So, Durghan did his best to give me a detailed explanation about mating season. The summary is something like this:

Hunting is really bountiful during the fall. Many animals are preparing to hibernate, so they become fat and slow. If this weren't an Orc village, the extra food would be saved for winter. But, of course, Orcs can't leave good food uneaten.

In order to put all that extra food to some kind of use, the women time it so their children are born during the fall. Since Orc babies take about one hundred twenty days to be born, that means mating season starts in the summer.

By the way, this needs to be said. There isn't any spring on this planet. The reason is this huge moon in the sky. Well, I thought it was a huge moon until Durghan told me otherwise.

That thing is a huge asteroid that was going to obliterate the planet. According to legend, an ancient dragon god used space-time magic to freeze it in place. Because of that, all dragons are supposedly blessed by the spirits as thanks.

Anyway, that huge moon doesn't orbit around the planet, because its position relative to it has been completely sealed. Well, during the time that would be early winter through late spring time, that moon is positioned directly between this planet and the sun. It blocks the sun’s rays and perpetuates winter. When it finally moves away, the planet is already close to the sun and summer rushes in.

Well, the bit about the position of the planet in orbit is my own understanding. This world’s astronomy isn't quite there yet.

But, surprisingly, winter isn't much longer than summer and fall. I suspect that without the huge moon, winter would be extremely mild and quick, changing to spring almost immediately after fall.

Anyway, there’s three seasons. Orcs choose mates in the summer and give birth in the fall.

But, I was born in the summer. Early summer, apparently, since mating season is just about to start. Fiara was born a month ahead of me, so was it still winter? It seems not all conceptions happen during summer, but most of them do.

It also seems like most Orcs remain as children through the winter to save a little on food. Then in the "spring", they all rush out to complete the hunting ceremony. It’s actually a well-organized system. I want to compliment whoever thought of it, but it was probably just born out of necessity. I certainly wouldn't make any changes.

Moving on, Durghan explained about the village meets.

As expected, inbreeding would be a problem if everybody married people from the same village. I still don't know about the Expansion or Demon Worshiper tribes, but the Neutral tribes have a certain tradition around this time.

Early summer passes, and the Orcs become separated between those that found mates within their village and those that didn't. For the sake of those that didn't, the various Neutral tribes host a series of meetings. There are two purposes. First is to allow the untaken females to browse the men of other tribes. The second is… to adjust, if necessary, the political power of each village.

The Neutral tribes all get along, more or less, but they're all independent. Every village wants to secure its own food and water sources, among other things. During the tribe meets, the various chiefs check up on each other. Has anyone decreased in power? Did any tribe lose their chief? Does any chief have policies that are trouble for the other villages?

In my case, I'm going to have to introduce myself to the other chief's. I'll most likely have to prove myself as well.

This is real politics, isn't it? I'm worried whether or not I'll be any good at it. I have to do it, though, since I like being the one to make decisions around here.

“So, where do these tribe meets take place?”

“Well, the meets are held in the village with the strongest chief. The second month of summer starts in ten days. That’s when the fight will take place. It's a battle royale held in the previous host village, which is about a day’s walk from here.”

Ah, jeez. It feels rushed when I only find out a week in advance.

“Have you fought the other chiefs before? How strong are they?”

“A few were stronger than me, Chief Vyra, but I'm confident you can best them all.”

“In that case, I should use these nine days to make sure this village can accommodate everyone. How many Orcs should I expect?”

There’s about a hundred Orcs in this village. Depending on how many other villages there are and how many mating candidates they have…

“Something like a thousand, probably.”

… There’s no fucking way.

“How do the other villages house so many people?!”

“Last year, we camped in the forest. They cut down a bunch of trees to make room.”

Then, the women, in their drive to mate, likely went at it out in the open…?! That will not be happening here! I could lose the fight on purpose, but… sorry, that isn't my style.

Let’s see… with earth magic, I can put those there… Ah! That would work! But what will we do about food? If they all hunt for themselves in this area, all the prey will be over-hunted. It will cause problems for this village for the next several weeks.

“... What about food? I don't want them overhunting this area of the forest.”

“It only lasts one night. Just don't feed them.”

Eh? One night?

“Isn't that a little too short? They're supposed to be finding mates, right?”

“Ah… the women at that time are… They manage somehow.”

Is it scary? Securing a mate in a single day and… mating with them… Orc women are kind of terrifying. I am one, though. They only get serious about one thing, but they get really serious about it.

Ahh… Is this really going to be okay?