New Blood:
As the sun was going down, the siege of fireballs upon the walls ceased. The opposing army had retreated to the beach to rest for the night.

Not one castle wall was breached during the barrage of fire nor was there one casualty within the magical fortress. In fact, the only casualty on either side was due to one of the fire breathing catapults the enemy was using. The device collapsed killing seven of their men. The full moon rose across the eastern water, the land was peaceful and still. Campfires by the beach burned brightly and lit up the waters with a beautiful, incandescent glow. Enemy guards stood watch over the opposing army’s camp. 

Inside the castle walls, King Julian had gathered together a force of ten thousand horsemen and six thousand foot soldiers. Sixteen thousand troops slipped out of the castle by way of The King’s Passage.

New Blood

Run For Shelter:
The centurion explained how when dawn broke the castle guards saw the oncoming fleet of at least a thousand ships and sounded the fortress alarm. The people who lived outside the castle walls came running for the shelter that the massive walls had to offer.

Run For Shelter

The Kings Passage
Being a four day journey home, General Xavier and his men left the next morning. 

Upon the arrival at the crest of the mountain top and looking down upon their homeland castle, General Xavier saw hundreds of ships on the coastline. Fires were blazing and the smell and sound of war filled the air. Arrows were flying from the towers of the castle as well as from the land to the castle walls. Huge rocks were being hurled though the air towards the attacking army. 

General Xavier and his men could not descend from the mountain on the regular path. However, there was a secret way in and out of the castle. It was placed there so the King always had an escape (if he ever needed it). General Xavier had to take his men upon a very small path that wound around a tall cliff wall. They moved in silence and in single file. The end of the path looked to be a dead end as there was nothing but rock. Nonetheless, General Xavier moved to the right and there was a smaller passageway that one could travel. This path led to a huge gate at the back of the castle with a rope hanging from the wall. Xavier pulled the rope and a huge bell rang. The gate raised and Xavier and his men entered the castle walls.


The King's Passage

The Queen:
During the festivities King Igor’s Queen, “Tatyana”, played many songs as well as sang some songs. She was a very beautiful woman with long, flowing, black hair that moved off her shoulders when she walked, even when there was no wind. She could play almost every musical instrument in the land. 

their whole kingdom was full of beautiful landscape as well as beautiful sound. Queen Tatyana taught the children in the land how to play music. So their whole kingdom was full of beautiful landscape as well as beautiful sound.

The Queen

A Land Worthy Of Battle:
One of the songs that were sung was by King Igor and it was about his homeland which was far away. Everyone could tell that though this was his home now, he missed his country of Macedonia.

A Land Worthy Of Battle

Gift Of Gold:

Xavier selected 20 of his men (doubling the number of the approaching horsemen) to ride out to meet the oncoming party.  They rode at the speed toward the advancing faction at a slow pace. When the groups were close, Xavier and his men drew their swords. The contingent sector did not. Instead, they stopped, dismounted and all but one pervaded to one knee. The one who stood wore a crown and held a box in his hand.

Xavier had his men put away their weapons, dismounted himself and went alone to parlay with the standing man. 

The man spoke saying that he was King Igor. He saw them come over the mountains and did not wish to go to war. He presented Xavier with the box. The box was full of gold for Xavier or the ruler of his country. 

Both parties rode that day to King Igor’s castle. King Igor called his land Zlatni livada, which means Golden Valley. King Igor and Xavier parlayed and it was decided that the first crop harvest of the season, King Igor would send 30% of this harvest to King Julian. After their meeting, everyone partook of a banquet in King Igor’s great courtyard. 

The feast was quite grand with bonfires, all types of food and desserts. Everyone got their fill from the feast in the castle. There was much merriment, laughter, many stories and songs.


Gift Of Gold

THE BATTLEFIELD OF LIFE:
Morning comes and Xavier calls the troops to wake and ride. The sun was rising as the men rose. The sweet smell of wheat filled the air. As Xavier was surveying the land and determining his approach strategy, he noticed that not too far away there were horses approaching, they too few in numbers to be a war party. None the less, he had his men continue to prepare for a battle.


The Battlefield Of Life

GOLDEN MEADOWS:
At the peak of crossing the mountain range, Xavier surveys the land before him. Miles of beautiful, golden meadows of wheat lay before the men. 

Several miles away at the edge of the horizon there is smoke from a fortress. Xavier and the warriors at his command descend the mountain and make camp.


Golden Meadows

THE MOUNTAIN MARCH:
In an effort to expand his territory, King Julian instructs Xavier to rally his kingdom and prepares a small force of two thousand of his finest fighters for battle. 

Xavier and the men gather their needs and set off on the journey to the northern mountain range.


The Mountain March

HORSES OR WAR:
Twenty thousand strong, fierce warriors on horseback, six thousand archers and ten thousand foot solders fill the entire land before the expansive castle walls. All of these warriors answer to one man, Xavier. 

Xavier is King Julian’s general and the mightiest of his soldiers. An insatiable appetite for battle, for it is what he  does best. He is undefeated in his war campaigns and there have been many. His loyalty to the King is undeniable and constant. When Xavier and King Julian ride into battle, Xavier executes the King's orders without question and expects no less from the legion of warriors at his command.


Horses Of War

I am a self-taught musician with a natural talent and innate ability to create melodies and (when called for) formulate words surrounding those melodies. I have well over 500 poems and songs written and I’ve been writing poetry for about 40 years. I have met and played with some phenomenal talent over the years. I play the bass, guitar, keyboards and drums. I now have 106 songs that are registered with the Library of Congress and today (on 2/16/2013), I have finished mastering and producing my fifth CD “The King’s Horsemen”.

I’ve been around the world about 6 times. I skydive, scuba dive, I can break bricks and boards with my hands and I’m not scared of anything other than fear of not trying.

I have chosen Chicago as my home and have played in many establishments around the Windy City

Stephen Robert Sanderson