十年战争的故事 #1
来源:http://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/tales-of-the-ten-years-war-part-1,以下由Heavenk,塞勒斯,skass翻译。
Many of you have approached me, asking to recount the events of the last ten years. I’m beginning to understand that many outside of the Holy Empire didn’t quite understand what was going on within our borders. As much pain as it causes me to recall the tragic events of this last decade, it is necessary if we are to bring an end to the bloodshed. This might take some time though. A lot happens in ten years, especially ten years of war.
你们中许多人都希望我回溯过去的十年间发生的林林总总。我渐渐意识到,神圣帝国疆土之外的民众并不太了解域内所发生了什么。过去十年内诸多悲惨事件所带给我们的痛苦将又重现眼前,但若要制止再次血流成河,我们必须回首昔年。不过这总需要一些时间,十年间能发生许许多多的事情,特别是这丧乱的十年。
But is the story I will tell you the truth? It would be presumptuous of me to say. I can only tell things as I saw them – my truth. Ask one of Seamus of Stag’s advisors and he might spin a widely different tale.
但仅仅一个我的故事就能告诉你真相?我只能说,这是我的一念妄言。我能说我眼见为实的事件——我的真心话。你若问问谢玛斯麾下雄鹿参议的一员,你或许会得到迥然不同的故事。
十年战争的故事 - Tales of the Ten Years War
七龙纪843年——猎鹰的最后一战
843 YSD – Falcon’s Last Flight
If Empress Maeve Falcon committed a sin, it is certainly the sin of pride. It is often when you think you have everything under control that it all falls apart. The dangers of unreasonable pride will be a recurring theme in this story. So much that in centuries to come, historians may well call this war, “the War of Pride”.
如果玫芙女皇有何种罪念,那么一定是傲慢。往往在当你认为掌控全局的时候,它就那样分崩离析了。在接下来的故事里,豪无缘由的骄傲带来的危险这一主题将反复回荡在你的耳畔。更有甚者,几个世纪内,历史学家都将称呼此战争为“傲慢之战”。
Where to begin? Maybe with the prophecy.
如何入手?或许就在这个预言。
At the dawn of our era, what the scholars call the “Historical Age”, Ronan the Great, High King of the Falcon Clan, defeated his rivals and had them bend the knee before him. The Human clans were no more. An Empire was born.
在我们这个时代的伊始,史学家称为“历史时代”的年代,罗南大帝,猎鹰氏族的最高统帅,击败了他的对手们,让他们臣服于己。人类氏族的时代终为虚话,一个帝国的帷幕缓缓拉开。
It is said that on the day of Ronan’s crowning, the Seventh Dragon himself, Sar-Elam, appeared to the new Emperor and talked with a voice that was both ancient and timeless. “Emperor of the Falcon!” he said. “Your blood is the blood of Men. For as long as your blood endures, the children of Ylath shall prosper.”
据说,罗南的加冕之日,第七龙神,萨-艾朗本人,亲自现身并做出一个预言,其声古老而永恒。“猎鹰皇帝!”他说道,“汝之血脉即为人类之血脉。汝之血脉绵长,伊拉斯之子永昌。”
…Well, he probably didn’t say these exact words, but all accounts at least agree to their meaning: as long as the Falcon dynasty existed, the children of Ylath – the Human race – would prosper.
……好吧,他可能原话并非如此。但所有记载皆至少记载了他原话的含义:只要猎鹰王朝存在,伊拉斯之子——人类全族便可福祚绵长。
But of course, Sar-Elam’s words also turned the Falcon line into targets. The Demons of Sheogh, in particular, made several attempts against the Falcon Emperors through history.
但也因此,萨-艾朗的祝福将猎鹰血脉变成了显而易见的目标。特别是谢尔戈的恶魔们,他们在历史中数次试图猎杀猎鹰帝国的皇帝。
憎恨的计划 - Hateful Plans
In 564 YSD, the Second Eclipse reddened the skies of Ashan, two years earlier than the Blind Brothers had predicted. The Demon Prince of Hate, Ahribban, who had been hatching plans to spread dissent and enmity within the Empire for years, personally led the siege of the Empire’s capital city, Falcon’s Reach. Emperor Liam Falcon died in battle, while Demon cultists led by the traitor Jezebeth hunted down his heirs.
在七龙纪564年,比盲眼兄弟会的预期提早了两年,第二次血月之蚀染红了亚山的天空。憎恨亲王阿瑞班,猎杀计划的始作俑者,早已开始在帝国内部散播敌意和隔阂。他亲自率军围困了神圣帝国的首都法肯里奇。皇帝利亚姆战死,而叛徒耶泽蓓丝则率领一伙恶魔信徒追杀他的继承人。
Fortunately, the Duke of Griffin, Anton, managed to kill Jezebeth and rescue Liam’s only remaining family: his niece Gwendolyn. The princess safe, the imperial armies joined forces to liberate Falcon’s Reach and destroy Ahribban.
幸运的是,狮鹫大公安东,设计杀死了耶泽蓓丝并解救了利亚姆唯一的亲人,他的侄女格温多琳。公主安全后,帝国军队会师解除了法肯里奇的围城,并杀死了阿瑞班。
And so the infernal plans were thwarted, and the blood of Ronan kept flowing.
这样一来,地狱之计被挫败,罗南之血恒流传。
When the time of the Fourth Eclipse arrived, Empress Maeve was ready. The Blind Brothers had perfected their art, and this time their predictions were completely accurate. The Eclipse happened the very moment it was expected, and when the Demons unfurled upon the lands of the Holy Empire, the Knights of the Light were there to welcome them with blessed steel in hand.
当第四次血月之蚀来临时,女皇玫芙已枕戈待旦。盲眼兄弟会的技艺日臻完善,所以这一次他们的预言分毫不差。在血月之蚀发生的时候,圣光骑士们用手中被祝福过的利剑热烈欢迎这地狱中喷涌而出的恶魔。
Everything was under control.
一切尽在掌控中。
But Empress Maeve was underestimating the current ruler of Sheogh, the one they call the Demon Sovereign. While the Demons were being routed on the battlefields, a party of assassins infiltrated the walls of Falcon’s Reach. At their head was none other than Jezebeth, who had been offered – or cursed with, depending on the way you look at it – a second life in Sheogh as a Succubus.
但玫芙女皇低估了被称为恶魔元首的谢尔戈之主。当恶魔大军队在半路被截杀时,一支刺客军队渗透入法肯里奇的城墙内。他们的领头人不是别人,正是那个耶泽蓓丝,那个已被赐福(或是诅咒,皆由你如何看待)成为魅魔的女人。
Jezebeth was hell-bent on finishing what she had failed to do four centuries earlier. Jezebeth and her Demons stormed Maeve’s throne room, killing the Empress and slaughtering her entire family. Then, they burnt Falcon’s Reach to the ground, to ensure no heir of Falcon would survive.
耶泽蓓丝孤注一掷地去完成她四个世纪前未尽的事务。耶泽蓓丝和她的魔鬼冲进玫芙的王座大厅,杀死了皇后并屠戮她整个家族。最后,他们焚毁了法肯里奇,以确保没有任何猎鹰的血脉可以生还。
The Fourth Eclipse ended with the Demons’ defeat… and their greatest victory.
第四次血月之蚀以恶魔的失败……同时也是他们最伟大的胜利而告终。
血债血偿 - Blood for blood
Yet the world of Men didn’t seem in a hurry to end. And for scholars, that could mean only two things.
但人类的时代并未匆忙终结。学者们认为,这意味着两个可能。
The skeptics reasoned that Sar-Elam’s prophecy could have been wrong all along, or at least misinterpreted. That happens all the time, really – just as you should never trust someone claiming to possess the one and only truth, you should never believe someone who claims his interpretation of a prophecy is the right one.
怀疑者认为,萨-艾朗的预言可能根本就是错的,或是被误解了。这样的事情常有发生,真的——你永远不该信任那些号称自己怀揣独一无二的真理的人,你也千万不要相信那些号称自己每一个预言都是正确的人。
The faithful, on the other hand, claimed that Maeve’s son Brendan had somehow survived the massacre of Falcon’s Reach. As unlikely as it sounded, many in the Empire wanted to believe it. The Church of Light proclaimed there would be one year of mourning: if the child Brendan was found alive during this period, he would inherit the throne. If he was not found, then he would be declared dead, and a new Emperor would be chosen among the Dukes of the Empire.
另一方面,支持者宣称,玫芙的儿子布伦丹躲过了法肯里奇的那场大屠杀并幸存了下来。虽然这听起来不太可能,但许多帝国人民仍愿意相信它。光明教会宣称在一年的哀悼期内,若布伦丹被发现还存活于世,他将继承王位。若遍寻无果,那么将默认他已死亡,并且将在帝国的诸位公爵中选出一位新的皇帝。
That time was spent hunting the last pockets of Demon marauders. Among them was Jezebeth herself. It was Ivan of Griffin, leading a company of griffin riders, who located and cornered her. The Succubus had been trying to hide in plain sight, in the ruins of Castelrose, the old citadel of the Holy Inquisition.
这一年的时间,大部分都花在猎杀恶魔袭击者的残部当中,其中就包括了耶泽蓓丝。狮鹫大公伊凡本人,亲率一个连队的狮鹫骑士前去搜捕她。这只魅魔试图大隐于市,反其道而行之地藏身于圣裁所的古堡,卡斯特罗丝(玫瑰城堡)的遗址内。
It was no secret that Ivan had been good friends with Empress Maeve, and he showed her assassin no mercy. You probably know the folk song their encounter inspired? I think it goes like this:
伊凡与玫芙的交情世所皆知,因此在面对凶手的时候他毫不手软。或许你听过那些以此为原型的民歌?就像下面这首:
魅姬玉指舞妖氛,碎断玉腕两片红。展翼空飞九层狱,折翅坠地红尘中。纤肢染尘跪求命,利剑无情出鞘声。凤眼滴泪愿为妾,锋吟鬼哭风声惨。容颜徒娇离此身,伊凡冷眼断娇息。
The lyrical qualities of this piece are certainly debatable, but that’s not the point. What is important is what the song doesn’t mention: the fact Jezebeth had one last bargaining chip to offer in the hopes of saving her sorry hide. In a last, desperate gambit, she offered information about the boy Brendan. But Ivan replied that he would never believe one word spoken by an assassin, especially a Succubus. And that’s when he cut her head off with a mighty swing of his sword.
歌词的可信度当然是值得商榷的,但这不是关键问题。最重要的是这首歌并未提到的一个事实,其实耶泽蓓丝有最后一个筹码,一个能换取自身性命的秘密。在最后的绝望之中,她试图提供布伦丹的消息作交换。但伊凡回答说,他绝不相信由刺客说出的任何一个字,尤其是魅魔刺客。旋即伊凡一剑砍掉了耶泽蓓丝的头颅。
With Jezebeth’s death, the Fourth Eclipse was finally over. But in the Empire the troubles were only beginning…
随着耶泽蓓丝之死,第四次血月之蚀也因此结束了。但在帝国之内,麻烦才刚刚开始……