Alina Starkov and Malyen Oretsev are the youngest children at the Duke’s orphanage. Refugees of the border wars, the boy and girl arrive around the same time and share a close bond. The boy, nicknamed Mal, is sweet and friendly. Alina is “different, and she knew it” (1). The children work around the orphanage while receiving schooling and love to cause mischief. One day, three Grisha Examiners arrive to test the children. The Grisha are an elite army and masters of magical skills called the “Small Science.” Being Grisha means leaving the orphanage and training in a separate school, with special privileges. It is a rare honor, and should one of them be Grisha, it would mean leaving the other child behind. Alina grasps Mal’s hand and they share a look that the narrator likens to “the look of a man defending his home with nothing but a rock in his hand” (7). Though unnoticed by the adults, it is a silent battle cry against their potential separation.

Years later, Alina and Mal have both left the orphanage to join the First Army, also known as the King’s Army. Alina is training as a mapmaker, and Mal as a tracker.