The Election Festival of Or

Overview

The Election Festival of Or is the City of Or’s grand civic celebration—a chaotic, exuberant tradition in which five representatives are chosen to serve on the Council of Or. Held irregularly between governing cycles, the festival blends democratic ritual with public theatre, philosophical satire, and citywide revelry.

Though the official festival lasts five days, most Orfolk recognise the far longer and wildly unregulated Pre-Pre Festival, a lead-up period of informal campaigning, community scheming, and festive chaos.

Cultural Significance

The people of Or do not revere politics—they play with it, test it, and most of all, participate in it. The Election Festival is built not only to select leaders, but to forge a bond between citizens and candidates through trial, embarrassment, and spectacle. The more a candidate is seen failing honestly, laughing publicly, and enduring absurdity, the more they are trusted to lead.

Participation, laughter, and visibility matter more than ideology. Even those with no intention to vote will often attend every debate, every trial, and every tavern performance—because to ignore the festival is to miss the spirit of the city itself.

Structure of the Festival

Pre-Pre Festival

A chaotic prelude that begins unofficially, weeks (sometimes months) in advance. Posters go up, taverns adopt “candidate specials,” and street performances blur into campaign speeches. No rules govern this phase.

The Five Official Days

Day One – The Flame of Intent
Candidates declare their goals through speeches, songs, and symbolic acts. Publics receive coloured sashes to express early leanings.

Day Two – The Ring of Questions
Citizens ask anything, anywhere. From formal panels to drunken tavern circles, answers are expected on the spot.

Day Three – The Parade of Promises
Satirical floats, symbolic costumes, and public mockery flood the streets. Candidates march among exaggerated parodies of themselves.

Day Four – The Vote of Echoes
Votes are cast through traditional ballots, enchanted flasks, and resonance stones. All results are harmonised by the Archive of Whispers, a humming vault of civic magic.

Day Five – The Reckoning Feast
The five new councillors are announced. Celebrations erupt across every district. The defeated are cheered, wept for, or dunked in celebratory broth depending on public mood.

Notable Trials

While not required by law, trials are an essential part of the Election Festival’s culture. They serve to humanise candidates, entertain the city, and symbolise the absurd weight of leadership.

Comedic Trials

Ale Recognition – Blindly identify local brews.
Drunken Debate – Argue civic policy while increasingly drunk.
Flatstone Naming – Name as many Flatstone family members as possible.
The Heated Stone – Grab a hot forge stone. Last to act is eliminated.
Fish Trial – Consume a live, flopping fish under supervision. No magic.

Serious Trials

Climb of Flatstone Mountain – Ascend and return within one night-cycle.
Riddle Gauntlet – Solve riddles from sages, jesters, and gnome tricksters.
Run of the Angry Citizens – Withstand staged heckling by trained actors simulating Or’s most infuriating constituents.

Some wildcard rounds feature unique trials—often absurd, often alchemical in origin.

Law & Order During the Festival

The festival suspends much of Or’s usual legal rigidity. Policing is reduced, and many city guards join in the celebrations. The principle is simple:

Chaos is allowed. Cruelty is not.

Minor crimes and civil scuffles are often overlooked.
Non-violent offenders may be pardoned outright.
Street justice becomes performative, humorous, and occasionally soggy.
A rotating crew of Festival Arbiters ensures safety without suppressing revelry.

This approach, while alarming to visitors, has never once resulted in catastrophe—a point of pride among Orfolk.

Rules for Candidates

There is no limit to the number of candidates. The festival’s trials and culture naturally eliminate those unworthy, unprepared, or unhinged—though occasionally, a few of those still make it through.

Council Candidacy Regulations of the City of Or (Festival Provisions)

In accordance with the Civic Representation Edict (as amended), the following criteria and obligations apply to all individuals seeking candidacy for Council appointment during the authorised Election Festival period:

Residency & Civic Investment
All candidates must demonstrate continuous and verifiable residency within the City of Or and its lawful districts for a period deemed sufficient by the Council Registrar’s Office. Candidates must further provide proof of active civic contribution, to be reviewed and certified by the Electoral Clerk.
Suspension of Conflicting Operations During Festival Period
Upon official candidacy registration, individuals must cease all income-generating operations, business directorships, guildmasterships, or analogous leadership activities. Temporary delegation is permitted; active control is not.
Mandatory Resignation from External Authority Upon Election
Any candidate appointed to Council office is required to formally and irrevocably relinquish all extrinsic titles, holdings, or commanding roles within entities deemed incompatible with the impartial execution of civic duty. Declarations of divestment must be lodged within one cycle of appointment confirmation.
Endorsement Limitation Clause
Candidates may not claim, advertise, or otherwise benefit from more than seven (7) formal endorsements, to be registered with the Office of Public Declarations. An endorsement is considered formal once offered by an eligible citizen, guild, order, or collective, and submitted in writing with appropriate seals or symbols of intent.
Anti-Corruption Safeguards and Enforced Penalties
Any candidate found to engage in bribery, magical manipulation (including charm, compulsion, foresight distortion, or resonance tampering), or acts of coercion—directly or through agents—shall be disqualified immediately and referred for civic sanction under the Ethical Violations Charter. Punishments may include public resonance censure, stripping of assets, memory annulment procedures, or symbolic public dunking, at the discretion of the Arbiter of Civic Fairness.

All candidates are advised to maintain compliance throughout the Pre-Pre Festival period, the Election Festival proper, and the Council’s transitional term.

Legacy & Expression

Throughout the festival, Orfolk express their views through:

Satirical street plays
Themed food and drink specials
Parody songs and drunken chants
The ceremonial roasting of effigies and past promises

Tallis Thorne once described the festival as “a duet between mockery and hope.” Others simply call it “Or being Or.”

Popular sayings include:

“You’re drunk enough to run for Council.”
“If you survived the Angry Citizens, you can survive anything.”
“That promise smells like Flatstone soup—simmered too long and full of bones.”

Notorious Incidents in Election Festival History

The Turnip Incident

Drip, the chaotic hobgoblin brewer behind The Cauldron Lottery, accidentally created a potion that caused a council hopeful to sweat turnip juice and collapse mid-debate. The nearest available replacement was an actual turnip, placed on the podium for comedic effect.

The crowd voted for the vegetable.
Tallis Thorne declared it a civic miracle.
Debating the Turnip is now a wildcard tradition.

A wooden bust of the turnip—Tharnibus—sits proudly at Drip’s stall.

The Fourfold Tie

A tie between four unlikely candidates forced the Council to temporarily expand. The resulting term was shockingly effective. The winners:

Jolek Lokar – clumsy but adored guard.
Arr Ermcrimson – already drunk when the festival began.
Ilek ir’Wynarn – formerly pardoned Flatstone loyalist.
Sendar Elorfindar – wizard with a talent for crowd-pleasing illusions.

The Livestock Blackout

Three candidates passed out mid-debate on animal tariffs. One woke up crowned. No one knows how.

The Halfling Who Didn’t Run

Mistaken for another nominee, a halfling was elected, sent a letter, and never showed up. He now lives peacefully in the hills, and has politely asked that no one ever explain it to him.

The Flatstone Forgiveness

Adventurers caught trespassing during the festival began chanting “Long Live Karath Flatstone!” Background checks were delayed, public sentiment was high, and they were released with:

A formal pardon
A signed cask of Flatstone Reserve Ale
And mild applause

Cultural Legacy

The Election Festival is not just about governance—it’s a mirror, a melody, and a mischief. It allows the people of Or to challenge power, celebrate absurdity, and select leaders through empathy, not perfection.

At the heart of it all is a city that believes:

That laughter can be serious.
That leaders should flail before they lead.
And that sometimes, the best way to test a councillor…
…is to see how they debate a turnip.

And no matter who wins—the city still dances.