Dalez the Candidate (at Andromeda Weyr)

    "Hey Dalez, we got an order in, a big one I think."
     Raising her head from her work, Dalez glanced at her younger brother and shrugged before continuing with her work. She was the best Gem-Smith on theface of Pern, at least in everyone else's opinion, and was frequently swamped with orders. Having Lazed deliver this one himself meant that it must be very important, high priority.
     "Let's see," he said, opening the order. "It was commissioned by Lord Tremanish, a very wealthy Lord with excellent taste, for his upcoming wedding. He wants...great Faranth!" Her head shot back up to see him staring openmouthed at the sheet of expensive wood pulp.
     "Well?" she asked expectantly.
     "He wants five windows made entirely of gems," he said in disbelief, "one for each color dragon, and he wants them in two sevendays! You've been sent the gems to cut, very large ones, and the frame to fit them in. That's it, nothing else, no extra help, nothing. But," he added as an afterthought," he's paying an incredible price, even for something like this."
     "Let me see the order," she said quietly, her eyes glittering in anticipation of a challenge. She looked it over and smiled to herself. What an undertaking. No one had ever attempted anything like this before. She had to try. "Go fetch me the gems," she ordered, letting some of her bossy side show through. If she wanted to do this, she'd have to start as soon as possible.
     When he brought them all in, she called Mirischlex, her little blue fire lizard, and surveyed her task. Extremely difficult, but not impossible. She could do it. She would do it.

Two days later she was on the brink of collapse. She had finally completed the first window! Even having had no rest and very little sustenance, Lazed had to pry her from her workbench to get her away from her work. He managed to get her into bed and she ws out like a glow the moment her head touched the furs. As soon as she woke up she wolfed down a meal and started on the next one, then the next, taking a few, very small brakes in between. A dedicated crafter could be a scary thing.

By the time she was on the last window she could barely stand from exhaustion. Her brother slipped some fellis juice into her wine, giving her and her poor little Lex some much-needed rest. He oiled and fed the flit while Dalez slept, taking extra care not to wake her. It wasn't that she was being neglectful to her flit, she just forgot that some people didn't have the same iron determination that she did.
When she woke up she was very annoyed with him, but looked much better for the rest. Having only three days left until the order was due, she worked in a frenzy. She was still being careful with her work, just at a quicker pace. She absolutely had to finish this, she just had to.

    Finished. At last she was finished. With twelve hours left until the deadline, she slept it away, completely exhausted but very satisfied. The next morning the Lord Holder himself came to collect them.
     "I cannot thank you enough for undergoing this task," he said in gratitude. "They're beautiful and I know that my beloved will adore them. Here is your payment, every mark." He pulled out an incredibly heavy pouch. "And here is a gift," he said, pulling out another. "It's a fire lizard egg from a wild queen's clutch recently found on my beaches. Yes, I know you already have a flit," he confirmed, forstalling her protests. "Still, another couldn't hurt and may even be of help some day. Please accept it as a sign of my immense gratitude."
     Nodding silently, she took the egg and carefully bundled it away. Oh, she couldn't wait for it to hatch!

     Three days later Lex zoomed in during the afternoon meal, making an odd humming noise in his throat. Dalez took the hint and ran over to the hearth where her flit egg was kept. Sure enough, it was rocking like crazy in its pot and several hairline fractures had appeared on its shell.
     She quickly took it out of the pot and held it close. Several more cracks ran up the egg and a tiny beak could be seen, its color indistinguishable in the dim lighting. A few more frenzied jabs to the shell and the egg burst open, revealing a moist little bronze hatchling. Grabbing some meatrolls from the table, she fed the ferocious fire lizard until his belly was at least twice the size of his head. He burped a

little and settled against her for a short nap.
"Lex, whaddaya think?" she asked her blue softly so as not to wake the sleeping baby. "Isn't he precious?" Lex chirped his agreement and added something. "Yes, Lord Tremanish was telling the truth when he mentioned that this was one of the largest eggs in the clutch. I think we should name this little guy after him. How about Gremanish, Gremmy for short?" He gave another chirp of agreement. "I suppose now