The Sanguine Sands of Spanish Mars

Villa Real, The Spanish Empire on Mars

Villa Real is the home of the Spanish presence on Mars which though modest has been very effective. A trading legation had been founded in 1880 in the city of Valx far from competing British and Belgium colonial interests yet near potentially exploitable Martian resources. To the south are the Electris Highlands rich in liftwood, and High Martians, while to the farther west sources of Bhutan Spice and rock oil. The Spanish diplomatic and trade delegation was carrying out the wishes of King Alfonso XII who wished use Martian resources to revive the ailing Spanish economy. Alfonso had a reputation as a benevolent ruler and used Mars to help distract his people from their recent internal conflicts.

Spanish engineers helped revive the city’s flagging shipyards and soon factories and trading posts developed leading to an economic boom in Valx. European adventurers aided armed parties harvesting liftwood in the High Martian dominated highlands and slowly the Spanish presence grew, as did the jealousy of Prince Halbaat of Valx.  

When Alfonso XII died on November 25th 1885 Prince Halbaat attempted to subsequently purge the Spanish from his city but the plot was betrayed by his own ambitious son Halbranx who led his own coup. Civil unrest broke out as the differing factions warred within the city till the Spanish intervened, stormed the palace, killed Halbaat and put his son Halbranx on the throne. The city is now officially annexed by the Kingdom of Spain and renamed Villa Real to celebrate the birth of King Alfonso XIII in May 1886. Prince Halbranx still sits on the throne as a loyal vassal of Spain but apart from his ceremonial duties he has little real power.

The general citizens of Villa Real are still hostile to their new alien masters but the presence of Spanish military force keeps the city calm. General Manuel Macías y Casado, the recently appointed Spanish governor, He wishes to make Villa Real a profitable colony for Spain so it will not be a burden on the Spanish people. He is keen to boost trade and use the revenue from that to improve the city to placate the local Martians.  In 1888 the gifted engineer, inventor and explorer Julio Cervera Baviera arrived at Villa Real and carried on the repair and improvement of the city. He began the installation of a telephone exchange, extended the telegraph system to the outer settlements and started a thorough survey of the surrounding area. He shares the General's desire to make villa Real and wealthy and well run city that Spain can be proud of.

Considerable resources have been invested in the shipyards of Villa Real which is now a good Martian standard but is not capable of producing steam powered and steel hulled human vessels. The Spanish were unwilling to invest enough resources to be able to do so and the cost would simply be too prohibitive. Instead they have built their own variants of well tested Martian screw galley designs and armed them with European weaponry. Under the rule of Princess Halbaat the sky fleet had been grossly underfunded and barely operational. Under Spanish rule it was rebuilt with Earthmen officers and engineers crewing the ships alongside Martian deck and crank hands. Pay was improved and morale with it; the navy is seen as a lot more reliable than the Army and is rewarded as such.

Torre de Vigilancia

This 509 foot tower stands at the heart of Villa Real and is the tallest building in the city. It is 40 floors high and gives excellent views of the surrounding area; from the top you can see well over thirty miles in each direction. Unsurprisingly it is the main observation point for the Spanish who have installed large telescopes, a telephone system that reports to a map room on lower levels and heliographs for communicating with sky ships. There are also telegraph lines that connect the city with border forts along each of the five canals that report back to the tower. Each of the border forts also has a large smoke pyre to light if the telegraph lines are cut. The whole system was designed and installed by Julio Cervera Baviera who has extensively mapped the local area and set up the telephone and telegraph systems as part of his upgrading of the colony.  Though expensive it has drastically reduced piracy and hostile activity within the surrounding area.

Fuerte Valentía

The Gandahaar Canal is the most dangerous route out of Villa real. It is closest to the Eastern Electris Mountains and is subject to raids from both High Martians and hostile Steppe Martians. Canal traffic often travels together to deter the smaller raider gangs and to pool resources against the larger ones. There is an ancient Martian fortress villa south of the canal and south east of Villa Real called Fuerte Valentía by the Spanish. It is garrisoned to block raiders reaching the canal but it itself a target for the enemies of the City. Fuerte Valentía is not a popular place to be posted as not only is it in a sweltering harsh environment it also has a limited water supply making rationing a necessity. It is surrounded by hostile Steppe Martians and often raided by High Martians that infest the mountains to the south.  

The Fort was abandoned by the previous Spanish commanders as untenable but when General Casado arrived last year he reversed that decision. It caused uproar with the agitadores of the Canal Martian solders who threatened mutiny rather than serve at the fort. In the end a deal was agreed, through gritted Spanish teeth, that for every Canal Martian stationed at the fort, a human would also be stationed.  A  pelotón, platoon, of the Tercio de Extranjeros is stationed at the fort, receiving double pay for their month’s service, while an equal number of Canal Martians serve with them. Still desertion is not rare and even suicides are not unheard of.  

Memnite is the language used in the city. It is part of the Bootnai family of Canal Martian languages and is heavily inflected, tonal and subtle in its shades of meaning. It is sadly notoriously difficult to learn for humans.