Siblings of Sol: Destruction of a Planet

Chapter 1

The depths of space are cold and silent, and his place of origin is far from him now as he approaches the end of his travels where the mantle around his neck does not pull or push him in one direction or the other. This is the fleeting period where he is completely relaxed, floating freely, almost stationary with his seven small brothers and sisters swirling around him, happy to be here at peace with their larger guardian.

He is always reminded at this time of the distant past as he feels the freedom from the pulling of his mantle. Back to the time when he and his sister were the only two creations playing in the dust cloud that swirled around like a miniature galaxy. They each competed to get as much of the debris to stick to them as possible, making them grow bigger all the time. It was a race to see who would win and be the dominate one who would eventually rule over the condensing dust swirls, which formed into smaller siblings themselves. Some of which sided with Sol, his sister, who seemed to attract the largest ones. Mordock tried with all his might to catch up to his bigger sister, but she did not even give him a chance, leaving him with only seven of the smallest to be his eternal companions.

They had played so hard when the system was young, glowing as much as they could as the dust and bigger rocks collided with them, wanting to be like the bright spots that surrounded them, so far out of reach, as if they were judging their every action. His sister Sol always seemed to be the brightest, and often took to the center of the cloud of debris where she could gather even more to herself slowly growing bigger and brighter.

Mordock enjoyed this time when he was close to his sister, but the material he needed to grow was fast becoming scarce, and he was afraid that he would not be getting any bigger and would never get to the size where he could become like one of the bright lights in the heavens.

Sol had now grown to the size that allowed her to glow brighter than he knew he would never be able too as she continued to gather up the remaining dust and debris. The large outer spheres that were close enough to her she dragged ever faster till they impacted and opened her up, so she shone even brighter. It was all Mordock could do to hold onto his seven companions, as he watched his sister one day burst into flame as bright as the distant stars. She took up a central position and hung mantles around all her siblings that circled her faithfully, showing their reverence to her majesty.

Mordock had already placed his own mantle on his seven smaller siblings, so Sol could not take them from him. So, instead she placed a stronger mantle around his neck, which forced him from her inner circle of siblings governed by herself at the very center. He was hurtled far out into the darkness of space where there was no material to make him glow, and the coldness caused his surface to harden and dull like the other small outer frozen spheres.

Sol of course was still jealous of him and his companions, so when he reached the point where he slowed to barely a crawl, she exerted her force on his mantle again pulling him back towards the center of the system, forcing him to swing around her so she could show him again what she had become, and he will never be.

Mordock of course liked the feeling of warmth, as one side of his outer surface warmed, becoming soft and pliable as he dreamed of one day being on fire like his sister, relieving him from the agony of the freezing depths of space. Although it was not to be, because the mantle around his neck kept him from any of the siblings attached to Sol, and he spent all his time from the initial great shining, moving back and forth from deep space to his sister Sol, going round and round forever.

The stars did seem brighter though, out here at the edge of Sol's influence and for that, Mordock is thankful, because it is the most peaceful and calming free time he has from the pull around his neck. It is a time he cherishes and one he can share along with his seven small faithful siblings.

He knows that his time is short, and the pull will start up again very soon, and sure enough he starts to feel a slight tug on his hard-dark body. A quick look out to the side shows a traveler slightly larger than his siblings, cruising through the void very fast. Even faster than he travels after swinging past his sister Sol. The object seems to be pulling on him to slow itself down, which is confusing enough, but it is the resisting of his attempt to trap it into being one of his companions, refusing his mantle that really confuses him. Instead, it simply follows behind him as the tug against his own mantle starts to pull him back towards his sister Sol.

The intruder is as white as the snow that he has seen on some of the smaller siblings farther out from the heat of Sol. The weight however does not seem right, making him wonder what it is made up of, of if it is even solid. He eventually draws his attention from the strange object and turns his focus back to his return journey and the swirling siblings and their sovereign star.

Mordock does not go very far inward before he realizes that his mantle has been changed by the influence of the newcomer. He is now becoming convinced that his path will now take him farther out from his sister on this circuit than he has been traveling since the beginning, and will eventually collide with the sibling closest to the third largest object that formed from the original cloud of dust.

Mordock is greatly encouraged, because the collision, if done right, will make him glow again like he did in the past and the possibility is there that he might gather enough from the collision to even start eternally glowing like his big sister Sol.

He waits anxiously as his speed continues to increase, ever faster, as he is pulled by his mantle steadily towards his goal and possible salvation from his eternal plight.