The story of Shadow of the Colossus begins as Wander enters the forbidden land, traveling across a long bridge on his horse, Agro. Unknown to the player, prior to entering, Wander had stolen an ancient sword, which is the only weapon capable of slaying the colossi. Led to the massive Shrine of Worship at the center of the region, Wander carries with him the body of a maiden named Mono. A moment later, several humanoid shadow creatures appear and approach Wander before he easily dismisses them with a wave of the ancient sword in his possession. After vanquishing the shadow creatures, the voice of the disembodied entity known as "Dormin" echoes from above, expressing surprise that Wander possesses the weapon. Wander requests that Dormin return Mono's soul to her body, which Dormin states may be possible on the condition that Wander can destroy the sixteen idols lining the temple's hall by using the ancient sword to kill each colossus the idols represent located throughout the land. Despite being warned by Dormin that he may have to pay a great price to revive Mono, Wander sets out to search the land for the colossi and destroy them.