed high in the air over the heads of his people.
Klon stood for a moment, silently considering the short speech he intended to make. He caught the glance of Valok's eye, looked away. His gaze travelled over the clearing, making out familiar features of his people.
The crowd was not large, for Klon's nation was a small one. It was large in the sense that no other group on the planet was as large. And it was the only race with useful intelligence.
Klon looked at his people, and pride made his heart beat even faster.
"I am here to prove to you that I am the mightiest among you," he hissed. "I have here the thing that will prove what I say." He lifted the small box so that everyone could see.
A wave of interested hissing grew in sudden applause, then a respectful silence fell again. Klon hesitated for a moment longer, then continued:
"I got this thing from the belly of the thing that came from the clouds, killing three horrible creatures single-handedly. Thus I have proved that I am clever, brave and strong."
"What is this thing you have brought us, Brave Klon?" Valok's sneering hiss broke in upon Klon's words.
"A thing that is like nothing any of you have ever seen; it is a shadow lighter than anything on this world," Klon said proudly, and placed the small box on the rock beside himself.
He paused again, knowing the effect his wait would have on his audience. And then he whisked the cover from the radi-light, slid from the central stone.