George Steger

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This is a tale of two men who raised themselves above the narrow conventions of their times, one a great king, the other a simple Frankish warrior who taught himself to read. The king was Karl der Grosse, later to be known as Charlemagne. War was what sustained the High King Karl. He remained mighty and glorified as long as he could win victories, fighting and ruling largely like his pagan enemies. Gradually he began to change, moved by uncommon men around him who were able to show him a different way. It was his genius to recognize them.

One of those men was Sebastian, the bastard child of Ermengard, the wife of a famous count at Charlemagne’s court, and Attalus, a renowned but landless “Horse Master,” or constable. Sebastian was raised in relative isolation on the wild Saxon border by a lucky combination of enlightened people: his imperious mother, a blind sage, and a pair of very unorthodox clergymen, all of whom taught him to seek his own way and be strong enough to bear the consequences.

Sebastian succeeds in becoming a skilled and formidable fighter, but Heimdal, the blind man, and the two counter-cultural priests inspire him to become a scholar as well, a status avoided by most of Charlemagne’s rough-edged warriors.

Sebastian’s determination and unconventional character win him the king’s love, but an ingrained sense of integrity leads him to oppose Charlemagne’s brutal methods of vengeance against his enemies the Saxons. Standing on the perilous edge of treason, Sebastian’s fate is further imperiled by his brutish cousin Konrad, whose hatred threatens to destroy Sebastian and his family.

The story’s young hero is not immune to the attractions and temptations of the fairer sex. At the court of the king, he is stunned and enchanted in turn by the bold charms of the voluptuous Adelaide and the cool beauty of the regal Adela. Later, he succumbs to the allure and availability of a village girl, Gersvind, with tragic consequences.

The story follows closely the chronicle of Charlemagne’s 30-year war against his foes, the pagan Saxons, led by Widukind, Prince of the Saxons, a wily blond giant of legendary fame and ferocity. This fast-paced adventure story brings to life Charlemagne’s realm at a time when the vicious Christian-pagan wars of the 8th century would decide the fate of Europe. Full of action and romance, it is a realistic and colorful recreation of the world of Europe’s greatest medieval monarch.