Thousands of years ago, Martians lived a semi peaceful existence
thriving on the rich fertile lands, building great cities along the vast
canals which were the lifeblood of the planet and were quite possibly
their greatest achievement. From these cities great riches were earned,
traded and secured and the Martian culture grew and spread.
With
any growing civilisation, technology developed and better means of
transportation, architecture, art and science were developed. A
fortunate discovery of a particular gemstone by a leading Martian
scientist enabled the Martians to develop flight and a golden age was
born. Utilising the properties of these gems the Martians built flying
vessels which propelled them into the skies. From these skyships they
journeyed far and wide into hitherto unexplored regions of the red
planet.
The vast mountain ranges, previously inaccessible and
unoccupied, began to attract explorers and who eventually created homes
and communities in the lofty peaks. Martian culture began to split and
fragment between the traditionalists who believed in the riches of the
soil and trade to sustain their lives and the forward thinking 'Sky'
Martians who believed in the properties of the gems to be a gift of the
neglected Martian gods. Taking to the sky was the only way forward. Even
though their culture split, there was no real enmity between the two,
they still traded and dealt with each other amicably. This was until the
storms came.
Mars has always had severe dust storms; sometimes
lasting for days on end and covering the entire planet but the Martians
dealt with them without any major hardships and they were part of life
on Mars. This was until the biggest storms the planet had ever seen.
They slowly built up over the years to an alarming frequency until the
entire planet was one massive storm without end. It lasted from for well
over a century. Because of the continual bombardment, hardy crops
failed and the Martians themselves had to go into hiding, many of them
dying even as they sheltered in the caves of the mountains. Entire
cities and clans were lost along with technologies, knowledge and
priceless art works. The Martian way of life had changed forever.
By
the time the storms abated the Martian population was seriously
depleted and an effort was made by the 'City' Martians to try to gain
what was lost. The problems arose from the fact that famine had struck
even before the storms receded. Trade between Sky and City Martians had
always been on good terms but now the City Martians were stockpiling
what little was left or that they could grow from the ravaged land.
Tensions started to fray as the Sky Martians weren't able to get what
they needed to survive and so hostilities arose. Raids on the remaining
cities became more and more frequent, first without bloodshed but soon
the killing began and eventually war erupted across the planet.
The
Sky Martians developed into a warrior culture, honing their combat
skills and ways of war. They would sweep from the skies; usually out of
the sun; in fast skiffs and steal whatever they could carry away to
their clans back in the mountains, usually leaving before their
frightened victims had time to react. The City Martians were quite slow
to react due to their nature and lack of a need to fight for supplies
but their retributions could be terrible. Any City Martian who was found
to be sympathetic to the Sky Martians was immediately put to death
along with their entire family. Whole outlying villages and it's
population were burned if any suspicion of harbouring food was found
out. Inevitably, the Sky Martians exacted similar retributions, swooping
down and destroying the slow moving canal caravans, even if there was
no food to be had and leaving no survivors. Their tactics evolved and
soon whole clans would join forces and attack the cites, forming massive
fleets of attack skiffs.
Then an unprecedented event occurred: a
new race appeared on the surface of Mars. Humans had crossed the aether
and landed on the red planet. At first the City Martians were cautious
but eventually saw the opportunities for trade, advancement, military
aid, food and advanced weapons technology.
The Sky Martians remained aggressive and did not seek to make amends with their cousins or the new invader...
Welcome to the Red Planet
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