History Literature / ProtectorOfTheSmall

** After [[spoiler:Joren is fined for having Lalasa kidnapped]], Kel is outraged that the only punishment he gets is a fine, since his family can easily afford it. She meets with Jonathan and Thayet, points out how wrong that is, and when Jonathan asks what she wants him to do about it, Kel asks him to change the law... only for Jonathan to tell her that while he's been doing his best to change laws like the one in question since he became king, it's not as simple as just ordering it to be changed, because he has to keep ''everyone'' on his side as every group, from nobles to commoners, can take revenge on the crown if angered. He does agree to do his best to change the law, but tells her that it's going to take time and won't be easy.

* RealityEnsues:
** After [[spoiler:Joren is fined for having Lalasa kidnapped]], Kel is outraged that the only punishment he gets is a fine, since his family can easily afford it. She meets with Jonathan and Thayet, points out how wrong that is, and when Jonathan asks what she wants him to do about it, Kel asks him to change the law... only for Jonathan to tell her that while he's been doing his best to change laws like the one in question since he became king, it's not as simple as just ordering it to be changed, because he has to keep ''everyone'' on his side as every group, from nobles to commoners, can take revenge on the crown if angered. He does agree to do his best to change the law, but tells her that it's going to take time and won't be easy.
** In addition, Kel had been looking forward to exercising a bit of noble privilege of her own and challenging Joren to a duel after the trial was over. King Jonathan reminds her that if she wants the laws to apply equally, that she has to mean it, and insists that she swear not to challenge Joren in exchange for the King managing to get the law changed.
** In the first book, Neal confronts Kel over her continually fighting Joren and the other bullies. She tells him and their other friends that hazing is plain wrong, and even if one boy limits it to having a newcomer fetch something he forgot, others will happily take the opportunity to physically abuse the younger boys- and because everyone else turns a blind eye, they know they'll get away with it. Knights are supposed to be kind to the weak and powerless, but a knight who grew up knowing that he can push around the weak and powerless and nobody will care won't suddenly decide to stop upon getting his shield- so it has to stop now, and she'll be the one to do it. The others start joining her patrols after that.
** After [[spoiler:Joren dies in the Chamber and Vinson's crimes are revealed, Lord Wyldon retires as the pages' teacher.]] When asked why, he explains that he knows his approach was at least partially responsible, and that it could well be said that the best thing that came out of his tenure was [[spoiler:Kel becoming a knight]], and in that case, he definitely needs to retire, given that he did his utmost to prevent it from occurring.
** When Kel first joins the palace as a page, the majority of the boys make it plain that they don't think she deserves to be there and they don't want her there. Kel manages to make friends and proves herself, but her most fervent detractors don't change their minds and aren't convinced by her efforts, no matter what happens. Sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work or how much effort you put in, you can't change things.
** Theoretically, anyone who undergoes page training and fulfils their term as a squire will undergo the Ordeal and become a knight, unless something happens during the Ordeal. But as Raoul points out in ''Squire'', not all the pages are strong enough or good enough to become knights, and not all are suited for it — and in those cases, the training master discouraging them or sending them home is doing them a favour. He flat out says that if he was the training master, he'd never have let Joren get to squire.

* InfantImmortality: Way averted in ''Squire'' and ''Lady Knight''. [[spoiler:The killing devices are powered by the souls of dead children.]]

* BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: A borderline example in ''Lady Knight''. Stenmun drags children to the castle, then Blayce has them bathed, clothed in silk, fed well, and given toys [[spoiler:before he kills them for his devices]].

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Wyldon. He's a misogynist and heavily biased but he's also smart enough to know when he's and he's got the backbone to admit it.

* FluffyTheTerrible: Peachblossom's bad-tempered nature is humorously contrasted by his name.

* MagicMusic: Numair Salmalín manages to retrieve several large boulders to fortify the defences around an army camp in ''Lady Knight''. (WordOfGod says that the name of the music he uses — "The Sorcerer's Dance" — is a ShoutOut to [[Disney/{{Fantasia}} the Sorcerer's Apprentice]].) It should also be noted that the Sorcerer's Dance is considered an absurdly simple spell (the scale which Numair uses is rather huge, though). Scanran mages are also mentioned to be quite good at music magic.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The conservative knights claim that taking Lerant of Elsdorne, whose aunt rebelled against the crown, into the King's Own is yet another proof of Raoul's corruption (in addition to taking on a female squire, treating Bazhir and K'miri as equals, and daring to put a noble on trial for a crime he committed), but have among their number Voelden of Tirrsmont, whose family took part in the exact same rebellion.

* MustLetThemGetAway: [[spoiler: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.

** Theoretically, anyone who undergoes page training and fulfils their term as a squire will undergo the Ordeal and become a knight, unless something happens during the Ordeal. But as Raoul points out in ''Squire'', not all the pages are strong enough or good enough to become knights, and not all are suited for it- and in those cases, the training master discouraging them or sending them home is doing them a favour. He flat out says that if he was the training master, he'd never have let Joren get to squire.

* 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.]]
* DesecratingTheDead: Keladry normally buries enemy dead before the Stormwings can have their bodies, but she allows them to have the BigBad and his {{Dragon}} because they're so monstrous.

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]]: Buri. At this point, she's a high-ranking member of the Queen's Riders.

* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: Defied 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. It's noted that she didn't particularly care for dresses before arriving at the palace, only having brought a few, but liked the idea of this tiny revenge against everyone thinking to drive her away.

** After [[spoiler:Joren dies in the Chamber and Vinson's crimes are revealed, Lord Wyldon retires as the page's teacher.]] When asked why, he explains that he knows his approach was at least partially responsible, and that it could well be said that the best thing that came out of his tenure was [[spoiler:Kel becoming a knight]], and in that case, he definitely needs to retire, given that he did his utmost to prevent it from occurring.

* HeroicSafeMode: When Kel realizes if she had [[spoiler:reported Vinson for attacking Lalasa]] in ''Page'', he might not have [[spoiler:gone on to attack and rape three girls]] the following year. She wanders the halls aimlessly until she is jumped by [[spoiler:Joren]]. She attacks him without thinking, pushing him against the wall and shoving her arm into his throat. She then pursues PercussiveTherapy.

* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight''. Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with her excited to see him again, but without saying if they strike up a relationship or not. Pierce specifically avoided TheyDo with anyone to show that it's possible to have a happy ending without romance.

* ActionPet: Jump, a dog of war if there was ever one.

* AntiClimaxBoss: Invoked in ''Lady Knight'' when Kel [[spoiler:finally reaches Blayce the Gallan. Once she sees through his concealment spell, he goes down easily. She's a little incredulous at how little effort it takes to kill such a monstrous individual]].

** 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'' got final veto power over any marriage arrangements and heavy involvement in any negotiations.

* CombatHandFan: 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.

* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:Wyldon resigns as a training master after Joren's death and Vinson's confession to rape. He may be a {{Jerkass}} but even he knows that if two students failed and their common link was a girl that Wyldon hated who ended up surpassing the odds, then he failed as an instructor.]]

* FaceYourFears: The Chamber, as in the ''Lioness'' books, although it turns out to be more complex than that; the knights keep repeating that you have to be willing to "bend" to the Ordeal, and those that don't bend will break. Whenever Kel is at the Palace in ''Squire'', she makes a point of testing herself against its brutal visions before undergoing the real thing.

* HandSignals: Frequently seen while Kel is with the King's Own. She continues to use them in ''Lady Knight'' and teaches the sparrows several flight signals as well.

* MagicMusic: Numair Salmalín manages to retrieve several large boulders to fortify the defences around an army camp in ''Lady Knight''. (WordOfGod says that the name of the music he uses — "The Sorcerer's Dance" — is a ShoutOut to 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.

* 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.

* 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.

** After [[spoiler:Joren is fined for having Lalasa kidnapped]], Kel is outraged that the only punishment he gets is a fine, since his family can easily afford it. She meets with Jonathan and Thayet, points out how wrong that is, and when Jonathan asks what she wants him to do about it, Kel asks him to change the law... only for Jonathan to tell her that while he's been doing his best to change laws like the one in question since he became king, and it's not as simple as just ordering it to be changed, because he has to keep ''everyone'' on his side as every group, from nobles to commoners, can take revenge on the crown if angered. He does agree to do his best to change the law, but tells her that it's going to take time and won't be easy.

** Royal processions are extremely long and arduous affairs, and kings can use it not only to [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure get a feel for their land and establish personal ties to their kingdom,]] but [[GoodIsNotSoft to drain the resources of any hosting lords who cause trouble to the crown.]]

* SoProudOfYou: At Kel's knighting ceremony, this is her mother Ilane's response to Kel saying that she'll lose face for crying. While her father Piers doesn't say so, it is evident that he is proud of her too, as he is also crying in happiness and pride. Shortly after, Alanna says the same thing when telling Kel how the latter was inspiration to other girls.

* TitleDrop: In ''Lady Knight'', [[spoiler:the Chamber of the Ordeal names her Protector of the Small]]. Kel is not thrilled with the nickname, but it gets picked up by the rest of Tortall anyway.

* 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.
* WorldBuilding: This quartet does a lot to expand Tortall's setting, particularly in ''Squire''. As squire to the Knight Commander of the King's Own, Kel sees quite a lot of Tortall from the Palace to the Great Southern Desert to little villages struck by bandits and earthquakes. The royal family's Grand Progress also showcases Tortall's culture and the ways it's starting to change due to events from the first two quartets.

--> '''Sir Raoul of Goldenlake''', ''Squire''

* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of ''Lady Knight''. Kel is still attracted to Dom, and the book ends with excited to see him again, but without saying if they strike up a relationship or not. Pierce specifically avoided TheyDo with anyone to show that it's possible to have a happy ending without romance.

* MagicMusic: Numair Salmalin manages to retrieve several large boulders to fortify the defences around an army camp in ''Lady Knight''. (WordOfGod says that the name of the music he uses — "The Sorcerer's Dance" — is a ShoutOut to 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.

* [[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.

* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude: The animals at the Palace are all unnaturally bright thanks to Daine living there. The sparrows Kel feeds soon become attached to her enough that they drive away bullies, both from Kel and people Kel likes, and fetch help when needed. A bunch of horses break up a fight between the pages, unsettling the training masters. And Daine deliberately infuses the camp animals with intelligence in ''Lady Knight'', although she considers it DirtyBusiness.

* BadassNormal: Kel, the only protagonist in Pierce novels not to have any magical abilities.

* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler:Lalasa was raped by her older brother and her parents refused to believe her. It made her understandably cynical about authority and men.]]

* CampingACrapper: Joren and his gang try to ambush Kel at the latrine in ''First Test''--only to be attacked by her sparrows.
* CentralTheme:

** 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. Plus, 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.
* ChekhovsGun: Balor's Needle--a very tall, thin tower in the palace that Kel shudders to even look at, and which pages are barred from since one committed suicide there a few years ago--is pointed out in ''First Test''. She actually winds up forced to climb it early in ''Page'' when Gary chances to send her up on an errand. Jon has to put her in a trance so she can get back down. [[spoiler:She has to go back alone and unaided at the end when Lalasa is kidnapped there in the end.]]

* CombatHandFan: 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.
* ContinuitySnarl: The infamous-among-fans "missing year," in which Kel celebrates her 14th birthday, then her 16th just one year later.
* 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:

** People also gain respect for Kel when Wyldon doesn't knock her out of the saddle during their second jousting match, though she does get "tilt-silly." After this, even Wyldon gets more respectful of her.

* DesecratingTheDead: Keladry normally buries enemy dead before the stormwings can have their bodies, but she allows them to have the BigBad and his {{Dragon}} because they're so monstrous.

* 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]]. After this, the main plot of the book switches to the Scanran war.
* DuelToTheDeath: By Jon's time, duels of honor are satisfied without a fight to the death. However, one knight ''tries'' to do this--illegally--in a joust against Kel in ''Squire''. She responds by knocking him out of the saddle on the next pass.

* 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 acrophobia.

* FreshClue: In book four Kel and her soldiers are able to tell how close they are to the Scanrans they're pursuing by the freshness of the horse manure they leave.
* 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.)

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Somehow after [[spoiler: Joren dies, his father]] is able to break into Kel's room and [[spoiler: attempt to murder her]]. If not for Jump being vicious and Raoul being reasonable, he may have succeeded.
* GloveSlap: Any knight Kel refuses to joust in ''Squire'' does this--once it happens a few times, she gives up and just accepts from the start. That is, until [[spoiler:Crown and Freckle pass away]] and Kel, too upset to joust, angrily maintains her refusal to her challenger even after being slapped.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Wyldon upped his TrainingFromHell to ensure that Kel wouldn't complete her training. [[SpringtimeForHitler Not only does she succeed and win his respect]], but he belatedly realizes that [[spoiler:his methods allowed a rapist and a kidnapper-- Vinson and Joren respectively-- to act horribly without his notice or punishment until they faced their Ordeal.]]

* ICanStillFight: Merric pulls this in ''Lady Knight''. Though still affected by bloodloss from his wounds, he insists on joining Kel's quest to [[spoiler:save Haven's captured refugees]] by being tied to his horse.

'''Merric:''' [in tones of utmost reason] But I'm really ''well'' tied.

* JoustingLance: Plays an important role in ''Squire'' allowing Kel to show that she is [[YouGoGirl just as worthy to be a knight as any male]].

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Joren of Stone Mountain]], punished by the Chamber of the Ordeal. Too fatally inflexible to handle the prospect of Keladry succeeding as a lady knight, [[spoiler: the Chamber breaks him]].

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[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.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Thanks to the numerous cameos from ''Lioness'' and ''Immortals'' characters--a cast list appears in back of ''First Test'', setting a trend for every subsequent Pierce novel.
* 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 a ShoutOut to 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.

* 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, but without saying if they strike up a relationship or not. Pierce specifically avoided TheyDo with anyone to show that it's possible to have a happy ending without romance.
* 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.

-->'''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.

* PercussiveTherapy: Kel after [[spoiler: Vinson confesses to raping two girls and beating them up after his Ordeal]] goes out in the snow to practice archery with a bow she's not adept with. Buri comes to talk to her, and tells her that learning from her mistakes is more productive than beating herself up, Desconstructing the trope.

* PromotionNotPunishment: At the end of ''Lady Knight'' Kel is 'punished' for [[spoiler: her desertion by being put in charge of a new and bigger refugee camp. This is helped by the fact that Wyldon realised that he asked too much of her by ordering her to abandon her kidnapped people, particularly when she was chosen for the duty in the first place because she would care about them.]]
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: A brief 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. Granted, Neal threatened the magistrate first, and Alvik's implications that they were buddies was when Neal went with Plan B. But given how big a deal it was in ''Squire,'' it stands out.

* PsychologicalTormentZone: The Chamber of Ordeals. If you go in, and are not fit to be a knight, to bend to the Chamber's torrent, it will ''break'' you. [[spoiler:As Joren and Vinison found out]]. And if you are, you'll still be quite wobbly afterwards.
* PunishmentDetail: In ''Lady Knight'', Kel makes sure everyone--including herself--rotates through latrine detail. But she also uses extended latrine detail in lieu of [[ATasteOfTheLash whipping]] and threatens a particularly difficult man that she'll have him noted as having a ''particular'' talent for cleaning sewage tubs if he doesn't settle down.
* PutOnABus: Most of Kel's page friends disappear for ''Squire'', as they're scattered around the country with their own knight-masters. Neal and Cleon are the ones most frequently seen. TheBusCameBack in ''Lady Knight'' when they were all posted to the Scanran front.

* RealityEnsues: After [[spoiler: Joren is fined for having Lalasa kidnapped]], Kel is outraged that the only punishment he gets is a fine, since his family can easily afford it. She meets with Jonathan and Thayet, points out how wrong that is, and when Jonathan asks what she wants him to do about it, Kel asks him to change the law... only for Jonathan to tell her that while he's been doing his best to change laws like the one in question since he became king, and it's not as simple as just ordering it to be changed, because he has to keep ''everyone'' on his side as every group, from nobles to commoners, can take revenge on the crown if angered. He does agree to do his best to change the law, but tells her that it's going to take time and won't be easy.

* 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.

* SeriesContinuityError: 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.

* ShownTheirWork: Crown's death happens not for any plot-related reason, but simply because the story had reached the absolute limit of how long sparrows are known to live. She was already leader of the flock when Kel met her.

--> 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 Tortall anyway.

* TurnInYourBadge: After [[spoiler: Joren dies and Vinson confesses to raping two girls]], [[spoiler: Wyldon]] resigns as he feels that his TrainingFromHell and misogynistic means of trying to drive off Kel ended up not teaching the boys right. That said, he does remain a knight and still active in power.
* WaifProphet: Irnai, a little girl who first appears in ''Lady Knight''. She showed up in a Scanran village one day and predicted that the "Protector of the Small" would come with her companions (alluding to the other knights, Fanche, etc) and her "knowing animals." But she can only give fifty-fifty odds that they'll actually beat Blayce.

* 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.

* 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 servant, 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]].
* YouKilledMyFather: Seaver and spidrens. He flips out at the end of ''First Test'' and attacks the spidrens head-on, saying the trope name word-for-word.

* 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.