Congress of Democracy/Foundation Myth
The Foundation of Democracy Myth
In ancient days, before Democracy, Fontan was ruled by Magnates. The system was devised so each year a new Magnate would take over and power would be shared by all the wealthy Houses. The leading members of each House were known as Mayors of the House and the Magnate was the highest Mayor. At the time, it was customary for the resigning Magnate to choose their successor from one of the Mayors of the Mayoral Council. Due to corruption and political alliances, the Magnates would often choose a Mayor who would benefit them, either someone who would pay them a great deal of gold for the appointment, or, return them to the seat on their resignation day. Because of this favour, it eventually came to be that the same three Magnates would always be ruling the land, each taking a turn year after year. The Triumvirate Magnates were consecutively Mayor Sitch Landalo, Mayor Emira Monash, and Mayor Carburn Kossim.
Mayor Emira was the most devious of all, and she plotted to slowly eliminate the other two and announce herself as Queen. She successfully had Mayor Sitch assassinated at the hands of the infamous infiltrator Notoriun. Notoriun made the assassination seem to be from one of the outside Mayors trying to enter into the triumvirate. Magnate Carburn was alarmed by the assassination and declared Marshal Law. He rashly attacked the wealthy Houses, accusing them of rebellion. Mayor Emira began a propaganda campaign to make the Council believe that Magnate Carburn was staging a power grab by weakening the Houses and declaring himself King. The Mayors were furious over this news and an open rebellion actually broke out. Mayor Emira led her army along with the rest of the Council to eject Magnate Carburn from power. Carburn led the Magnate army in defense but was defeated. Carburn was captured and burned on a stake raised high above the Magnanimous Mansion, the house of government for the Council and the residence of the residing Magnate.
Next, Mayor Emira took the opportunity to gain the praise of the Houses and they made her Magnate. Her move then was to have each Mayor prove their loyalty to the government by making their Generals swear allegiance to her personally. Once this was done, she declared that the Houses were still in rebellion and turned the armies against the Council to wage a brutal aristocide. For several months the House War raged. Magnate Emira was unable to take the advantage. Slowly, each of the Generals under her command defected back to their Houses. As more soldiers abandoned her and gave their support to the Houses, the Magnates army grew weaker, and the Houses grew stronger.
Near the end, one of the victorious Houses took command as their Mayor Itor declared the Magnate disbanded. Emira was formally stripped of all her power. The Magnates army halted its attack and a cease fire was arranged. Mayor Itor delivered a stirring speech to the Mayoral Council calling for Emira to be declared a Tyrant and that they admit the Magnate system had irresolvable flaws. He insisted that a new system should be built, one that allowed all Nobles the opportunity to reign, and one in which guaranteed that the best Noble, not the most influential Councilor or the most wealthy Mayor, would be given power. Having the individual Noble voted in removed the influence of the familial Houses in the ruling seat. A selected Noble would act for the benefit of every noble not for the benefit of their House. In order for a Noble to take power, he explained, they would have to be voted in by a majority of all nobles. He reduced the term of rule to one month so more could share power and reduce the idea of permanent rule. He renamed the highest position Chancellor, and effectively founded the first Democracy.
Itor became the first Chancellor, was awarded a new name, Amademos, and has been recognized as the Founder of Democracy for his incredible contribution to the world.
Tyrant Emira was captured and permanently sealed into a tower. A Victory Parade was thrown the day the entrance to the tower was bricked up (on our calendar, August 1st), and all the marching nobles saw Tyrant Emira wailing for her fate from the window high up. This day has been recognized as the founding of the first Democracy in all history, and is celebrated by Democrats the world over. Generations since this day have paraded in victory over the tyranny of Emira and it is a constant reminder of the terrible injustices that power can wield if not checked by Democracy.
