Disclaimer from Marvealle (author):

As is proper, here is a disclaimer before the story starts.

I do not own anything related to Anne McCaffrey's DragonRiders of Pern series. The world, dragons and general setting of this story is copyrighted to Anne McCaffrey.

Author Note:

All right now, before we get things started I would like to state a few things so we can all be on the same page here.

First off, these first few chapters have been rewritten because the original versions weren't that good and really needed improvement. Also because I had dropped this fanfiction attempt for over a year and I thought the best way to get back into it was to start it over. This is mainly for people who read this previously.

Now, onto some more important parts.

I have not exactly decided when this takes place. Perhaps somewhere in an alternate 10th Pass of Pern, since I think that's when female greenriders were coming about again on Pern. Also, before continuing, I prefer the dragons in the feet system, and in this story that is how they will be written. While I do have some things I like about the meter system, the feet system is my personal favorite.

For those who love canon and dislike uncanon you are receiving a friendly warning now. This story isn't going to be completely canon. There are some things that I will try to keep canon, but the main plot won't be. I too like to keep things canon, but sometimes throwing a bit of uncanon things can be interesting in my opinion. I respect your preference to keep things canon, so please refrain from negative comments about how this is an uncanon story. However, I don't mind if you point out something uncanon in the story that you think I may not realize, since some things I might not have done on purpose. I am definitely no expert on Pern.

Constructive criticism is more than welcomed, since it is thanks to constructive criticism that I can improve my writing, since I know I am nowhere near being a great writer. Just please keep it polite and considerate, since no one likes rude criticism of any sort.

With that all said, thank you for taking the time to read this. I do hope you will enjoy this little fanfiction of mine.

Chapter 0

Introduction

Dawn light trickled over the outer rim of the Weyr, throwing in the beginnings of gentle light. The cold air was thick with smells of the Pernese autumn as a breeze swept through the home of sleeping dragons and riders. Already there were a few early risers beginning to awaken for the day, while others slept on just a little bit longer.

Nyx sat out on the ledge of her parents' private weyr, her bare feet dangling over the edge as she watched a few early rising dragons poke their heads out of their weyrs. She watched in silence as another breeze swept up through her, full of a pre-winter chill as she frowned and shivered against the cold while it swept past her cheeks. She had never been an admirer of this particular season.

Everything felt like death as autumn drove on to some day give way to winter. Plants were dying or becoming dormant for the coming winter, and Pernese fauna were preparing for the inevitable slumber that would take them through the cold of the coming winter. Of course, the season held its own beauty, but it was the feeling of the severe change that she didn't like. It made her feel tired a lot of the time.

However, there had been a recent event that seemed to oppose the death and dormancy of autumn. The latest clutch produced by the Weyr's Queen dragon. The clutch had been laid on the blazing Hatching Grounds quite a few sevendays before, and as the potential Hatching Day grew closer, excitement increased in everyone. Especially for the candidates, this included her.

Nyx was a young woman of seventeen turns of age, and she had been one of the few young women to be chosen to stand on the Hatching Grounds for the chance to Impress the young Gold dragon that was soon to hatch from the latest clutch. Of course, Nyx was Weyrbred, and thus the only girl from Benden Weyr to be allowed to stand for the Queen. After all, Gold dragons preferred Holdbred girls, but it was her lineage that made her eligible for this rare chance.

On the other hand, this Hatching was quite a stressful thought. There was only one Queen in a hatching, and that was the only chance the girls had at Impressing it seemed, for it was rare to see even the female Green dragons Impress to a female candidate. There were other girls that would be standing for the chance to become a Queenrider, of course, none of them held the current burden she had been weighted with. While some of them had parents who urged their daughters on, she had more than just the expectations of her parents.

Nyx's parents were Benden Weyr's current Weyrleaders, and both had held their rank for quite a few turns now. Because of her parents, many expected Nyx to Impress the dragon that grew within the Gold egg. Some seemed so sure it would be her, and even her mother, the Weyrwoman, believed it would be true. Already her mother had been primping her to become the future Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr. If Nyx stood on the sands and the young Queen chose another girl, it would be an embarrassment to her parents, her mother especially.

"Nyx, come inside and eat," the somewhat familiar, masculine voice of bronzerider N'dor drifted through the cold air. Nyx turned herself around to face the tan and muscled man to give him an almost guilty smile. He tended to be strict with her, but he was her father, and while she didn't know him all that well, she still obeyed his orders. So, silently the young woman got up off the ledge and jogged back into the weyr she had shared with her parents in the recent years.