Mars

The fourth planet in the Sol System, Mars is a center of industry and trade. Terraformed over 200 years with the Dawnstar project, Mars was the shining example of how colonization of the system was supposed to promote economic and cultural growth. As the first completed planet, Mars was originally developed by the primary powers of Earth, the United Nations and the Asian Confederation. After a series of revolutions, the Confederacy remained the sole Earth power with holdings on the planet, with all lands previously governed by the UN now independent.

The three sovereign nations on the planet, Ares, Central Mars, and New Athens, have risen to be worthy adversaries to Earth's dominance. With the Confederacy's weakening hold on the St. Han colony, Mars may soon see itself as a completely independent planet from the control of Earth.

Ancient Times
Mars was once a small outpost for Lanien scientists studying a peculiar artifact that had landed on the planet millenia before. When the artifact turned out to be a beacon for forces of the Verans, Laniens on Mars began an evacuation, though the Verans's fleet came to Mars and destroyed many of them. A single ship escaped to Earth. For the next few billion years, Mars would remain uninhabited and inhospitable.

Transformation
After many years of research on Earth, the Dawnstar project was finally launched in 2253. The first of its kind, the project aimed to make Mars habitable within the next few centuries. In the onset of the project, algae was seeded into the atmosphere to begin the process of making the air breathable. After 30 years, in 2283, a group of 3000 scientists, laborworkers, and their families landed on the planet and built the first settlement, a city called Olympus.

By 2310, Olympus had grown to be a massive metropolis, unique in that it was a heavily compartmentalized domed region. Upon completion of the Angae Farmyard, Olympus had become the first self-sufficient colony in the system. When the atmosphere finally showed signs of stabilizing in 2447, travel outside of Olympus became possible with a filtration mask, as toxic elements still existed in the air.

Colonial Era
Upon project completion in 2488, the UN and Confederacy raced to claim as much land as possible. This led to the founding of four colonies. The Confederacy founded St. Han, while the UN founded Ares, Central Mars, and New Athens. Olympus, the capital of Central Mars, became the center of UN dominance over its colonies, while New Beijing, the capital of St. Han, stood as the same for the Confederates.

Since Mars was rich in easily accessible natural resources, the UN seeked to exploit these in a cost effect way that would bring them significant return for their investment. As such, the colonial governors developed UN-owned mining corporations that paid far under Earth's minimum wage. Due to import taxes imposed on incoming goods from Earth, and colonial trade taxes for goods crossing borders, prices for food and clothing rose. Without an established industry for either, living conditions dropped as the poorly paid workers could not afford enough of what they needed.

The UN establish several military academies on Mars as well. To fill those academies, they began a conscription process that drafted men between the ages of 18 and 40. When a war began between the UN and Confederacy, fighting broke out in Central Mars and St. Han as various invasions were carried out. By 2521, the war ended in stalemate, further lowering public support of the UN.

Martian Revolution
2522 started with a major drought that caused a loss of 80% of crops in Ares. The industry created to lower the cost of food now gone, Ares now relied even more on support from other colonies and off-world. Since high taxes were still being imposed, it became harder and harder to afford food. Angry with their treatment, existing rebel factions revolted against UN troops on the planet, and on August 15th, 2522, the Martian Revolution began.

Central Mars and New Athens joined the revolt together on September 29th, now known as Coordinated Day. For another three years, the fighting would go on until a Martian squad captured a UN nuclear depot, threatening to launch the nukes at Earth. Not wanting to risk the chance of a nuclear strike, the UN cedes the colonies, granting them their independence.

Rise of Mars
With its newfound independence, Central Mars wanted to make itself strong enough to equal Earth powers in strength. Over time, the nation not only built a resilient military, but also began to dominate the raw ore market, exporting massive quantities of silicone, iron, and pyroxenes. This near monopoly brought wealth into Central Mars, something that nearby Ares, an agricultural state nearing the brink of collapse, did not enjoy. With Central's wealth came large importation of Earth foods, downplaying the market on food from Ares, cutting off one of their major profit centers. Declining conditions on Ares eventually led to the Central-Ares War that waged for about a decade.

At the end of the war, much of Central's wealth had been exhausted on their military, balancing out with Ares, which had discovered a large deposit of coal (a major component in developing the diamond parts of spacecraft). Both nations built themselves up and became two of the most aligned partners in the system. From war, a national friendship was born.

During this time, New Athens cornered the aquatic industry, one outlawed on Earth due to concerns of aquatic life extinction. A large number of entertainment corporations began here as well, turning several cities in what became known as "Space Hollywoods". The eponymous capital grew to be four times the size of New York City, which made it break the record of largest existing city in the system.

St. Han found itself a center of the Confederate scientific community. Academies of all schools opened up all around the colony, promoting knowledge and learning for all citizens. Among technologies developed in St. Han was the Huang Drive, a fusion powered engine used on the Columbus Project.

Geology
Similar to Earth, Mars's surface contains several continents and oceans. It lacks an abundance of forestland, primarily being covered in plains, mountains, and deserts. The Ferric Desert, called such because of its iron oxide ground, is the largest desert on the planet, accounting for over 20% of the Noachis Terra continent. Olympus Mons, the mountain that the Central Mars capital Olympus is built near, it the tallest mountain on the planet.

Culture
Known for being a world of harsh history, Mars always has been seen as a planet of workers. Clothing fashions follow utilitarian styles as opposed to Earth's lavish and colorful dress styles. Influences from northern Africa and the Middle East are prevalent in Ares especially, with ancient Tuareg fashions being popular amongst desert miners. Central Mars incorporates fashions reminiscient of 19th Century America, especially those from the western regions. Music on Mars is characterized by analog instruments, primarily the acoustic guitar and drums. Their grounded sound is sharply contrasted to Earth's obsession with electronic music.

The people of Mars developed their language as a mixture of various tongues that eliminated excess, bring language to its simple roots. Central's dialect is more akin to English, with several influences of Spanish and German. The Aresian language is similar to Arabic, though it incorporates elements of the Slavic languages. New Athens follows a Greek style with Swedish and Norwegian fused together. Most Martian peoples know the Earthen language as a first or second language.

Religion on Mars has not changed much from Earth. Several ideologies, particularly the Greek pantheon, have seen resurgence, while some newer Earth religions (such as Neo-Christianity) have not seen favor. The four most popular religions are Unitarian Universalism, the Classic Greek pantheon, Baha'i', and Zoroastrianism, respectively.