Two years have passed since the events of Part 1.

Part 2 opens with Lessa in a tutoring session with two dragonriders: R’gul and S’lel. R’gul is Weyrleader because his bronze dragon, Hath, had mated with Jora’s queen dragon Nemora before she died, giving him top status until Lessa’s Ramoth is ready to mate. Lessa thinks that R’gul follows tradition blindly; she cannot understand why F’lar does not move more quickly to replace R’gul, as time seems of the essence. She is also frustrated at R’gul and S’lel’s insistence that dragon queens cannot fly except when mating, but she hides her annoyance behind a veneer of sweetness. She considers how the warnings of a Teaching Ballad she is learning might line up with current events in Pern to imply the Red Star (and Threads) may soon return.

After her tutoring session, Lessa meets with Manora, who is F’nor’s mother and the domestic manager (“headwoman”) at Benden Weyr. As Weyrwoman, this is part of Lessa’s duties. Manora tells her that the Weyr’s reserves, particularly of grains, are low, as only some of Pern’s Holds are tithing properly.