In this account, Wander wakes up from unconsciousness, and will explain why at the end. But before that, he recants going south from the temple, the Shrine of Worship, riding Agro towards a ruined mountain city wherein he comes upon the first magnificent Colossus, Valus the Minotaur.

I awaken thus from forcéd slumber,

A shadow near me stands, the first in number.

It is new and I am afraid of its essence,

For it's being is of an evil presence.

I heed the warning that Dormin gave,

And I ponder and wonder a future grave.

But ne'rmore shall I do so.

Ne'rmore shall I mark so.

Dormin's voice again in my ear,

"To find thou first your colossus near,

Hold thine sword to the light and reflect thy way,

With that magic which doth divine the day."

And soft I raised the blade's steel

To the sun and lo! its power no more concealed,

A humming song like watered metal

Didst ring from mine sword's mantle

And from its length a light reflected

But was broken by its convection

To many streams of light, yet so,

I point away and, yes! I had bet so:

They came to one a great beam

At which's end a wall did seem

To shine great but burn through focus

Of Sun's heat and sword's locus.

I called to Agro and rode him out

Of that ancient temple, I showed him out

Onto the grass, and there I stopped

For the land about me was topped

With nature in perfect history,

As per mine facilities made their registry.

Dzaiyon is great, I didn't pretend,

And will see more, I hope, before the end.

I raised the blade and showed me thus

Its beam shooting south from present focus.

I spurred Agro on, on we must,

Following the light as it took us

To a mountain range, vast, tall,

Around me so the windows blew,

Hummed 'cross grass and 'gainst the wall

And with them their story flew.

I smelt the sea within its air

I felt indeed the salt in there.

I knew that the sea was near,

Perhaps near the mount, or far to the rear,

For I saw only mountainous hills,

And knew my travels prolonged, still.

Ere we passed a hillock, and on it grew

A tree or two, with fruits anew.

Hungry, I stopped and ate,

Quickly to not be late.

On we went to the mountain,

South of Dormin's worship fountain.

Dwarfed I was to the mountain's height

Not knowing fate in there was a greater sight.

Close we drew and there I glimpsed

I noticed, with hand my eyes had rinsed,

A cleft in its wall, out of which stood a structure

And broken in time, though precious in fractures.

And closer I came close to touch and study

Those Runes and symbols, muck and muddy

To read for time is cruel and history crueler,

For Dormin met no equity dueler.

Who had made these symbols made them well,

For the love of its craft remained to dwell.

But it was a dead end, the stairs were shattered,

By nature, cruel thing, to who didn't matter.

No matter, I said, I climbed the face

Finding nooks and crannies for fingers t'place,

Edge to edge, cliff to cliff,

I made my way towards that mountain rift.

The wind on my back and in my face,

I did climb that mountain's face.

Agro below two stories did watch,

Err I fall I knew he 'deed would catch.

No matter. I finished the trial.

Now I face my crucible.

The cliff extended into the mountain cleft,

Into a valley it led me, but nothing left.

An expanse of rock and stone left nothing

But land to gaze, until afar I, noting,

There were other ruins. This is but a pocket

In this cleft, of a broken time locket.

Whatever was meant to be here is not,

And my journey now fruitless wrought.

As hope was turned, I did feel

The earth quake beneath my heel.

The earth then moved as if a tremor

Caused depths to echoing granite tenor.

Then, lo! before me a great foot for'swayed

And crashed but long ten yards away.

If twelve men at shoulder had stood aside

It would equal the length of this massive size.

Then above my head the sky grew dark

As if the beast created night from day.

My eyes beheld thus, a giant beast—

No, not beast, a tower of rock!

It moved like a beast but was a rock—

It was both in fact of beast and rock!

It walked on legs as if a man

And its face was bearded fur,

All other orifice was fur or stone

Yet its manner was of a stupid man.

A hookéd nose traversed its face

Between a set of eyes of dead azure.

How it came to be locked to this place,

In a dead, stone pasture?

WANDER DOTH BEHOLD

VALUS MINOTAURUS COLOSSUS

It did not see me-my first blessing-

As it arrogantly strode past me.

Dumb its manner was, for it hung its head,

And trudged on as if walking prisoner dead.

In its hand right a club it dragged,

And in its left an empty palm.

On it went, in the mountain cleft,

Making no business and no alarm.

Each step quaked, its weight great,

Yet I crept after it.

How was I to slay this mountain?

Yet I creep after it.

Err it see me, it should squash me,

For I am a bug in its sight.

Yet Dormin said I must keep my promise,

Therefore I must keep my plight.

I gathered wits and courage, raised my fingers,

To my lips and hard I blew.

My whistle sung and echoed clear,

It was then that Valus knew I was here.

He stopped his movement and recorded

The note, as if to think a minute.

Then craned his bearded head to me,

Surprised that he initially didn't.

Sympathy, I had, for this monstrous titan,

Err the stone over it covered in lichen,

Fur, green as grass,

I must slay this mountainous.

A simple grunt he made, and turned about,

His body shook the mountains wide.

I gripped my sword, I moved forward.

Valus gripped club, and stepped his stride.

For though the distance between us lay

Now near half a mile away.

As he saw my motion forward

His motion, slow, made present notion

That for the distance paced us long

His clubbéd hand changed an instance

A lean behind him to create momentum

And step forward with might addendum.

Its attack was great, although it missed

A mere yard away than Valus wished.

Its impact sent me flying and crashing

And my mind rebounding in numbing fashion.

As per collection, my thoughts did think

Of my enemy's demise, or fate to sink.

But Valus felt his mistake was learned

And his clubbéd hand again turned.

I motioned forward, and running hard,

My concentration still a moment marred

Again his club scarred the earth

With thunderous tremor of noted worth.

But its strike now twice mistook

Up I gazed to see and mark his look:

A fury rose within his eyes, now new,

In raging gold not dampened blue.

He raised his boot, or hoof as such,

And mighty intent was me to crush.

But moved did I, the earth shook thrice,

Harder than before his attempts 'though twice.

Now my presence was 'tween his legs

To take a moment and study his ways.

I took a chance and studied thus

His tactics of which he all did rush.

A brute, a savage, and stupid in thought,

Since quick this titan in past was wrought.

At nonce or two my eyes noticed there

On his heel he grew abundant hair.

I held on and climbed up

Before I felt the time's up

'fore he felt me, a little flea,

A threat to his safety be.

A free hand, I unsheathed Dagr

And plunged it deep into bestial matter.

At once this mountain quailed to me

And fell upon this present knee.

I climbed this stalk of fur he'd worn

Onto a parapet on his back he'd borne.

Closer was I to finding a spot

Into which my sword would find its plot.

But now this mountain had 'come furious,

A brute savage, Valus the son of Asterius.

What had Minos thought to preserve the bull

For now that Valus here would pay a toll

For I to save my lady Mono

And her soul within the depths of Útumno.

Valus shook his greatness, and I stumbled,

But gripped to fur and shook and rumbled.

When fatigue took, I resumed my course

Up his back, gripping fur tight until hands were coarse.

At shoulder height, I was in his sight

Although askance to his eye's sleight.

Then I saw a little ahead,

Illumination upon his head.

A voice had told me I had to cut it,

But stab it I planned to do.

My plan was thus, I wouldn't fuss it,

For I would run this titan through.

His hand sought to pick me off

Using his club to hit me off,

I raised my blade and smote him swift

His hand scarred, a token with,

Aback it went and a roar he whined

As the pain had shot into his mind,

His mind, I wanted, and made it so;

Pain and ignorance begot him, he did not know.

I climbed around and up and neck

And lo! it awed me, so twice I check

To see if my eyes had failed me

Until then Dormin's voice hailed me:

"'tis the seal that binds me

In my grave and prison timely.

Stab it to break its curse,

And spare it further from more fates worse."

But at present now Valus sought to

Shake me off, planning simply as it thought to

Throw me off, since as an animal it ought to,

But I refused, this was what fate me brought to.

Err he had to breathe, I made a chance

Gripping with free hand, I made a stance.

My sword's point now towards the sigil

Shining bright blue to my sword's vigil,

It's presence, as if a relation,

As if the sigil shone in elation.

Valus would come again if I didn't act,

So I plunged my sword to seal Dormin's pact.

Strange though, this irony here before me,

To know I have slain what was made before me.

Fourteen times I plunged deep,

Into crownéd head, my heart did weep.

An ignorant beast, noble to its cause,

Strong in heart, in truth it was.

What strength is left now

To lift Europa's frown?

Her soul crushed, her face break to a frown

As I hit Valus as a stake in the ground.

The monster wept not, but its life did flee

From body marred from mortal creed.

A last tremor as its vestige fell,

The vestige in which the soul dwells,

And shook again the mountainside.

No more, Minos, does your sin devour,

For thus ends Valus the Minotaur.

I lasted by jumping off,

No more worried being picked off.

Err I landed, a worry came upon me.

What had I done? Had it wronged me?

But lo the titan glowéd

And err I knoweth

The seal was broken.

Would I receive a token

Or see a spirit awoken?

Dormin I felt, a part of him,

To thank me in part for him.

Yet, around its body, a black veil

Shriveled its remains as if time passed

The body ravaged into stone and tale

Until an aged corpse was laid to rest.

Then that veil conformed itself

As a ball of many black string.

As if an eye, it focused on myself,

A tiny and worthless thing.

Afeared I ran, but that thing was fast

As a tentacle of Rl'yeh of evil mass.

I felt its sting, numbing me quick,

Its bulk in body cold and thick,

Making no puncture of skin and blood

But into my being…. ….

No words can digress or define

What doth inside me hide.

Numb I 'came, and fell to the earth

Not yet in dust, but a body still.

I felt its presence within my mind,

That evil being of dark design.

I soon fell into a sort of coma,

Yet did smell a faint aroma.

Next my eyes beheld a tunnel

Crafted of those tendrils into a funnel,

At which's end a light did break,

My mind's eye too much to take.

And then I woke in Dormin's hall,

Writing about a giant's fall.

Alas that demon standing there

Doth make stand my backneck's hair

He then fades away as Dormin speaks

My next tasks and beast to beat.