Special thanks to Alex Rowe, for a proofreading of this chapter.

Chapter 1 - Prohibited Art

The heavy stone gates moved slowly with a low rumble. At first Wanderer saw only pitch-darkness beyond those doors, as his eyes were well accustomed to bright sunlight up until this point. Mono, however, seemed to know the way around here very well and led the way for him without being troubled by the lack of light inside the structure. She walked past the two masked shrine guardians, who had opened the doors to the shrine hall for them without any questions about the young stranger and bowed after the girl's delicate figure. Seeing this, the Arslan youth could not help but wonder if she were an important person to the village or the shrine somehow.

He followed her into a spacious hall, not a narrow pathway as he had expected. His eyes gradually adjusted to the dim illumination until he saw that there was a large incense burner placed before a stone altar, and a round hole in the center of the dome-shaped ceiling. From what he had heard, the large skylight was the most notable characteristic of shrines dedicated to the Sun God in Sacreda Sol; it was meant for the God's heavenly light to pass through and bathe the prayer house with His blessings for the conducted ceremony, be it a routine mass, a wedding, or a funeral. But at this time the hole was closed with a round metallic cover, supposedly controlled by some mechanism. Thus, the empty hall was left barely illuminated by thin rays of sunlight that shone through barred windows behind the altar. Two rows of stone statues were placed along both sidewalls, facing one another. Each of the sculptures looked different from one another, and the Arslan visitor guessed they were probably idols for worshipping or offering protection to the shrine.

"This way," his guide said softly, leading him to the right side of the hall. There was a stairway descending downstairs. At the end of it was a wooden door, which she opened into a long underground corridor. She then led him along the path that was sporadically lit by flame torches hanging on the wall. They passed many wooden doors on the left wall until they reached a corner and turned right. Not long after they had turned the corner, the only stone door on their right caught Wanderer's eyes. There were no handles on it; only intricate carvings all over the stone surface apart from the concave circle in its center.

"That's the ritual chamber. Only the head priest and the chosen one can enter it when they are to perform the ritual, so it is locked most of the time," perhaps because she sensed he was interested in the stone door, Mono explained quietly in an eerily vacant voice.

"What kind of ritual is it?" The young man asked. He had heard that any ritual for the Sun God would be performed in the shrine hall, with bright sunlight touching the ground as the representative of the deity. As far as he knew, none of the rituals were performed in an underground chamber like this.

"The creation of a guardian deity," the girl still replied in the same voice. "It's a ritual that The Holy Capital has ordered this village to perform especially. This ritual is meant for –"

At this point, Mono stopped talking and stood still.

"For what?" Wanderer asked.

"Huh? Did I just say something?" To his surprise, she turned back and asked him back.

He hid his own doubt and slowly explained to her.

"You just told me that the room behind the stone door was for a special ritual, and then you were going to say what the ritual was meant for."

"Am I?" Mono said slowly. "I'm sorry. That's as much as I can tell you. I just realized I shouldn't say more than this."

"It's all right, if you can't or shouldn't tell me," he said.

And then no one said anything. She just turned back and kept on walking silently.

The walked past the strange stone door, reached another corner, and turned right again. From the shape of the passageway, Wanderer guessed that it surrounded the ritual chamber, which was supposedly a long rectangular-shaped room. He and his guide continued until they reached another wooden door at the end of the corridor, which looked more ornate and older than the other ones.

The girl knocked on the door. A low voice replied immediately, as if the person inside were expecting her.

"Is that you, Mono?"

"Yes, Lord Emon."

"Come in."

Mono opened the door into the room reek of the smell of incense and old paper. The first thing the Arslan youth noticed was lines of bookshelves, covering most of the walls. Then he followed his guide's gaze and saw a desk under one of the lamps that lit the room.

There were two men near the desk, one sitting before it and the other standing beside him. The standing one seemed to be another shrine guardian, since his attire – consisting of leather armor and a mask shaped like bird's face that covered the upper part of his face – looked similar to the two gatekeepers. However, unlike the other two guardians who each carried only one sword, there were two blades strapped to both sides of his belt. The sitting man was shorter and much older. He was a plump old man with short gray hair, wearing a white robe with a hood hanging at its back. The front and the back of the robe were covered with a poncho that reached down to his knees. It was elaborately embroidered with black, yellow, and pink mystical patterns. With a surprised expression, the older man looked at the young visitor, who was standing behind the girl in white. Then he asked with the voice Wanderer recalled hearing before he entered the room.

"Who's that?"

"A wanderer from Arslan Tribe," replied Mono. "I found him at the pond. He said he was heading to Savon River."

"Oh," the old priest immediately nodded in understanding. "The flood, I see."

"That's right. He said he would like to camp around here so I brought him to see you first."

Emon met Wanderer's eyes and smiled gently.

"Please, make yourself at home, young lad. There's something we must discuss," he said before turning back to the girl. "And what about your duty?"

Wanderer glanced at Mono, seeing her raise the water basket she had carried along the way.

"It's done, Milord."

"Good," the old man nodded and turned to the shrine guardian beside him, "Yaheem, go with Mono."

"But Milord," the shrine guardian whispered very softly. Unfortunately, the Arslan hunter's keen ears caught it. He also noticed that the eyes behind the mask were eying him suspiciously.

Emon seemed to understand what the guardian wanted to say. Still, he insisted.

"It's all right. Leave us."

So the shrine guardian bowed to him, then Mono, and led the girl out of the room silently, leaving the head priest alone with Wanderer.

As they were alone in the library, the old priest turned to the young wanderer again. His face still looked as kind as before when he asked the youth.

"You're on your coming-of-age journey, are you not?"

"Yes, I am, Milord," Wanderer answered politely.

"You will have to wait another three moons to cross the river."

"Mono has already told me that," he said. "All I would like to ask of you is to allow me to stay in the forest around here. I can assure you I won't cause any trouble to the shrine or the villagers."

To his surprise, the elderly priest chuckled lightly.

"I'm not worried about that, and so shouldn't you. Officers from the Capital come here for inspection and fetching tribute just once in three years," said the old man as he rose up from his chair and approaching the youth. "It's two years from now they return. Surely you'll return to your tribe before they come. Should you wish, you can stay in the village or even in this shrine for the time being."

"I appreciate your kindness, Milord, but I don't think I should," he replied, lowering his face. "I have a horse with me, and I'm not familiar with your custom and tradition. I'm afraid I might unknowingly offend you."

Emon laughed louder this time. His laughter reminded Wanderer of his own grandfather, when the old man lifted the young grandson up to sit on his lap and told him tales from ancient times, in the deerskin tent that was warm with fire.

"Even so, from your words I can tell that you're very well-mannered, even though you say you don't know our ways yet." The old priest's wrinkled yet fleshy hand touched his shoulder in a friendly way. "Then I know a perfect place for you, young lad. There's a cabin at the edge of the forest. It's been vacant for years. The old hunter who lived there died a long time ago and he had no children. If you don't feel comfortable staying with others, you can stay there. At least I think it's better than camping in the forest. The forest here may seem peaceful, but there are dangerous beasts to beware."

"Thank you so much, Milord. I really appreciate it," he said, bowing as low as possible to show his respect and gratitude.

"You're welcome. As the head of this shrine, it is my pleasure to receive a guest as best as I could. I wish you would feel comfortable staying with us."

There was a curt knock on the door. Emon turned and called a name as if he already knew who it was.

"Yaheem, is it not?"

"Yes, Milord."

"Come in."

The Shrine Guardian, Yaheem, entered the library once again, but this time without the girl in white with whom he had left.

"Has Mono done her duty?" the priest asked him.

"Yes, she has, Milord."

"Good. Then now can you take our guest to the hunter Yorei's cabin?"

"Yorei's cabin?" Wanderer thought he heard puzzlement in Yaheem's voice.

"Yes. I allow this young lad to stay there until he can cross the river."

"I understand, Milord," Yaheem bowed to Emon. Then he turned toward Wanderer and nodded, silently telling him to follow. Thus the Arslan visitor paid his respect to the priest for the last time before leaving the library.

They went out to the underground corridor with Yaheem wordlessly in lead, saying nothing and not expecting anything to be said. So the younger man remained silent too as he followed. But when they passed the stone door of the ritual chamber, he stopped short without thinking.

The shrine guardian could probably tell from the abrupt echo of his companion's footstep, as he turned his head back to ask.

"What is it?"

"The door," Wanderer pointed to the door. He noticed that the bottom edge of the door, which had been shut tight against the floor, was slightly ajar now. If the room inside were dark, he wouldn't have notice, but there was a thin ray of light reflected on the stone floor that caught his eyes.

"What about it?" Yaheem said nonchalantly.

"I was wondering about the door because-" the youth almost let it slip, but managed to bit his tongue and held himself just in time. Mono was hesitant to tell him about the ritual. If Yaheem knew that he learned something from her, she might be in trouble.

"Because of what?"

"Nothing. On the way in I thought it wasn't a door and I didn't expect that it could be opened."

"Just forget about it. An outsider like you has no business with the doors of our shrine," said the Shrine Guardian more sharply and curtly. So the younger man kept his mouth shut all the way even after they exited the shrine's main hall.

When the two men reached the courtyard, Yaheem turned and led Wanderer to the stable on the left of the main building, where the girl had brought the youth there to keep Agro before they went into the shrine. In the stable he met her again, standing in front of the outermost stall where his steed was. It looked quite outstanding among other plain black horses in the other stalls and only a pure white horse in the innermost stall.

"Mono," the Arslan rider called as he approached her. The girl turned to him and smiled, her right hand reaching out toward Agro's face, while the other holding a brown pouch.

"Agro really likes these sugar cubes. He quickly ate all of what I gave him," she said joyfully, like a small child who had just found a new pet.

"No wonder. He had never eaten anything like that before," he couldn't help but returned her smile. "I thank you in his place. But please don't give him too much sweet. It might not be good for him."

"I know. I guess it's enough for today," she replied, petting the horse on its forehead and nose. "But I'll give you another treat next time, Agro. Just don't get bored of it yet, okay?"

Wanderer chuckled, but stopped as he heard someone clearing his throat. Both the Arslan youth and the girl in white turned to look at the shrine guardian who stood behind them.

"Oh, Yaheem, just when did you get here? You must have been very quiet since I didn't notice you at all," Mono said, her eyes glittering mischievously.

"I arrived here with the Arslan man, Lady Mono," replied Yaheem. Wanderer glanced at him, noticing that the lower part of his face was as emotionless as the mask that covered its upper part. But what he was more surprised at was how respectfully he addressed the younger girl, regarding her with the equal respect as he did the head priest.

Mono shrugged and gave him yet one of her brilliant smiles.

"I was just kidding. Please don't take it too seriously."

"Not at all. I never take your words as offence, Milady," Yaheem answered, his face still as hard as stone. The girl shook her head and changed the subject.

"So what are you doing here?"

"Lord Emon told me to take the Arslan man to Yorei's cabin."

"Granfather's cabin?" exclaimed Mono, sounding suddenly enthusiastic. "Then can I go too? I've never been there for a long time."

"I'm afraid you can't, Milady. You haven't got Lord Emon's permission yet."

Mono frowned.

"Then wait here, I'll go ask Lord Emon right away," she said, starting to head outside the stable, but stopped short after just a few steps.

"I don't think Lord Emon will allow it. The evening mass will begin soon."

Mono immediately turned to face Yaheem and started to protest.

"But-"

"You can go to the cabin tomorrow, but you absolutely should never miss the mass."

"All right," she said softly, lowering her face in surrender, but not quite giving up yet. "But can I speak to Wanderer for a moment?"

"Wanderer?" Yaheem repeated the name.

"You know, the wanderer from Arslan Tribe. That's what I call him," she explained.

"Of course, but please don't take too long," replied the shrine guardian before he spoke no more, just standing looking at both of them silently. The girl sighed and finally turned to the other man.

"Grandfather's cabin is the best place around here. It has the warmest fireplace in winter," Mono told him softly, her eyes glittering with delight.

However, Wanderer smiled wryly in reply.

"But I think you forget something. It's late spring now and I won't be staying here for long. I'll probably leave before winter comes."

At this, she shrugged.

"Then I'll say that it is the house with windows placed at just the right angles for the coolest breezes in summer."

He burst out laughing and couldn't stop himself this time.

"Thanks for telling me. I'm so glad to be lodging in a house that is both warm in winter and cool in summer. By the way, is he a relative of yours?"

"Oh, no, we aren't related at all," she replied. "It's just that, when I was a child, I used to play near his cabin so often that he thought of me as his own grandchild. That's why I've gotten used to calling him Grandfather."

"I see," the young man responded. Then he asked as he thought of something. "So where do you live?"

Mono looked away from him and sighed.

"It's here."

"In the shrine?"

"Yes."

"Are you a relative of a priest here?" Wanderer guessed. The girl before him looked too young and quite too joyous for a priestess. A relative of one of the priests is the most reasonable relationship he could possibly think of as to why this place was her home.

Mono opened her mouth and was about to answer, but then Yaheem cleared his throat again.

"I'm afraid the time is up."

She glanced at the shrine guardian once more, and turned to look at the young man apologetically.

"It's time for you and Yaheem to go. Maybe we can talk some other time."

After that, Mono stepped out of the way, letting Yaheem approach one of the stalls with the brown horse and unlatched the bolt, letting the steed. Wanderer took Agro out of the other stall as well. Then they got on their horses and the shrine guardian led the visitor out of the stable.

The young Arslan rider briefly glanced over his shoulder to see the girl in white waving at him. He waved slightly, then turned his head and followed the shrine guardian's back to the cabin that would be his lodge for the time being.

On that day, if only he had known or suspected the purpose of the ritual chamber he had never expected he would had a chance to enter later, or the thoughts buried deep in Emon, Yaheem and Mono's minds, he would not have ended up here in the forbidden lands on this very day.

At first when the door closed behind him, there was only darkness, but as his eyes adjusted to the dark he saw a flight of stairs descending to the bright doorway. He passed through the doorway into a tower, where there was a stone pathway spiraling down. The ceiling of the tower was shaped into a dome with a familiar circular skylight in its center, very similar to the shrine of the Sun God the Arslan youth had visited. The spiral pathway was wide enough for the horse to walk along, and Agro slowly made it way down the path while his master looked around. Then the rider's eyes suddenly widened as he saw a pool on the lower floor.

It was round-shaped, as large as the light hole in the ceiling and with the rim that was just as high as one's ankle. A portion of the rim was missing as though to allow someone to step into the pool. If not for the lichen-filled green water inside, he could have sworn that it was-

Alike. As alike as if they were the same place…Wanderer thought frightfully; it looked just like the ritual chamber he had once seen.

He passed the tower area through another doorway and found himself in a rectangular hall, spacious and bathed in golden sunlight. Along the sidewalls were statues, again just like in the ritual chamber. The only difference would be that these set of sculptures were so colossal that no mortal hands could have carved them. Each was taller than ten men, looking like some legendary beast or grotesque devil. Some resembled warriors of the ancient times, armed with gigantic weapons. Some resembled snakes or scaled dragons, curling their bodies and raising their heads high. And others resembled some kind of bulls or four-legged beasts, their mouths opening wide in a growl or a sneer.

Wanderer looked at the statues one by one. There were eight idols on each row, sixteen altogether, lined up like sentries of this sacred land. Every enormous stone eye seemed to glare hungrily at the trespasser of the forbidden land, waiting for a chance to punish him for his crime, to tear him into pieces when he let his guard down.

And yet nothing happened. The young rider and his steed went on until they reached the farther area of the hall where it was even brighter, partly due to the skylight in the ceiling similar to the one in the tower. An open porch was ahead, flanked by two sets of staircases leading down to the vast plains outside, which were another source of overwhelming sunlight. Directly before him was a long altar, and above the altar was a stone structure that reached down from the ceiling and loomed above the altar, like a lid of a coffin frozen there by some kind of magic.

Agro stopped. Wanderer dismounted it and pulled the limp bundle down from its back. A pair of white, pale feet emerged from beneath the dark fabric as he carried the body in the bundle carefully, heading to a short set of stairs before the altar. He hesitated for a moment before approaching it and set the bundle down. Then, with a swift movement of his wrist, he pulled the dark cloth away, revealing what was covered in it.

Only the white dress and long, black hair swayed in the wind as the exposed body remained motionless. The girl's pale face slightly turned sideway, her eyes closed. One of her hands lied limply at her side, while the other placed on her still chest.

The young man's green eyes were fixed on her in a sad and painful gaze, as he recalled when her glittering eyes were open and look back at him, when her sweet voice called him "Wanderer" and spoke to him of so many things. Then he remembered another memory, of another voice that belonged to Emon, speaking slowly and flowingly as if he were reciting a tale remembered by heart and passed down orally generation after generation.

"That place... began from the resonance of intersecting points. They are memories replaced by ens and naught and etched into stone. Blood, young sprouts, sky--and the one with the ability to control beings created from light. In that world, it is said that if one should wish it one can bring back the souls of the dead..."

In his mind, the Arslan youth began to see a map, so old that the paper had turned crisp and yellow from age, and then the old priest in white robe. At the tip of his hood hung a wooden mask shaped like the face of an owl, the winged messenger of the gods.

"But," continued the priest, his voice loud and each words stressed so fearfully. "To trespass upon that land is strictly forbidden..."

As he was lost in his thoughts, something suddenly emerged from the stone floor behind him and before the beastly statues.

Black shadows slowly formed in shape of human, one by one, until there were five of them. Agro backed off and neighed frantically, calling his master's attention to the crooked figures as they hobbled menacingly toward both of the trespassers.

Wanderer turned to face the shadowy beings, his eyes wavering just for a second before regaining their look of pure determination. His hand moved his side, unsheathed the silver blade, and held it in the sun's ray with its tip pointing toward the shadows. As soon as the light touched them, the black figures dissolved, like a dark mist blown away by the wind or shadow replaced by light.

And then the sky above the great shrine raged as if a great being had been disturbed by the visitors' appearances and awakened from its long slumber. Lightning flashed and thunder roared before majestic voices boomed through the skylight, one seeming to belong to a man and the other a woman. They spoke and echoed together at the same time.

Hmm? Thou possess the Ancient Sword? So thou art mortal...

The young man looked up to see where the voices came from, but saw no one.

"Are you Dormin?" he asked, sheathing his sword. "I was told that in this place at the end of the world – there exists a being who can control the souls of the dead."

Thou art correct... We are the one known as Dormin... replied the voices.

"She was sacrificed, for she has a cursed fate," Wanderer continued, turning his gaze back to the lifeless body on the altar "Please, I need you to bring back her soul..."

The voices that claimed to be Dormin chuckled.

That maiden's soul? Souls that are once lost cannot be reclaimed... Is that not the law of mortals? The masculine voice sounded almost amused, while the feminine voice spoke slightly slower as though sympathizing with him.

The youth lowered his face speechlessly. They were right. He knew that what he craved was unquestionably against the law of nature. But what other choice did he have? He had nowhere else to go and no one else to return to, if the mighty owners of the voices did not agree to help him.

With that sword, however... it may not be impossible... Dormin continued.

"Really?!" cried Wanderer. His flickering hope flared up once again, like embers sprang back into flames with a splash of oil.

That is of course, if thou manage to accomplish what We askest.

"What do I have to do?" the young man urged.

Behold the idols that stand along the wall... Thou art to destroy all of them, the mysterious beings explained slowly. But those idols cannot be destroyed by the mere hands of a mortal...

"Then what am I to do?" Wanderer asked again, confused.

In this land there exist colossi that are the incarnations of those idols. If thou defeat those colossi--the idols shall fall.

"I understand," replied the youth.

But heed this, Dormin spoke more grimly. The price you pay may be heavy indeed.

The young man clenched his fists to hide his anxiety, and answered as sternly as he could.

"It doesn't matter."

Very well... The unknown beings responded. Raise thy sword by the light and head to the place where the sword's light gathers... There, thou shalt find the colossi thou art to defeat...

Wanderer approached the altar, his gaze fixed on the body lying on it as he was going to ask about something. But then the voices from above rang out once again as though their owners could read his mind.

Do not worry about thy maiden. This land is safe from harmful beasts, and is timeless. She will remain like this, unchanged, till thy deed is done. However, do make haste, as the time outside this land never stays still.

Now, be on thy way.

The voices grew fainter and fainter until all was silence. The Arslan rider wistfully looked at the girl's lifeless body just for a moment longer, before he got on his steed and rode out of the deserted shrine. With the ancient sword held high above his head and its guiding light pointing to the south, he headed toward that direction without further delay.

A prohibited art could only be destroyed by another one of such arts.

A/N: I got the title of this chapter "Prohibited Art" from the name of one of the original soundtracks of the game. At first I had thought of changing the title to "Forbidden Ritual," but in the end I decided to stick to the song's name after all.

The forbidden land being "timeless" is my own invention as I see that it is always daytime in the game, and I think that Wanderer's tasks must take quite a long time to accomplish, at least long enough for Mono's body to…err…decay in the mean time. So, having Dormin state the invented fact that the land is timeless is the best solution I can think of to this problem. However, it's still debatable why Mono didn't decay already before Wanderer reached the Forbidden Land.

Actually this chapter was done for quite a while, but I did not post it yet as I turned to writing the Thai version first. I am glad to say that I have finished the 52-chapter-long Thai version of the story (plus a prologue and an epilogue) and I will continue the translation from now on.

Comments and suggestions are most welcome. :)