While we learn many things about the Karsians, their history, philosophy, culture, customs and religion, we see less character development from the cast of the first novel. Renna makes a dramatic comeback from Tibbet's Brook. The rest of the sections reunite us with Arlen (the Warded Man), Leesha (Herb Gatherer of recently renamed Deliverer's Hollow), and Rojer (violinist of exceptional skill and talent, especially in charming demons and unruly animals). He leaves the khaffit (merchant caste) behind to do what it does best while he proceeds further north with his quest. Jardir overruns the first fort in the North with little trouble and begins advancing on the next rather than waiting a year to consolidate and secure supplies. Jardir acquires the Spear of the Deliverer (less honorably and nobly than he should have), declares himself the Deliverer returned and advances north to invade, conquer, convert and conscript everyone and everything to begin the Karsian version of Armageddon against the corelings. We saw glimpses of the other castes, including the clerics, subdivisions within the warriors and the women (as broodmares in the warriors' harems, as healers, as seeresses/sorceresses). To their own detriment, the Karsians are living (or dying) proof of Darwin's theory of evolution: only the strong survive. Jardir and Abban provided the lenses through which we observed the life paths of the warrior caste and the scorned merchant caste. The first of the four sections of Desert Spear gave us a hawk's eye view of life as a desert warrior.
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