Fantasy book with three stories in it, including one about a monk indebted to a dark force and one about a warrior imprisoned in a slave camp

Question

This book had three different stories running in it. One was of the monk character who became indebted to this dark force that made him a killer. Stones were not to be stepped on in their belief system.

The other story was of a warrior who was imprisoned in this slave camp that was made to fight in wars. They were always the front of the line and usually wiped out first, but he trained them to be a great squadron.

The other plot was this woman who was researching in this library; I forget what she was looking for. There were also these obedient slave type people, who helped mindlessly and turned out to be the dark force that was tamed many years prior.

I really loved this book; it was one in a trilogy and this was the only book of the three I read. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I found it! It’s The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Thank you so much for your assistance. The internet is a wonderful thing.

• The prisoner is Kaladin, and he's forced to serve as a bridgeman.
• The woman is Shallan, and she's attempting to obtain a soulcaster.