She was born in Balan to Holder Lavel and Milla. In Telgar Weyr, as the Hatching of the clutch of the senior queen Meranath begins, Debera arrives late and manages to Impress a green dragon Morath before her father and two other men attempt to drag her away from the hatchling. This alarms the hatching, who attacks Debera's father before the dragonriders can calm things down. Afterwards, it is discovered that Debera was Searched for the Hatching, but her father — «a known troublemaker» — attempted to keep her from attending so he could marry her off in return for a mining grant. Upon discovering this, she had ridden to the Weyr, arriving just as the Hatching began.