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** Possibly explained by the facts that the innkeeper had just pressed hard on Kel's BerserkButton of abusing the weak and powerless and that Neal is her friend. Kel is a good and fair person, but she's also only human.
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** [[spoiler:King Maggur, thanks to never actually appearing on-page, though the series does end with his most powerful weapon destroyed, so he probably gets what's coming to him before too long.]]
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* FluffyTheTerrible: Peachblossom's bad-tempered nature is humorously contrasted by his name.
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** [[spoiler:King Maggur, thanks to never actually appearing on-page, though the series does end with his most powerful weapon destroyed, so he probably gets what's coming to him before too long.]]
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* StraightForTheCommander: Discussed in ''Squire''. Some of the King's Own favor killing the soldiers first as they're the ones who do most of the fighting. Kel and Dom prefer to kill officers first because they think and lead.
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** Alanna spells out the reason Kel is important, that as a normal person without any magic abilities, no one can say she doesn't completely earn every bit of her glory. Pierce's motivation to tell a story about a {{Badass Normal}} was concern that young girls reading the book wouldn't find Alanna and Daine's accomplishments relatable to their own lives, and wanted a heroine they would relate to and find inspirational.
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** Alanna spells out the reason Kel is important, that as a normal person without any magic abilities, no one can say she doesn't completely earn every bit of her glory. Pierce's motivation to tell a story about a {{Badass Normal}} was concern that young girls reading the book her books wouldn't find Alanna and Daine's accomplishments relatable to their own lives, and wanted a heroine they would relate to and find inspirational.
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** Alanna spells out the reason Kel is important, that as a normal person without any magic abilities, no one can say she doesn't completely earn every bit of her glory. Pierce's motivation to tell a story about a {{Badass Normal}} was concern that young girls reading the book wouldn't find Alanna and Daine's accomplishments relatable to their own lives, and wanted a heroine they would relate to and find inspirational.
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* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Joren is abruptly killed off partway through book three, between chapters. Kel only hears about it when his father tries to kill her over it.]]
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* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Joren is abruptly killed off partway through book three, between chapters. Kel only hears about it when his father tries to kill her over it.]]it]]. After this, the main plot of the book switches to the Scanran war.
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* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight.'' Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with excited to see him again.
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* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight.'' Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with excited to see him again. Pierce specifically avoided TheyDo with anyone to show that it's possible to have a happy ending without romance.
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* TitleDrop: In ''Lady Knight'', [[spoiler:the Chamber of Ordeals names her Protector of the Small]]. Kel is not thrilled with the nickname, but it gets picked up by the rest of Tortal anyway.
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* TitleDrop: In ''Lady Knight'', [[spoiler:the Chamber of Ordeals names her Protector of the Small]]. Kel is not thrilled with the nickname, but it gets picked up by the rest of Tortal Tortall anyway.
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* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: A brief but jarring example in ''Lady Knight''. Neal magics Alvik, the innkeeper who physically abused Tobe, so that any attempt to beat his other servants will rebound on him. Forcing a magic is illegal, but Neal's response is basically "[[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections I'm a Queenscove]]." The problem is, noble abuse of privilege and private law was a major point in ''Squire'', one that Kel protested fiercely. While Neal ''is'' trying to do a good thing, the contradiction between here and Kel's opinion in ''Squire'' is not acknowledged; instead she unambiguously approves of his actions.
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** In ''Lady Knight'' Raoul says that no one has ever entered the Chamber of the Ordeal twice. Except that ''Song of the Lioness'' established that kings have to do it too, and presumably there have been quite a few who were knights first.
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* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Joren is abruptly killed off partway through book three, between chapters. Kel only hears about it when his father tries to kill her over it.]]
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Pierce's original idea was that Wyldon would become the main villain, defecting and leading an army against Tortall rather than accepting a female knight. Her husband convinced her to change it, and many fans agree it was much for the better.
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* HideYourLesbians: [[WordOfGay Pierce has said]] that Lalasa from is gay, but it wasn't important enough to put in the books outside of {{subtext}} between her and Tian without invoking HaveIMentionedIAmGay.
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* HideYourLesbians: [[WordOfGay Pierce has said]] that Lalasa from is gay, but it wasn't important enough to put in the books outside of {{subtext}} between her and Tian without invoking HaveIMentionedIAmGay.
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* KarmaHoudini: Garvey passes the Chamber without any ill effects. Some fans speculate that his knight master got him to stop being such a jerk once he was away from Joren.
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* KarmaHoudini: Garvey passes the Chamber without any ill effects. Some fans speculate that his knight master knight-master, who complimented Kel's jousting skill, got him to stop being such a jerk once he was away from Joren.
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* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Joren and co. are sexist when ever they feel they can get away with it.
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* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Joren and co. are sexist when ever they feel they can get away with it. As a bonus, they are also extremely classist and treat commoners like dirt.
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* KarmaHoudini: Garvey passes the Chamber without any ill effects. Some fans speculate that his knight master got him to stop being such a jerk once he was away from Joren.
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** In the same book, she goes straight from her fourteenth birthday to the sixteenth, with only one year seeming to pass.
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* SeriesContinuityError: Kel says her joust with Raoul in ''Squire'' is the first time she's tilted at a live person, but it actually isn't. Pierce has admitted she simply forgot.
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* RealitySubtext: Lady Knight was written right in the middle of the 9/11 crisis. While the plot had been planned since the 90s, the book was clearly affected.
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Ten years after King Jonathan decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to accept the offer -- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abound, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master, Lord Wyldon of Cavall. Fighting against bullies and [[MovingTheGoalposts shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
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[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pots_7894.png]]
The third series in the Literature/TortallUniverse. Ten years after King Jonathan decreed that noble girlsare allowed to can train as knights, for the knighthood, someone finally comes forward to accept the offer -- offer: Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant the presence of Alanna and Thayet hasn't magically done away with the deeply entrenched misogyny and paternalism of Tortallan culture, and Kel is faced with discrimination still abound, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her right away when the training master, Lord Wyldon of Cavall. Cavall, insists that she be put on probation. Fighting against bullies and [[MovingTheGoalposts frequently shifting goals]], standards]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
shield.
''Protector of the Small'' is also the last Tortall series to be a quartet. The success of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' made publishers realize that [[ViewersAreMorons kids and teens will, in fact, read long books]], allowing Pierce quite a bit more leeway after the writing of ''Page''.
The character sheet may be found [[Characters/TortallUniverse here]].
The third series in the Literature/TortallUniverse. Ten years after King Jonathan decreed that noble girls
''Protector of the Small'' is also the last Tortall series to be a quartet. The success of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' made publishers realize that [[ViewersAreMorons kids and teens will, in fact, read long books]], allowing Pierce quite a bit more leeway after the writing of ''Page''.
The character sheet may be found [[Characters/TortallUniverse here]].
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* {{Ambadassador}}: Kel's mother and father.
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* {{Ambadassador}}: Kel's parents, but her mother and father.in particular. Her rescue of royal treasure from pirates raised the Mindelans' stock quite significantly with the Yamanis.
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* BrokenPedestal: Keladry is very soured on Jonathan when he allows Wyldon to put her on probation. After meeting him after [[spoiler:Joren's trial]] and being told that he has to keep a lot of things balanced if he wants to make reforms without his vassals rebelling, she's a little more understanding, but she still seems to dislike him on a personal level.
to:
* BrokenPedestal: Keladry is very soured on Jonathan when he allows Wyldon to put her on probation. After meeting When she meets him after [[spoiler:Joren's trial]] and being told learns that he has to keep a lot of things balanced if he wants to make reforms without his vassals rebelling, she's a little more understanding, but she still seems to dislike him on a personal level.
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* TrainingFromHell: Just training to become a knight might fall under this, but for Kel (who had to prove herself to those who would not have woman be knight) it was.
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* TrainingFromHell: Just Wyldon does this on purpose anyway (they are, after all, training to be war leaders), but Kel has to deal with the misogynists' continual attempts to drive her out of training on top of that.
* TrueCompanions: Kel, Neal, and several other pages from their year becomea knight might fall under this, but for Kel (who had to prove herself to those who would not have woman be knight) it was.this.
* TrueCompanions: Kel, Neal, and several other pages from their year become
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incorrect term (acrophobia is a fear of heights; agoraphobia is a fear of public places [etc])
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first meeting with Kel establishes several important things about her: at the age of eleven, she attacks a spidren (a giant spider with a human head) by throwing rocks, in order to save some kittens, and then has a crippling attack of agoraphobia.
to:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first meeting with Kel establishes several important things about her: at the age of eleven, she attacks a spidren (a giant spider with a human head) by throwing rocks, in order to save some kittens, and then has a crippling attack of agoraphobia.acrophobia.
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* WellDoneSonGuy: Kel's stern training master Lord Wyldon serves as one of these for Kel -- a conservative opposed to the concept of female knights, but fair enough to recognize her hard work and skill. He even admits to Kel that it took a little arm-twisting from his own conscience for him to allow her to stay on as a page after her first year, and up until that point she was all but convinced that he intended to see her fail regardless of her actual talent.
to:
* WellDoneSonGuy: Main/WellDoneSonGuy: Kel's stern training master Lord Wyldon serves as one of these for Kel -- a conservative opposed to the concept of female knights, but fair enough to recognize her hard work and skill. He even admits to Kel that it took a little arm-twisting from his own conscience for him to allow her to stay on as a page after her first year, and up until that point she was all but convinced that he intended to see her fail regardless of her actual talent.
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* ''First Test'' (1999)
* ''Page'' (2000)
* ''Squire'' (2001)
* ''Lady Knight'' (2002)
* ''Page'' (2000)
* ''Squire'' (2001)
* ''Lady Knight'' (2002)
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* ''First Test'' (1999)
Test''
*''Page'' (2000)
''Page''
*''Squire'' (2001)
''Squire''
* ''LadyKnight'' (2002)
Knight''
*
*
* ''Lady
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Ten years after King Jonathon decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to select the offer- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abounds, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master Wyldon of Caval. Fighting against bullies and [[MovingTheGoalposts shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
* ''First Test''
* ''Page''
* ''Squire''
* ''Lady Knight''
* ''First Test''
* ''Page''
* ''Squire''
* ''Lady Knight''
to:
Ten years after King Jonathon Jonathan decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to select accept the offer- offer -- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abounds, abound, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master master, Lord Wyldon of Caval.Cavall. Fighting against bullies and [[MovingTheGoalposts shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
* ''FirstTest''
Test'' (1999)
*''Page''
''Page'' (2000)
*''Squire''
''Squire'' (2001)
* ''LadyKnight''
Knight'' (2002)
* ''First
*
*
* ''Lady
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* DrillSergeantNasty: Wyldon, though he's never (or rarely) shown to needlessly raise his voice. He's a hard, uncompromising disciplinarian, but his purpose is that of any drill sergeant: to train the recruits up so they'll survive in battle. They don't have to like him.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Joren and most likely Vinson]], punished by the Chamber of the Ordeal. They'd tried to stop Kel from becoming a knight, but the Chamber ''ensured'' that they wouldn't.
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* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Vinison is punished for beating and raping commoner women when the Chamber of the Ordeal makes him physically experience what he did to them]]. Justified in that it's a godlike entity that examines would-be knights' souls.
to:
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Vinison [[spoiler:Vinson is punished for beating and raping commoner women when the Chamber of the Ordeal makes him physically experience what he did to them]]. Justified in that it's a godlike entity that examines would-be knights' souls.
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* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Fully aware that it's technically treason, Kel still [[spoiler:rides off into enemy territory to rescue her kidnapped refugees.]] ''In the middle of a war.''
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* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Joren and co. are sexist when ever they feel they can get away with it.
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** We also hear that this decision caused the longest rift ever between him and Alanna.
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Ten years after King Jonathon decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to select the offer- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abounds, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master Wyldon of Caval. Fighting against bullies and [MovingTheGoalpost shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
to:
Ten years after King Jonathon decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to select the offer- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abounds, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master Wyldon of Caval. Fighting against bullies and [MovingTheGoalpost [[MovingTheGoalposts shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
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Ten years after King Jonathon decreed that girls are allowed to train as knights, someone finally comes forward to select the offer- Keladry of Mindelan. However, things aren't going to be easy. Rampant misogyny and discrimination still abounds, starting with Kel being placed on probation by her training master Wyldon of Caval. Fighting against bullies and [MovingTheGoalpost shifting goals]], Kel is ready to fight injustice and earn her shield.
* ''First Test''
* ''Page''
* ''Squire''
* ''Lady Knight''
!!Tropes appearing in this series include...
* ActionPet: Jump, a dog of war if there was ever one.
* [[ABirthdayNotABreak A Birthday, Not A Break]]: Kel remembers it's her birthday after falling out of a tree.
** She spends another fending off a bandit attack with a few of her friends, and then throwing up in front of Lord Wyldon thanks to her fear of heights.
* AbuseMistake: Kel goes to the public baths one day to enjoy soaking in the warm water. Concerned women rush over to assure her that whoever he is, even if he's a noble, he'll be caught and tried and made to pay. She has to explain that she is a squire and those are normal injuries that one gets from combat training.
* ActionGirl: Kel, of course, who is in training to become a LadyOfWar.
* ActionMom:
** Alanna is a mother by this time and still an active-duty knight, although she has to play a minor role thanks to politics.
** Kel's mother is not a warrior by trade, but that didn't stop her from fighting off ''pirates'' in the Yamani Isles when Kel was a little girl.
* {{Ambadassador}}: Kel's mother and father.
* {{Badass}}: It's a series about kids learning to be knights and the knights who train them. Keladry is this, of course, but so are ''many'' of the other characters.
* AscendedExtra: Raoul of Goldenlake becomes Kel's knight-master in ''Squire''.
* BadassNormal: Kel, the only protagonist in Pierce novels not to have any magical abilities.
* BetaCouple: Raoul and Buri get together in ''Squire'' while all of the squires are falling in and out of love.
* TheBigGuy: Raoul, good grief. He's called the Giant-Killer, but he practically is one himself.
* BladeOnAStick: Kel and her mother both use naginata, and are ''quite'' good with them. A later book describes Kel as "that mad woman with the giant pigsticker."
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Kel notices right away how pretty the platinum-haired Joren of Stone Mountain is. She notices next what a misogynist douche he is, and he becomes her arch-nemesis [[spoiler:until his death in the Chamber of Ordeals]].
* BrokenPedestal: Keladry is very soured on Jonathan when he allows Wyldon to put her on probation. After meeting him after [[spoiler:Joren's trial]] and being told that he has to keep a lot of things balanced if he wants to make reforms without his vassals rebelling, she's a little more understanding, but she still seems to dislike him on a personal level.
* BullyHunter: Kel during her page days.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Kel, a natural leader, wonders in ''Lady Knight'' if her old schoolmates resent her commanding them. She also has to refrain from greeting old friends with a hug -- the leader can't drop her dignity.
** Not to mention that, in order to gain the trust and respect of her command, she needs to do ''every unpleasant chore in camp'' without complaining, and she fully expects to be executed for coming to the rescue of several hundred children. She spends at least sixteen hours of every day working.
** Princess Kalasin is another example that occurs off-screen. She had wanted to become the first openly female page, but her father vetoed the idea for political reasons. So she did a deal with him where ''she'' gets final veto power over any marriage arrangements and heavy involvement in any negotiations.
* ChillyReception: In ''First Test'', Kel hasn't even set foot in the castle for her page training before she's being hazed, having been put on probation by her training master. Needless to say, the boys she trains with don't exactly improve matters. She makes friends and triumphs regardless.
* CosmicPlaything: Not as much as Alanna or Daine, but Keladry is given a quest by the Chamber of the Ordeal in ''Squire'', and it sticks with her for the ''Lady Knight''. She's not pleased about it.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Occasionally, or respect if not actually friendship. In ''Squire'', one conservative knight admits that he was wrong after Kel defeats him in a joust. In ''Lady Knight'' a convict soldier turns out to be one of the bandits she'd fought as a page, and he compliments her publicly about the battle.
* DemotedToExtra: This is invoked and [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in the small prologue for ''First Test''. Alanna is eager to mentor the first openly female page in over a century, but Jonathan and Wyldon forbid her from doing so, as the conservatives will just claim that Alanna helped her with magic. [[spoiler:She makes up for it by anonymously sending practical and high-quality gifts like sharpening stones and bruise balm, but she's only able to meet Kel in public after Kel is a squire, and briefly, to keep people from getting suspicious.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Kel has this in spades. Whether it's dealing with the rigors of training, facing the prospect of repeating four years of pagehood, or rescuing two hundred refugees who've been taking deep into enemy territory, you had better not get in the way of her doing it.
* EldritchAbomination: The Chamber of the Ordeal, which [[AscendedExtra becomes a major character]] in the last two books.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first meeting with Kel establishes several important things about her: at the age of eleven, she attacks a spidren (a giant spider with a human head) by throwing rocks, in order to save some kittens, and then has a crippling attack of agoraphobia.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The things that the Tortallans dub "killing devices" from the last two books: giant metal contraptions that Scanra uses as weapons.
* FaceYourFears: The Chamber, as in the ''Lioness'' books, although it turns out to be more complex than that. Whenever Kel is at the Palace in ''Squire'', she makes a point of testing herself against its brutal visions before undergoing the real thing.
* FightingForSurvival: Kel trains the refugees to fight along side the few squads of soldiers that they are given.
* FourStarBadass: Raoul, as Commander of the King's Own.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Although Kel lacks wild magic, she has long had a habit of taking care of abandoned baby animals and strays, from kittens to sparrows to an infant griffin--hence her eventual [[TitleDrop nickname]]. (Daine's proximity at the palace means that many of these animals start gaining intelligence anyway.)
* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:Joren of Stone Mountain is so filled with bigotry that he dies during his Ordeal (a magical experience in which one's flaws are tested), and when his father comes to blame Kel for it, he proves himself to be much the same.]]
* TheGhost: Maggur Rathhausak, the King of Scanra, is often referred to but is never encountered by any of the characters.
* GirlsNeedRoleModels: In-universe in ''Squire''. Kel's status as a BadassNormal makes her far more accessible a role model for other girls who want their shields, as opposed to the Goddess-touched and powerfully Gifted Alanna.
* GoodIsNotNice: This series moves away from the BlackAndWhiteMorality some with this. Prejudiced Lord Wyldon proves eventually to be good, though flawed. Raoul specifically points out to Kel, who also saw it with the emperor of the Yamani Islands, that a good king isn't necessarily a ''nice'' king.
* HideYourLesbians: [[WordOfGay Pierce has said]] that Lalasa from is gay, but it wasn't important enough to put in the books outside of {{subtext}} between her and Tian without invoking HaveIMentionedIAmGay.
* HugeSchoolgirl: The last time Kel's height is mentioned, she's 5'10", fifteen, and ''not done growing yet''.
* HorsingAround: The horses of Tortall have very distinct personalities in general, but special mention goes to Peachblossom, Kel's [[FluffyTheTerrible inappropriately named]], bad-tempered gelding, who decides to be Kel's equine partner [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because she treated him well]], and because, as he tells Daine she needs to be looked after.
* InLoveWithLove: Neal. His friends are quite surprised when he starts to act very differently around Yukimi [[spoiler:whom he marries]]. Usually, he will sigh and mope and write bad poetry about women who already have husbands, or at least lovers.
* InfantImmortality: Way averted in ''Squire'' and ''Lady Knight''. [[spoiler:The killing devices are powered by the souls of dead children.]]
* JoustingLance: Plays an important role in ''Squire'' allowing Kel to show that she is [[YouGoGirl just as worth to be a knight as any male]].
* LadyOfWar: Keladry by the time of ''Lady Knight''.
* TheLancer: Flighty DeadpanSnarker Neal to level-headed [[TheStoic stoic]] Kel.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Vinison is punished for beating and raping commoner women when the Chamber of the Ordeal makes him physically experience what he did to them]]. Justified in that it's a godlike entity that examines would-be knights' souls.
* MagicMusic: Numair Salmalin manages to retrieve several large boulders to fortify the defences around an army camp in Protector Of The Small. WordOfGod says that the name of the music he uses - "The Sorcerer's Dance" - is meant to reference the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
** It should also be noted that the Sorcerer's Dance is considered an absurdly simple spell (the scale Numair which uses is rather huge though). Scanran mages are also mentioned to be quite good at music magic.
* MamaBear: Despite never actually having children, Kel fits the mold quite well indeed. ''Do not pick on people close to her.'' There's a reason the quartet of books featuring her are collectively called the "Protector of the Small" series.
* TheManBehindTheCurtain: The man creating the killing devices, revealed in the Chamber's vision to be a dumpy, fidgety little man with acne. When Kel [[spoiler: kills him in ''Lady Knight'', she's shocked at how easily he dies.]]
* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight.'' Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with excited to see him again.
* MindControlDevice: [[spoiler:Blayce tries to do this on Kel in their battle]]. Not really a specific device, as Numair explains, but most mages need a shiny object to grab their target's attention.
* MovingTheGoalposts: Wyldon will only retain his post as training master if Kel is accepted on probation instead of a full page, despite the letter of the law, and the king agrees. Kel is very unhappy.
* MustLetThemGetAway: Joren is only fined as a sentence for having [[spoiler:Lalasa]] abducted due to his status as a noble and hers as a servant. Kel is quite disgusted.
* NaginatasAreFeminine: Keladry is trained in them, and her mother once helped hold off a pirate invasion with one. They're specifically mentioned as a weapon woman train in the Yamani isles, which are based on Japan.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Between Joren's antics and Wyldon's desire to make Kel leave of her own accord, Keladry becomes stronger and more skilled than she probably would have otherwise.
* NonLethalWarfare: Mock battles using non lethal weapons in Kel's Page years.
* NonSequiturThud: Not as random as some examples, but Kel is noticeably... ineloquent after three rounds of jousting with Lord Wyldon.
-->'''Kel:''' I know, my lord. You wish I were a boy. But being a girl is more fun. More fun-er? Is that right?
-->'''Wyldon:''' Go lie down, Mindelan. You're tilt-silly.
* OlderAndWiser: King Jonathan is much more experienced and political here than he was during the ''Lioness'' books.
* PaperFanOfDoom: The Yamani ''shukusen'', which sport razor-sharp metal struts. They like to play catch with them. And this is why you should never try messing with a Yamani noblewoman. Particularly because they're also trained in self defense and Naginata skills.
* PetTheDog: Wyldon does this literally. He takes a liking to Jump, despite rules against pages having pets, which is the first indication that he's not as bad as he seems.
* PlatonicLifePartners: After losing her schoolgirl crush on him, Keladry and Neal became this.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Kalasin. She wants to be a knight, but due to the current state of the country she cannot do so without causing trouble. She decides instead to compromise with her parents, allowing her considerably more freedom with who she marries if she doesn't become a page. Keep in mind she's ten at best during this.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: When the killing devices show up, they speak like toddlers or cry like infants once they're broken. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Blayce, their creator, does not actually ''have'' to use children. He just likes to because he's a sick, twisted little man.]]
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]]: Buri. At this point, she's a high-ranking member of the Queen's Own.
* PsychologicalTormentZone: The Chamber of Ordeals. If you go in, and are not fit to be a knight, it will ''break'' you. [[spoiler:As Joren and Vinison found out]]. And if you are, you'll still be quite wobbly afterwards.
* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: Subverted by Kel on her first day there. She wears a dress specifically to remind everyone that she ''is'' a girl and has a perfect right to be there, thank you very much.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: In ''Lady Knight'', Kel initially thinks that her assignment to build and manage a refugee camp south of the Scanran border is this, with the not-unreasonable thought that she's being kept from the front because she's female. However, this is not the case--she's given the job because Wyldon and Raoul know that she's incredibly responsible and unlikely to go haring off out of boredom, unlike some of her peers.
* SheWillComeForMe: If you are under her protection and something happens to you, Keladry will come for you.
* ShoutOut: Lord Wyldon of Cavall is a blatant one to Cavall, King Arthur's favourite hunting dog. He is pathologically loyal, ruthless, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold kindhearted]] and breeds dogs.
* ShrinkingViolet: Lalasa, at first.
* SilkHidingSteel: This seems to be the default state of Yamani women. We don't get to see them in action, but after Neal interrupts a game of fan toss, Yuki tells him the following Yamani proverb, right before she uses the fan to slice up a wooden tent pole as if it were made of paper.
--> Beware the women of the warrior class, for all they touch is both beautiful and deadly.
* TheStoic: Kel and her "Yamani face." She uses it to get through the hazing and sexism without visibly blowing a gasket.
* TitleDrop: In ''Lady Knight'', [[spoiler:the Chamber of Ordeals names her Protector of the Small]]. Kel is not thrilled with the nickname, but it gets picked up by the rest of Tortal anyway.
* TrainingFromHell: Just training to become a knight might fall under this, but for Kel (who had to prove herself to those who would not have woman be knight) it was.
* WarIsHell: Present in the encounters with bandits that happen during Keladry's page years, but it becomes a major theme in ''Squire'' and ''Lady Knight'' as hostilities with Scanra become a full-fledged war. The descriptions of death and brutality are quite vivid.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Kel's stern training master Lord Wyldon serves as one of these for Kel -- a conservative opposed to the concept of female knights, but fair enough to recognize her hard work and skill. He even admits to Kel that it took a little arm-twisting from his own conscience for him to allow her to stay on as a page after her first year, and up until that point she was all but convinced that he intended to see her fail regardless of her actual talent.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Kel's fear of heights is crippling, making her freeze up and sometimes vomit. When Wyldon figures this out, he orders her to climb tall trees and landmarks to survey the area to get her over it, and she starts climbing walls in the Palace for the same reason. [[spoiler:She kicks the worst parts of the fear after being forced to climb down Balor's Needle in ''Page'', but she still never likes them.]]
* WeakButSkilled: Neal and his father Duke Baird when compared to Numair magically. Nowhere near as powerful but as healers trained to a level of precision that Numair could never hope to match because of his {{Ace Lightning Syndrome}}. It's only in comparison to people like Numair and Alanna, though; otherwise they are considered to have a strong Gift.
* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Joren's plot]] at the end of ''Page''. Either Keladry ignores the kidnappers' note, incurring shame for abandoning her servent, or she rescues Lalasa and misses the page exam, thus having to repeat the four years of training (and, the culprit assumes, quitting rather than doing it all over again). [[spoiler:She chooses to rescue Lalasa, and the examiners decide to let her take the exams anyway in light of the extraordinary circumstances]].
* ''First Test''
* ''Page''
* ''Squire''
* ''Lady Knight''
!!Tropes appearing in this series include...
* ActionPet: Jump, a dog of war if there was ever one.
* [[ABirthdayNotABreak A Birthday, Not A Break]]: Kel remembers it's her birthday after falling out of a tree.
** She spends another fending off a bandit attack with a few of her friends, and then throwing up in front of Lord Wyldon thanks to her fear of heights.
* AbuseMistake: Kel goes to the public baths one day to enjoy soaking in the warm water. Concerned women rush over to assure her that whoever he is, even if he's a noble, he'll be caught and tried and made to pay. She has to explain that she is a squire and those are normal injuries that one gets from combat training.
* ActionGirl: Kel, of course, who is in training to become a LadyOfWar.
* ActionMom:
** Alanna is a mother by this time and still an active-duty knight, although she has to play a minor role thanks to politics.
** Kel's mother is not a warrior by trade, but that didn't stop her from fighting off ''pirates'' in the Yamani Isles when Kel was a little girl.
* {{Ambadassador}}: Kel's mother and father.
* {{Badass}}: It's a series about kids learning to be knights and the knights who train them. Keladry is this, of course, but so are ''many'' of the other characters.
* AscendedExtra: Raoul of Goldenlake becomes Kel's knight-master in ''Squire''.
* BadassNormal: Kel, the only protagonist in Pierce novels not to have any magical abilities.
* BetaCouple: Raoul and Buri get together in ''Squire'' while all of the squires are falling in and out of love.
* TheBigGuy: Raoul, good grief. He's called the Giant-Killer, but he practically is one himself.
* BladeOnAStick: Kel and her mother both use naginata, and are ''quite'' good with them. A later book describes Kel as "that mad woman with the giant pigsticker."
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Kel notices right away how pretty the platinum-haired Joren of Stone Mountain is. She notices next what a misogynist douche he is, and he becomes her arch-nemesis [[spoiler:until his death in the Chamber of Ordeals]].
* BrokenPedestal: Keladry is very soured on Jonathan when he allows Wyldon to put her on probation. After meeting him after [[spoiler:Joren's trial]] and being told that he has to keep a lot of things balanced if he wants to make reforms without his vassals rebelling, she's a little more understanding, but she still seems to dislike him on a personal level.
* BullyHunter: Kel during her page days.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Kel, a natural leader, wonders in ''Lady Knight'' if her old schoolmates resent her commanding them. She also has to refrain from greeting old friends with a hug -- the leader can't drop her dignity.
** Not to mention that, in order to gain the trust and respect of her command, she needs to do ''every unpleasant chore in camp'' without complaining, and she fully expects to be executed for coming to the rescue of several hundred children. She spends at least sixteen hours of every day working.
** Princess Kalasin is another example that occurs off-screen. She had wanted to become the first openly female page, but her father vetoed the idea for political reasons. So she did a deal with him where ''she'' gets final veto power over any marriage arrangements and heavy involvement in any negotiations.
* ChillyReception: In ''First Test'', Kel hasn't even set foot in the castle for her page training before she's being hazed, having been put on probation by her training master. Needless to say, the boys she trains with don't exactly improve matters. She makes friends and triumphs regardless.
* CosmicPlaything: Not as much as Alanna or Daine, but Keladry is given a quest by the Chamber of the Ordeal in ''Squire'', and it sticks with her for the ''Lady Knight''. She's not pleased about it.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Occasionally, or respect if not actually friendship. In ''Squire'', one conservative knight admits that he was wrong after Kel defeats him in a joust. In ''Lady Knight'' a convict soldier turns out to be one of the bandits she'd fought as a page, and he compliments her publicly about the battle.
* DemotedToExtra: This is invoked and [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in the small prologue for ''First Test''. Alanna is eager to mentor the first openly female page in over a century, but Jonathan and Wyldon forbid her from doing so, as the conservatives will just claim that Alanna helped her with magic. [[spoiler:She makes up for it by anonymously sending practical and high-quality gifts like sharpening stones and bruise balm, but she's only able to meet Kel in public after Kel is a squire, and briefly, to keep people from getting suspicious.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Kel has this in spades. Whether it's dealing with the rigors of training, facing the prospect of repeating four years of pagehood, or rescuing two hundred refugees who've been taking deep into enemy territory, you had better not get in the way of her doing it.
* EldritchAbomination: The Chamber of the Ordeal, which [[AscendedExtra becomes a major character]] in the last two books.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Our first meeting with Kel establishes several important things about her: at the age of eleven, she attacks a spidren (a giant spider with a human head) by throwing rocks, in order to save some kittens, and then has a crippling attack of agoraphobia.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The things that the Tortallans dub "killing devices" from the last two books: giant metal contraptions that Scanra uses as weapons.
* FaceYourFears: The Chamber, as in the ''Lioness'' books, although it turns out to be more complex than that. Whenever Kel is at the Palace in ''Squire'', she makes a point of testing herself against its brutal visions before undergoing the real thing.
* FightingForSurvival: Kel trains the refugees to fight along side the few squads of soldiers that they are given.
* FourStarBadass: Raoul, as Commander of the King's Own.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Although Kel lacks wild magic, she has long had a habit of taking care of abandoned baby animals and strays, from kittens to sparrows to an infant griffin--hence her eventual [[TitleDrop nickname]]. (Daine's proximity at the palace means that many of these animals start gaining intelligence anyway.)
* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:Joren of Stone Mountain is so filled with bigotry that he dies during his Ordeal (a magical experience in which one's flaws are tested), and when his father comes to blame Kel for it, he proves himself to be much the same.]]
* TheGhost: Maggur Rathhausak, the King of Scanra, is often referred to but is never encountered by any of the characters.
* GirlsNeedRoleModels: In-universe in ''Squire''. Kel's status as a BadassNormal makes her far more accessible a role model for other girls who want their shields, as opposed to the Goddess-touched and powerfully Gifted Alanna.
* GoodIsNotNice: This series moves away from the BlackAndWhiteMorality some with this. Prejudiced Lord Wyldon proves eventually to be good, though flawed. Raoul specifically points out to Kel, who also saw it with the emperor of the Yamani Islands, that a good king isn't necessarily a ''nice'' king.
* HideYourLesbians: [[WordOfGay Pierce has said]] that Lalasa from is gay, but it wasn't important enough to put in the books outside of {{subtext}} between her and Tian without invoking HaveIMentionedIAmGay.
* HugeSchoolgirl: The last time Kel's height is mentioned, she's 5'10", fifteen, and ''not done growing yet''.
* HorsingAround: The horses of Tortall have very distinct personalities in general, but special mention goes to Peachblossom, Kel's [[FluffyTheTerrible inappropriately named]], bad-tempered gelding, who decides to be Kel's equine partner [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because she treated him well]], and because, as he tells Daine she needs to be looked after.
* InLoveWithLove: Neal. His friends are quite surprised when he starts to act very differently around Yukimi [[spoiler:whom he marries]]. Usually, he will sigh and mope and write bad poetry about women who already have husbands, or at least lovers.
* InfantImmortality: Way averted in ''Squire'' and ''Lady Knight''. [[spoiler:The killing devices are powered by the souls of dead children.]]
* JoustingLance: Plays an important role in ''Squire'' allowing Kel to show that she is [[YouGoGirl just as worth to be a knight as any male]].
* LadyOfWar: Keladry by the time of ''Lady Knight''.
* TheLancer: Flighty DeadpanSnarker Neal to level-headed [[TheStoic stoic]] Kel.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Vinison is punished for beating and raping commoner women when the Chamber of the Ordeal makes him physically experience what he did to them]]. Justified in that it's a godlike entity that examines would-be knights' souls.
* MagicMusic: Numair Salmalin manages to retrieve several large boulders to fortify the defences around an army camp in Protector Of The Small. WordOfGod says that the name of the music he uses - "The Sorcerer's Dance" - is meant to reference the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
** It should also be noted that the Sorcerer's Dance is considered an absurdly simple spell (the scale Numair which uses is rather huge though). Scanran mages are also mentioned to be quite good at music magic.
* MamaBear: Despite never actually having children, Kel fits the mold quite well indeed. ''Do not pick on people close to her.'' There's a reason the quartet of books featuring her are collectively called the "Protector of the Small" series.
* TheManBehindTheCurtain: The man creating the killing devices, revealed in the Chamber's vision to be a dumpy, fidgety little man with acne. When Kel [[spoiler: kills him in ''Lady Knight'', she's shocked at how easily he dies.]]
* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight.'' Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with excited to see him again.
* MindControlDevice: [[spoiler:Blayce tries to do this on Kel in their battle]]. Not really a specific device, as Numair explains, but most mages need a shiny object to grab their target's attention.
* MovingTheGoalposts: Wyldon will only retain his post as training master if Kel is accepted on probation instead of a full page, despite the letter of the law, and the king agrees. Kel is very unhappy.
* MustLetThemGetAway: Joren is only fined as a sentence for having [[spoiler:Lalasa]] abducted due to his status as a noble and hers as a servant. Kel is quite disgusted.
* NaginatasAreFeminine: Keladry is trained in them, and her mother once helped hold off a pirate invasion with one. They're specifically mentioned as a weapon woman train in the Yamani isles, which are based on Japan.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Between Joren's antics and Wyldon's desire to make Kel leave of her own accord, Keladry becomes stronger and more skilled than she probably would have otherwise.
* NonLethalWarfare: Mock battles using non lethal weapons in Kel's Page years.
* NonSequiturThud: Not as random as some examples, but Kel is noticeably... ineloquent after three rounds of jousting with Lord Wyldon.
-->'''Kel:''' I know, my lord. You wish I were a boy. But being a girl is more fun. More fun-er? Is that right?
-->'''Wyldon:''' Go lie down, Mindelan. You're tilt-silly.
* OlderAndWiser: King Jonathan is much more experienced and political here than he was during the ''Lioness'' books.
* PaperFanOfDoom: The Yamani ''shukusen'', which sport razor-sharp metal struts. They like to play catch with them. And this is why you should never try messing with a Yamani noblewoman. Particularly because they're also trained in self defense and Naginata skills.
* PetTheDog: Wyldon does this literally. He takes a liking to Jump, despite rules against pages having pets, which is the first indication that he's not as bad as he seems.
* PlatonicLifePartners: After losing her schoolgirl crush on him, Keladry and Neal became this.
* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Kalasin. She wants to be a knight, but due to the current state of the country she cannot do so without causing trouble. She decides instead to compromise with her parents, allowing her considerably more freedom with who she marries if she doesn't become a page. Keep in mind she's ten at best during this.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: When the killing devices show up, they speak like toddlers or cry like infants once they're broken. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Blayce, their creator, does not actually ''have'' to use children. He just likes to because he's a sick, twisted little man.]]
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]]: Buri. At this point, she's a high-ranking member of the Queen's Own.
* PsychologicalTormentZone: The Chamber of Ordeals. If you go in, and are not fit to be a knight, it will ''break'' you. [[spoiler:As Joren and Vinison found out]]. And if you are, you'll still be quite wobbly afterwards.
* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: Subverted by Kel on her first day there. She wears a dress specifically to remind everyone that she ''is'' a girl and has a perfect right to be there, thank you very much.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: In ''Lady Knight'', Kel initially thinks that her assignment to build and manage a refugee camp south of the Scanran border is this, with the not-unreasonable thought that she's being kept from the front because she's female. However, this is not the case--she's given the job because Wyldon and Raoul know that she's incredibly responsible and unlikely to go haring off out of boredom, unlike some of her peers.
* SheWillComeForMe: If you are under her protection and something happens to you, Keladry will come for you.
* ShoutOut: Lord Wyldon of Cavall is a blatant one to Cavall, King Arthur's favourite hunting dog. He is pathologically loyal, ruthless, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold kindhearted]] and breeds dogs.
* ShrinkingViolet: Lalasa, at first.
* SilkHidingSteel: This seems to be the default state of Yamani women. We don't get to see them in action, but after Neal interrupts a game of fan toss, Yuki tells him the following Yamani proverb, right before she uses the fan to slice up a wooden tent pole as if it were made of paper.
--> Beware the women of the warrior class, for all they touch is both beautiful and deadly.
* TheStoic: Kel and her "Yamani face." She uses it to get through the hazing and sexism without visibly blowing a gasket.
* TitleDrop: In ''Lady Knight'', [[spoiler:the Chamber of Ordeals names her Protector of the Small]]. Kel is not thrilled with the nickname, but it gets picked up by the rest of Tortal anyway.
* TrainingFromHell: Just training to become a knight might fall under this, but for Kel (who had to prove herself to those who would not have woman be knight) it was.
* WarIsHell: Present in the encounters with bandits that happen during Keladry's page years, but it becomes a major theme in ''Squire'' and ''Lady Knight'' as hostilities with Scanra become a full-fledged war. The descriptions of death and brutality are quite vivid.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Kel's stern training master Lord Wyldon serves as one of these for Kel -- a conservative opposed to the concept of female knights, but fair enough to recognize her hard work and skill. He even admits to Kel that it took a little arm-twisting from his own conscience for him to allow her to stay on as a page after her first year, and up until that point she was all but convinced that he intended to see her fail regardless of her actual talent.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Kel's fear of heights is crippling, making her freeze up and sometimes vomit. When Wyldon figures this out, he orders her to climb tall trees and landmarks to survey the area to get her over it, and she starts climbing walls in the Palace for the same reason. [[spoiler:She kicks the worst parts of the fear after being forced to climb down Balor's Needle in ''Page'', but she still never likes them.]]
* WeakButSkilled: Neal and his father Duke Baird when compared to Numair magically. Nowhere near as powerful but as healers trained to a level of precision that Numair could never hope to match because of his {{Ace Lightning Syndrome}}. It's only in comparison to people like Numair and Alanna, though; otherwise they are considered to have a strong Gift.
* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Joren's plot]] at the end of ''Page''. Either Keladry ignores the kidnappers' note, incurring shame for abandoning her servent, or she rescues Lalasa and misses the page exam, thus having to repeat the four years of training (and, the culprit assumes, quitting rather than doing it all over again). [[spoiler:She chooses to rescue Lalasa, and the examiners decide to let her take the exams anyway in light of the extraordinary circumstances]].
