Chapters 19-21 - The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett (Also: The Painted Man)

 We learn more about Krasian society and find a parallel to our world's Indian caste system and Saudi Arabia's culture. Warriors are valued above all else except for holy men. Arlen seeks help from his Krasian merchant friend, one of the few individuals in the city that can speak what we perceive as 'English', called Thesan. Based on Arlen's interactions, calling his language 'Thesan', the Krasians probably do not know about the Great Cities splitting up into Duchies and not retaining the King of Thesia. At least that was my theory- but the opposite is true. Most know about 'the southerners'. There is a cover up in the duchies as we learn in Miln when Arlen repeats the word 'Thesian' by accident. "Spreading that rumor" normally leads to death. He learned about Thesia in the forbidden stacks of the great library of the duke. It is interesting that the duke has not tried to censor this information by burning the books.

The First Warrior of Krasia, titled the Shar'Dama Ka also able to speak Thesian is a proponent of Arlen and a friend. Arlen brings the spear to him in good faith to arm the Krasians, whom he respects- so that they can turn the tide of the war against the Corelings. Arlen is invited to dinner with him and his entourage, then to fight against the alagai in the maze, a complex where corelings are lured and slaughtered.

Except Arlen is doing the slaughtering without the ward pits and mirrors. Upon impact, the spear pierces carapace and sends jolts of electricity and fire through the corelings- causing them to feel pain. They also either explode with black blood everywhere or begin leaking it out when cut and stabbed; steam protruding from their eye sockets. When Arlen is redirected to another section of the maze to fight, he discovers an ambush waiting for him with no Corelings anywhere near him.

The Krasians ambushed him, taking the spear. They knocked him into a pit with a sand coreling and watched the contest. Barely, but surely- Arlen beats the coreling, somehow climbs out of the pit, and yells something along the lines of 'you will have to do better than that'. Well... he takes a proverbial 'boot to the head' and all goes black.