Fortia's Republic Founding Myth

The region of Fortia was under the rule of the last Corrupt Rex (King), Fortius Aurelius Seneca. He recently had sent his heirs to their death in pointless schemes/ battles against other noble families and slave revolts. The Realm was near collapse. The Founder was a slave to the Rex but was born from a noble lineage. Following an inciting incident, the Founder had the opportunity to be alone with the Rex and hand-to-hand combat ensued. At some point, the Rex, lifted upside-down the Founder, putting them in a very dangerous and under imminent defeat, the founder reached out and grabbed the genitals of the Rex and squeezed hard. This bold action led to a total reversal and the Rex crumbled on the floor, defeated. The Founder dethroned the Rex and proclaimed the end of the Kingdom and the start of the Republic.

Deeply rooted in the historical event of the end of the Kingdom and the start of the Republic. But the who and exact details of what happened are unprovable.

The myth is known by all, and also the different versions.

What noble lineage is the Founder?

What did the Founder do as a slave?

Is the Founder a Lion or a Bear?

Is the Founder male or female?

Was the inciting incident the cause of the combat or the justification for bringing the Founder to attack? (aggression on the women as a defence, while a planned assault on the male)

Lots of variation in the setting of the myth. (Usually in the private room of the Rex, sometimes in the Throne room)

Was the combat started nude or how the clothes were lost

Were the genitals only squeezed or more? (woman myths often have them ripped out, or crush the testicles, making the Rex a eunuch)

What happened to the Rex after? (Died in the combat, executed afterward, kept as a slave)

Was the Founder themself the First Consul? (If Lion yes, if Bear no, they left it to be decided among the people, since they themself are a murderer.

The myth is central to the identity of the Fortia Republican Empire. For the Grandi Feline, in particular the Leonii Family, it is their defining reason to rule. It shows their fearlessness, ingenuity and commitment to the cause. And since the first Consuls were both Grandi, one of them Leonii, it fits history. For the Ursine, in particular the Arctos Family, they challenge that they were the real progenitor of the Republic, but sacrificing their right to rule by conquest, for the morality of the Republic, letting the people decide. This myth is at the basis for the glory of hand-to-hand combat as art. It is present in every festival and it would be hard to find a single citizen who hasn't fought in one. And since the gender of the Founder is ambiguous, it is also the basis for the equality of gender in the Republic.

Statues of the genital grab moment is a recurring motif in statues and mosaics throughout the Republic, adapting the Founder character depending on who commissioned the work.