Toldrun's Carnival (tohl-druhnz car-nih-vahl)

This two-day festival takes place in the middle of Fomar Dar, the second month of autumn, honoring the deity Toldrun. This holiday is only celebrated within the Toldrun See and is often mocked or ridiculed by the exiled dwarves in neighboring nations. It is much like any carnival or festival one might expect to see in a big city, but things are slightly twisted and backward here. The carnival games award no prizes to the winners, but if you lose you must pay the few copper or silver pieces the game costs. Instead of making everything inviting and having people want to go, the leadership of the city compels attendance from all civilians, with a hefty fine for disobeying. There is still the usual ritual and religious aspect surrounding the patron deity, but because it occurs in the See it is even more fervent and sermon-like than any other holiday dedicated to a deity.
The holiday was put in place shortly after the Toldrunites took control of Gel Eamoni and established their new theocratic autocracy. They believed - or at least, they wanted the people to believe - that Toldrun was almost as important as The Four and that he deserved his own separate festival. Expats or disillusioned citizens of the See have described the whole festival as 'mandatory happiness' and 'forced celebration' compared to the reverence and genuine jubilation of other places. It also contributes to a sense of Stockholm syndrome for the citizens, who feel like this is an actual holiday and enjoyment, even though the whole thing is set up to punish them for not being good enough or not having fun in the system provided. But none of this is surprising considering what is known of Toldrun and his followers high up in the theocracy.