Meriryan was born shortly after Nirinath flew in 727. His father was one of Katila's bronze riders though he abstained from the flight as he and his dragon were not up to the rigors of the flight due to their age compared to everyone else. P'mris had taken up with one of the laundry girls and a few weeks after the flight she gave birth to a large, breech, baby in a labor that killed her. Unable to nurse the baby P'mris found a wet nurse in Myfis, Madria's aunt, who had just lost her own child to an unforeseen accident. Myfis took the lad as her own, raising him in the kitchen and creche even as P'mris did what he could for the boy when his duties allowed.

P'mris put in for Ista Weyr when requests went out, claiming his old bones wanted to be where it was warm. Someone had other plans for him and he wound up in Telgar Weyr with his son in tow. Myfis however chose to stay in Katila, she'd all but taken over the kitchens by this time and was loathe to return to scullery maid in some Weyr.

Mer, being a bright young lad with a tendency to get into trouble, had been forced by his father to attend lessons with anyone who could read, write or do sums. And the same continued when he came to Telgar. Though as a teenager he has slacked off from those lessons, Mer has always imagined that he'd like to have been a Harper if the dragons hadn't stolen his heart first. Growing up with Ilotyth, Mer has always been around dragons and he got the bug early. As a young man he could be found playing in the woods, pretending to be a dragonrider and flaming invisible thread.

As far as history goes, Mer hasn't been around long enough to really acquire an interesting history. Aside from getting in trouble as a child and young man, his father put him to work with the herdsmen in the lower cavern helping to make sure the Weyr stock was taken care of and disease free for dragons and humans alike. In recent months he's started showing interest in girls, though like all young men his approach to them is awkward.