Keladry hates bullies, and after realizing that Joren of Stone Mountain and his friends were bullying first year pages, defied tradition and started patrolling the halls, fighting the boys whenever she found them hurting others. Nealan, also known as Neal to his friends (possibly the oldest page in the history of pages) becomes her best friend as well as her sponsor, and the other first-year pages gradually accept Kel (as she is known to her friends and family) as she defends them from the bullies.