The Sanguine Sands of Spanish Mars

Martian Religions

The region of Memnonia, of which Villa Real is part, worships its own pantheon of gods that is believed to have developed from a previous planetary wide religion. Tu’athlan is the male Sun god, Thivi the female goddess of water, Tu’dhit the swift moon god of poetry, Tu’dhee the low moon goddess of love, Va’ata the female dream weaver and K’aabh genderless god of death. Feasts are held and sacrifices are made to honour the gods. These sacrifices can take the shape of a handcrafted item or a hunting kill for example. The sacrifice of living people has fallen out of fashion, “people” here meaning Canal and Hill Martians as well as humans, not necessarily High Martians. The dances at the feasts are complex rituals—beautiful to behold but difficult to perform. A particularly treasured gift is friendship, meaning a person in whose presence one can feel safe from betrayal and deception

The Order of the Canal Keepers

The ancient faith of the Canal Keepers existed before even the time of the Great Seldon. Over time they slowly morphed into their modern incarnation. Their primary task was, and still is, to ensure the continued function of the canals; as per their name. The Canal Keepers are descended from the scientists and engineers of Ancient Mars. Hidden behind their many supposedly esoteric articles of faith stands hard, factual science. Many of their texts, which are collected in the holy book called Ylmiil, are in fact dissertations on mathematics, architecture, astronomy, and mechanical engineering.

The Canal Watch - The Great Task

The canals of Mars not only carry water, according to the beliefs of many Canal Keepers, but also “life energy”. The maintenance of the canals is thus not merely an economical or ecological task, but also a spiritual one. The massive task of maintaining the canals spiritually and technologically has spread the Canal Keepers all across Mars: they can be found in most cities, though they usually only form small communities. They are in fact the most widespread religion on Mars, possibly even the one with the most followers.

Outside of Gaaryan, they do not form the majority faith in any city, however, and are frequently dismissed as a minor, dubious cult. Originally, the Canal Keepers were administered directly by a high priest in Gaaryan, or rather in the central temple but in recent centuries, a kind of “cell structure” has developed instead. Every residence is self-administered and only sends reports to Gaaryan every two years. When local problems are reported, a legate is sent from Gaaryan to solve them.

Every ten Martian years, a special ritual takes place in an otherwise empty temple complex on the “empty” canal intersection south of Gaaryan, to commemorate those who died during the building of the canals. (Much to the chagrin of all would-be plunderers, this temple doesn’t even contain any treasures.) This is the most revered celebration of the Canal Keepers and representatives from all “cells” of the planet are encouraged to participate. Evil tongues will insist that the Canal Keepers conduct extensive orgies in secret at these festivals. In fact, the ceremony is rather tame as befits the strict demeanour of the Canal Keepers, who deny themselves immoral behaviour, drug consumption, or laziness.

The Book Ylmiil

The Ylmiil is the bible of the Canal Keepers and is about four times longer than the most important book of Christianity. The first half contains the stories of Seldon and other beings, as well as the history of the Order of the Canal Keepers before the founding of Seldon’s world empire all the way to its end. It also includes various philosophical riddles and thought exercises intended to sharpen the mind of the reader. The second half consists of texts on the scientific foundations of astronomy, engineering, mathematics, and architecture. These are detailed enough that the book could be used as a text book at any of Earth’s universities. On top of that, it includes a detailed description of the Smuur-Maku, which appears to include parts of modern ether physics. It is this part in particular that has caused a stir on Earth. Is it possible that the soul is a part of the ether? Could ancient Martian wisdom finally reconcile religion and science? For now, the Ylmiil is only available in secure libraries on Mars.

What the Ylmiil does not contain are instructions for religious rites. These are only preserved as apocrypha. Furthermore, rumors persist of a missing part of the Ylmiil that covers the topics of ecology, physical immortality, or even sorcery. Such texts surface again and again in occult collections, but so far have always proven to be forgeries.

Source: Space 1889 Mars Sourcebook

The Cult of the Worm

Mars is simply doomed and any vain attempt to stop the inevitable decline of the Martian races is viewed as both pointless and against the teaching of the Cult.

The Ground Cleansers

Also known as the Society of the Purifiers of the Soil, the Ground Cleansers are an anti-human movement popular with Canal Martians. Its most extreme elements are bent on removing the red devils from Mars, by any means necessary. It is rumored that some of the more radical members of the Oenotrian royal family are aligned with the Ground Cleansers’ movement. Certainly, the organization boasts numerous power centers among the Oenotrian Empire’s city-states. Agents of the movement do their best to interfere with diplomatic initiatives whenever they are able.