The Prison of Calindon

“My revenge will be swift, and the Gioran Empire will be destroyed!” yelled Calindon as he thrashed against his metal bonds.

Calindon’s physique was exemplary for a Gioran, even after several days incarcerated for his crimes. His shaved head emphasized the series of white tattoos that streaked along his brow and down his neck and back. His gray skin was common among Giorans but looked nearly white due to the moon dust covering his body.

The chains binding Calindon, held him in a standing position atop a short bluff on the small moon, Torini. Jouti, the planet in which Torini orbited, served as a mining outpost for the Gioran Empire, and until recently was the highest producing settlement beyond the Gioran home planet. As did all mining settlements in the Gioran Empire, the outpost extracted Gerite from the planet’s upper mantle. That all changed after the betrayal of Calindon and the near total destruction of the planet, including it’s inhabitants.

Each of the four chains were forged from Gerite; a material that resembled iron that had been heated to a point just shy of melting. One chain jutted out of the moon rock to his left, wrapped around his muscled torso, then anchored itself in the ground to his right. Two chains wound their way up each leg, with the final link firmly embedded into Calindon’s thighs. The final chain bound both arms together behind his back, while slightly pulling backwards. The chains forced Calindon to choose his torture. Leaning forward caused the chains in his arms and torso to constrict his chest making it painful to breathe. Attempting to stand upright or lean backward would cause the chains embedded in his thighs to tear at the flesh and bone it was anchored to.

Despite the escalating pain, Calindon struggled against his bonds and screamed his threats toward his captors nearby, the Gioran Tribunal. Calindon was once a member of the esteemed Gioran Tribunal and a predominant influence in Gioran social circles. His place in society and the manner of his betrayal were cited as deciding factors in his punishment.

Although Giorans were generally considered giants by many races, Calindon was a giant among giants. His stature was so large that he was easily discernible on the face of the small moon. The Tribunal, which consisted of 4 members, floated on a Gerite platform over 20 miles from the surface. Each member of the Tribunal stood in a designated location upon the platform. Gi, a withered and white headed Gioran man, held the title of Arbiter and the primary location on a small, raised pedestal near the front of the platform. The other three members stood on even smaller pedestals, just large enough to provide adequate space for their feet. Fio’s black hair was braided to waist length and draped across her slender torso. She held her position to the far left of the platform behind Gi. At the far right, Galia stood with a mane of silver hair that had tendrils of gold ribbon weaved throughout it. She held the least prestigious position among the Tribunal, which meant her pedestal was smallest of the five. Next to Galia, stood a man known as Kolo who was the first member of the tribunal that was not born of the Gioran home world. Between Kolo and Fio another pedestal stood empty, as it’s typical occupant was chained to moon before them.

Gi reached out to a small Gerite orb floating just to his right and spoke into a metallic device mounted in front of his mouth.

“Calindon, This Tribunal has been called to assist you, and help you atone for your crimes against the peoples of the Gioran system. Seven inhabited worlds and 9 moons have spoken, finding you guilty of three counts of treason, 1 count of plotting to usurp the Gioran monarchy, and nearly four thousand counts of murder. Your imprisonment will henceforth be carried out under the express supervision of this Tribunal. A repeat of your failed execution will not be tolerated.” Gi stated into the metallic box.

Gi’s words were amplified and transmitted to the small moon, where Calindon renewed his thrashing and managed to break free of one leg chain. The Gerite links fell to the powder covered moon surface and immediately melted. Only moments passed before the melted Gerite reformed and crawled back up his leg and restrained Calindon’s movement once again.

“He is growing too powerful” Kolo flatly stated to the other Tribunal members. “We must proceed.”

Fio chimed in, “I must agree, Calindon must not be allowed to gather anymore power. I have reservations, now, that his punishment may not be enough to eliminate his influence.”

Gi held up one bony hand. “I understand, Kolo. Despite my own wishes, the sentence shall be carried out before the sun rises on Jouti again. Fio, we shall look upon that sunset as it wanes and no sooner.”

Gi let the raised hand fall upon the Gerite orb, activating several inscriptions along its surface. As the markings lit up, one by one, the orb surface started to glow red. After a few short minutes the surface appeared to be molten metal with dark islands surrounded by rivers of lava between them.

Jouti was a planet with two moons. Torkini and Torini were always in harmony with the planet, fulfilling their satellite duties in tandem. The two moons were positioned exactly 642 miles apart, yet they exerted their gravitational forces on Jouti as if they were one mass. Tides and storms moved with the rising and setting of the tandem moons. Torkini was the larger of the moons and accounted for over twice the mass of Torini.

Calindon was placed at the precise place on the smaller moon that always faced the larger. No matter the day or time, his location was always the closest point to Torkini. Calindon raised his head toward Torkini and watched as the surface of the larger moon cracked and began to melt.

The power of the orb allowed the wielder to transform certain elements into the prized Gerite metal that the Gioran empire was founded on. One byproduct of this transformation process was a massive amount of heat. In fact, entire planets were colonized by harnessing the power of this reaction to generate a habitable atmosphere.

Calindon watched as a black spot grew on top of his right shoulder. The skin scorched, peeled, and floated away. Wave after wave of intense heat poured over him, and wave after wave of flesh burned away.

“Gi! You coward! You’d destroy an entire moon, just to torment me.” Calindon shouted at the barely visible platform. He bent his head toward the ground, and closed his eyes, “I’ll endure.” He whispered to himself. “I’ll endure, just to bring your own hell down upon you.”

Gi watched Calindon’s suffering from under the fabric of his sleeve that he used to shield his eyes from the light. He motioned to Kolo, who then activated a similar orb floating to his right. Torini, being much smaller in size, reached the melting point faster. Both moons rotated in their orbits around Jouti, like a pair of dull red suns emitting immense heat.

Calindon screamed in despair as the ground beneath his feet began to heat and break apart from the melting process. No punishment like this had ever been performed in the history of the Gioran Empire, and he realized that not even his great power could sustain. He bent down, gathered the last of his strength, and wrenched against his chains will the effort of a dying man. Two chains broke free from the melting moon.

“Now!” cried Gi.

Fio activated her orb, which was the largest orb on the platform. It took two hands to operate and glowed with a light blue hue.

“I have him.” Galia said as she worked on a black tablet to her left. As she did, more chains erupted from the slag gripping Calindon in new ways.

Calindon wailed in frustration and defeat, as he sagged to his knees. The searing of his flesh had made the pain from his restraints insignificant. The chains tightened, which made it impossible for him to return to his feet.

“There it is." Gi muttered to himself.

"Fio!” He yelled.

Fio activated the final inscription on her blue glowing orb, and watched as the molten mass that remained of Torkini began to move toward Torini. The moon closed the 642 mile span in mere seconds, crashing into Calindon. The larger Torkini waked over the upper half of the smaller moon until only a glimpse of Torini could be seen sticking out. The collision was quick but the consumption of the smaller moon would take some time.

The Tribunal's task was completed, and the time to mourn had come. Each member deactivated their orb and reverently packed it away in one of the wooden crates at the back of the platform. Gi stood on his pedestal and watched as the new singular moon of Jouti began to cool. The islands of black started to increase in size, and the rivers of molten rock began to dry up.

“I shall have it renamed.” Gi said to no one in particular. “Lutiko. For it is the last destination for Calindon of Gioran.”

“Will it hold?” Kolo asked as he stepped up behind Gi.

“If the Gioran empire is to survive and remain a free empire, the prison must hold. I can’t believe a sacrifice like this will go to waste”. Gi answered.

The other two members quietly approached Gi and watched. They were still standing there in silence when Lutiko exploded. Semi-solid rock and Gerite was jettisoned into the space between the moon and it’s planet. The shock wave permeated throughout the whole system. Jouti’s atmosphere dispersed and became desolate. Between sunset and the next sunrise, Jouti became a lifeless rock. Similarly, Tribunal members were among the first victims of the judgment of Calindon. None survived.

Lutiko cooled over the next half century, returning the molten rock to its solid state. The debris settled into a steady orbit around the moon, and the moon itself drifted from orbit of the destroyed planet. It’s new course passed out of the Gioran system and into unexplored space.

Centuries passed. Eons came and went. The Gioran Empire has long since dissolved. The two moons, now one, drift through the expanse of space. Cold and dark, void of any heat, and a vast distance from its former orbit, the prison is thought to be lifeless.