Protector of the Small

About the Protector of the Small series

Protector of the Small follows Keladry of Mindelan, the first girl to train openly for knighthood in Tortall since a law change opened the pages' training to girls -- unlike Alanna, who had to disguise herself as a boy a generation earlier, Kel trains as herself, in full view of instructors and fellow pages who range from supportive to openly hostile. That difference reframes the same basic knighthood-training premise Song of the Lioness used: where Alanna's struggle was concealment, Kel's is enduring visible, sustained prejudice, including a probationary first year specifically designed to make her quit, while never losing the steady, stubborn decency that gives the quartet its title. Across four books she rises from page to squire to knight, developing a reputation for standing up for people smaller or weaker than herself -- refugees, animals, younger pages -- that becomes as central to her character as swordsmanship, alongside a training bond with a formidable sparrow flock and a griffin chick she's saddled with protecting. Pierce wrote Kel as a deliberate contrast to Alanna: less naturally gifted, more methodical, and more overtly concerned with fairness and leadership than personal glory, giving Tortall's central knighthood narrative a second, meaningfully different take a decade after the first. The series builds to a genuine large-scale war in its final volume, Lady Knight, testing Kel's leadership under conditions the earlier training arc could only prepare her for in theory.

How to read this series

Read Protector of the Small in publication order -- First Test, Page, Squire, Lady Knight -- one continuous story tracking Kel from her first year as a page through knighthood and war. It's set in Tortall a decade or so after Song of the Lioness, and while you don't need Alanna's quartet to follow Kel's story, having read it first gives useful context for why a girl training openly for knighthood is still such a contested novelty. No knowledge of The Immortals is needed either, though Daine and Numair make supporting appearances as established adults.