Keladry of Mindelan

From the Tamora Pierce Wiki

Keladry "Kel" of Mindelan is the first girl to ask the crown to enter training to become a knight since the decree that girls could be allowed. The decree came as a result of Alanna of Trebond completing the training under the guise of being a boy. Kel, who spent most of her childhood in the Yamani Islands, has to overcome the prejudices of the conservatives and her fellow pages until she is accepted. When she becomes a squire her knight master is Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, the commander of the King's Own. Upon receiving her shield Kel fights in the Scanran War, commanding the refugee camp Haven and killing the enemy mage Blayce the Gallan.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Keladry of Mindelan is born in June of 442 HE^[1] as the youngest child of Piers of Mindelan and his lady Ilane. When Kel is four, her brother Conal holds her over the tallest tower of Mindelan for several minutes, giving her a fear of heights that haunts her for her entire childhood and even becomes a problem in her training for knighthood. In the same year the family - except Kel's older brothers, who are already at the palace training for knighthood - leave for the Yamani Islands. Piers, a Tortallan diplomat, negotiated for a peacy treaty there. Kel spends six years in the islands, learning their habits and some fighting skills.

One of her childhood friends, whom she knew as Cricket in the Yamani Islands, is actually Princess Shinkokami. However, Kel doesn't find this out until the princess is sent to Tortall during Kel's years as a squire, in order to marry the Tortallan Crown Prince, Roald.

[edit] Page years

After her family's return to Tortall, Kel decides to try for her shield. However, contrary to the initial proclamation by King Jonathan, she is told she must pass a probationary first year in order to remain in the palace afterwords. The page's training master, Lord Wyldon, has an immediate animosity towards her, before he has even met her, because of his strong dislike for change, and his belief that women are too weak to make good warriors. Many of Kel's fellow pages harbor the same beliefs: Joren of Stone Mountain, Garvey of Runnerspring, Zahir ibn Alhaz and Quinden of Marti's Hill all make her life difficult, with the eventual goal of making Kel leave. Nealan of Queenscove, on the other hand, befriends Kel almost immediately, and acts as her sponsor despite being a fellow page. Through her determination, Kel earns the respect and friendship of Merric of Hollyrose, Seaver of Tasride, Faleron of King's Reach, Esmond of Nicoline, Cleon of Kennan, and even Prince Roald. Kel and her friends slowly form a study group, meeting in Neal's room until there are too many of them to be comfortable, and they begin studying in the library instead.

Kel, who is already struggling with being "The Girl" and being teased because of it, also proclaims war on the traditional "hazing". Hazing had been common among pages since long before Kel came along. In its milder forms, it consists of making the first-years run errands for the older pages, so that the new pages can earn their way. However, Joren and his friends use the custom as an excuse to bully the younger boys. Initially, it is only Kel who roams the corridors and picks fights with Joren and his gang when she catches them in the act of bullying the first-years. However, her friends begin accompanying Kel, and the bullying end once they outnumber Joren and his gang.

But Keladry doesn't only stand up for her fellow pages. She also rescues the gelding Peachblossom from being put to hard work or even death by choosing him to be her horse while a page. As he had been treated badly in the past, Peachblossom doesn't like people and refuses to behave. However Kel asks Veralidaine Sarrasri, the wildmage, for help, and she and Peachblossom reach an agreement under which Kel is allowed to ride him as long as she refrains from using metal spur on him. Kel also forms a close relationship to the palace sparrows. Initially, Kel feeds them at her window. In the winter they begin to live in her rooms, as it is warmer there than outside.

Kel is also forced to fight her overpowering fear of heights. Once Lord Wyldon realizes that looking down from heights paralyzes Kel, he sets her tasks that force her to face her fear. Kel doesn't resent this, but instead challenges herself to face her fear.

She is given the chance to prove herself to be worthy of the page title at the end of her first year as a probationary page. While on a trip to help capture a nest of spidrens, her sparrows lead them and a group of the King's Own, including the Knight Commander Raoul of Goldenlake, to the nest. When Kel and her fellow pages are set the task of guarding the rear, and are attacked by spidrens, Kel raises the alarm, and kills one of the monsters that is going after Merric.

After the summer camp, Lord Wyldon surprises everyone when he allows Kel to stay and continue her training for knighthood.

Her remaining three years as a page aren't any easier. Though already having proven herself worthy of her place as a page, Kel's training only increases in its pace and demands. Her lessons continue, and she still had to prove that she, a girl, is able to do just as well any boy, if not better. Meanwhile, she develops a crush on her friend, Neal.

Kel looses her fear of heights when Joren of Stone Mountain hires two thugs to kidnap Kel's maid and friend, Lalasa Isran. She is forced to climb to the top of Balor's Needle, the palace's tallest tower, in order to save Lalasa. She misses the page examinations that would have made her a squire, but Duke Turomont of Wellam, the Lord Magistrate, allows her re-take them on account of Lalasa's kidnapping. She passes and is made a squire.

[edit] Squire years

After her big examinations Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, the Knight Commander of the King's Own, picks Kel as his squire, despite the fact that he never takes on squires. Kel builds a strong friendship with her knightmaster; one that lasts a lifetime. She also befriends Domitan of Masbolle, and begins her relationship with Cleon of Kennan. For a while she cares for a baby griffin, until Daine is able to find its parents; she names the longsword she receives from Alanna the Lioness Griffin, in memory of the nestling she raised.

Throughout the book, she fears the Chamber of the Ordeal she must face, and whose judgment she must pass in order to become a knight. She tests her strength against the chamber on several occasions - mostly midwinter before the fourth year squires take their ordeals. Every time Kel touches the iron door of the chamber the chamber shows her her greatest fear at the time. The first time Kel sees herself as squire to Myles of Olau, a desk knight who does no fighting, as she still hasn't been chosen by a real knight. Later she sees herself being crippled by a tilting accident and being helpless. The time after this she witnesses Cleon being killed. In the end, the experience she faces in the Chamber foreshadows the events that would take place after her ordeal when Kel was a knight and in charge of the refugee camp Haven. She is given a vision of a man, and she is told she must stop him.

[edit] Knight years

In Lady Knight, Tortall is deep in a war with Scanra along the northern border because the war clans that are normally wrought with internal battles have been united by one warlord who has given them Tortall as a common enemy and promised bountiful spoils of war. He also employs Blayce the Gallan, the Nothing Man, a necromancer that kills children and uses their spirits to power giant killing machines that are very difficult to stop. This is the man Kel saw in the Chamber and must stop. Hindering her ability to do so is the fact that she is given command of a refugee fort, Haven, that is nearly on top of the front lines. She does well at her post but is constantly aggravated that she cannot pursue her own desire to find Blayce. During a trip to make a report on the fort to Lord Wyldon, Haven is heavily attacked and defeated. Those who were not killed were taken as slaves back to Scanra. When she hears of this, Kel disobeys direct orders to stay and leaves in the middle of the night to rescue the people she was put in charge of. Many of her friends know her well enough to predict this action and meet up with her, not to bring her back but to help her. When they catch up to and defeat the Scanrans who attacked Haven with the help of the enslaved refugees. Kel tells everyone to go back but continues into Scanra in order to find and defeat Blayce, which she does. She returns to Tortall thinking herself a traitor for disobeying her orders only to find she will not be punished because Lord Wyldon understands it was an order she could not follow.

Kel also makes a brief appearance in Trickster's Choice, when Aly sees her sparring Alanna at Fort Mastiff. Kel loses to Alanna. The fight is interrupted by Tkaa the basilisk.

[edit] Mysterious Benefactor

Keladry of Mindelan wants to be a Lady Knight of Tortall like Alanna the Lioness. King Jonathan orders Alanna, King's Champion and Healer-Mage, to stay away from Kel during her training to prevent people from thinking that Kel was succeeding only because she was being aided by magic. However, Alanna anonymously sends Kel practical and expensive gifts throughout her training years.

First year as probationary page

First day: Belt knife with whetstone

Midwinter: Bruise balm containing a healing spell

Summer: Tilting saddle for Peachblossom, the cranky destrier Kel is training with

Second year as page

First day: Three oval leather balls for arm strengthening exercises

Midwinter: Raven Armory (the realm's finest armory) supplies for cleaning leather and weapons

Summer: Riding gloves and gauntlets

Third year as page

Fall: Shooting gloves and arm guards for archery

Midwinter: Pair of saddle bags filled with travel equipment such as flint and steel, iron cooking/eating set, rope, fishing hooks and line etc.

Summer: Bow and quiver of arrows

Fourth year as page

Midwinter: Raven Armory longsword

Summer after fourth year exams: Bill of sale for the horse, Peachblossom

Squire

First Midwinter as squire to Raoul of Goldenlake, Knight Commander of the King's Own: Brass-mounted spyglass

Second Midwinter as squire: New saddle and tack for Hoshi, Kel's spare horse that is required of those serving in the King's Own

Fourth Midwinter after successfully completing the Ordeal of Knighthood: Alanna reveals herself as the mysterious benefactor when she personally delivers a new Raven Armory longsword of Yamani steel, longer than Kel's previous sword since she has grown so much taller in four years.

[edit] Physical description

Kel is big for a girl at 5'10" by the age of 18. She's stocky, broad-shouldered, and solid waisted, having her father's body style, but her mother's height. It is suggested that she and Cleon (another squire, also tall like her) should marry and raise young giants. She keeps her light brown hair cut short, at her ear lobes. Her eyes are a dreamy hazel-green framed with long lashes. She has a delicate nose over full lips. She's very muscular, every bit as much as a man with her title. She has scars, especially fine and deep ones on her hands after caring for a baby griffin in her squire years.

[edit] Personality and traits

Kel is very emotional, but very expressionless. She was trained in the Yamani Islands as a child to hide her emotions, and she does so very well. She is very polite, and she hides any dislike behind this polite mask. She is extremely determined and self-motivated. She feels a strong need and desire to help those who are small and weak.

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Family relationships

Kel has an over-all good relationship with her family. She has a polite but loving relationship with her father, a very good relationship and admiration for her mother, and a distant friendship with her siblings. She gets along best with her brother Anders, the eldest of her siblings. His eldest son looks to Kel for advice as he goes to the palace to train as a page. She sees Inness on and off over her squire years and appears to be on good terms with him. Her brother Conal held her over a high balcony when she was four, giving her a childhood fear of heights, but he doesn't remember it, and she has since forgiven him.

[edit] Romantic relationships

Barely beginning in "First Test" and continuing in "Page," Kel develops a huge crush on her best friend, Nealan of Queenscove. She never tells him, and after a few years is glad she didn't, because the spark vanishes in "Squire" after she spends a few months away with her knight-master, Raoul, and the King's Own.

In "Squire," after a few months developing a crush on Neal's cousin Domitan of Masbolle, Kel begins her romantic relationship with Cleon of Kennan. However at the beginning of "Lady Knight" they break it off, because Cleon has to marry Ermelian of Aminar so his people won't starve due to flooding. At the end of "Lady Knight" there is a hint that her crush on Dom remains, and that it has the potential to develop into something more, after she expresses her desire to see him again.

[edit] Appearances

• First Test
• Page
• Squire
• Lady Knight
• Trickster's Choice (seen through a dream or vision)

[edit] Notes and references

1. ↑ Tortallan timeline

[edit] See also