Protector of the Small Books in Order

Protector of the Small returns to Tortall years after Alanna broke the rule against girls training for knighthood. Laws have changed, but habits have not. Keladry of Mindelan, or Kel, is the first girl to openly enter page training, with no disguise, no secret identity, and a very public group of skeptics waiting for her to fail.

The series begins with First Test, where Kel arrives at court only to learn that the training master, Lord Wyldon, has demanded a one year probation that no boy has ever faced. She endures hazing that crosses the line into cruelty and quietly earns allies among teachers, friends, and the sparrows who choose to follow her.

In Page, Kel is no longer on trial, but she is still watched closely. Her fear of heights, her refusal to tolerate bullying, and her insistence on protecting servants and animals all shape how others see her. Training scenes mix with small scale crises, from bandit attacks to the very personal decision to confront a predatory squire who threatens her maid.

Squire shifts the focus to the field when Kel is chosen not by Alanna, her childhood hero, but by Lord Raoul of Goldenlake, commander of the King's Own. Riding with Raoul's company exposes her to border skirmishes, court politics, and the grinding work of soldiering. The famous Chamber of the Ordeal looms ahead, and so do questions about romance, duty, and what kind of knight she wants to be.

The final book, Lady Knight, sends Kel straight into war with the northern country of Scanra. Instead of glory at the front, she is put in charge of a refugee camp and asked to keep its most vulnerable inhabitants alive. At the same time, she carries a private charge from the Chamber, to stop the mage behind terrible killing devices that are tearing through Tortall's armies.

Across all four books, Kel's story leans heavily into questions of justice, bullying, class, and what it means to use strength on behalf of those who have none. Readers see Tortall from the training yard up through muddy encampments and desperate battles. Protector of the Small is often recommended after The Immortals, especially if you want a heroine who is steady, practical, and fiercely loyal rather than flashy or chosen by prophecy.