《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之四（文化与历史篇）

Codex Entry 107: On alienage culture

There have always been alienages. They have been around for as long as elves and shems have lived in the same lands. Ours isnt even the worst: They say that Val Royeaux has ten thousand elves living in a space no bigger than Denerims market. Their walls are supposedly so high that daylight doesnt reach the vhenadahl until midday.

But dont be so anxious to start tearing down the walls and picking fights with the guards. They keep out more than they keep in. We dont have to live here, you know. Sometimes a family gets a good break, and they buy a house in the docks, or the outskirts of town. If theyre lucky, they come back to the alienage after the looters have burned their house down. The unlucky ones just go to the paupers field.

Here, were among family. We look out for each other. Here, we do what we can to remember the old ways. The flat-ears who have gone out there, theyre stuck. Theyll never be human, and theyve gone and thrown away being elven, too. So where does that leave them? Nowhere.

--Sarethia, hahren of the Highever alienage

第一百零七卷：异族区的文化

异族区自古以来就一直存在。自从麻瓜和精灵一起居住自同一片土地以来就一直分布在各地。我们居住的甚至不是最糟糕的一个：他们说在Val Royeaux里有一万多名精灵居住在还没有Denerim市场区大的空间里。而围绕他们的围墙高到直到中午之前连阳光都照不到里面。

但是请不要感到焦虑并尝试拆除城墙或者和守卫们打架。他们其实是防止人进来，而不是出去。要知道，没人强迫我们生活在这里。有些时候当某些家庭富裕了，他们就在码头区或者郊外购买一件房子。幸运的话，他们能够在劫掠者烧掉他们房子之后回到异族区来。如果不幸运的话就只能够去乞丐区了。

在这里，我们生活在一个大家族里。我们互相照顾彼此。在这里我们尝试记住那些传统的生活方式。那些平耳朵（注：指羡慕人类）的精灵一旦走出去，他们就会被种种困难所卡住。他们永远不会成为人类，而他们又抛弃了作为精灵的权利。因此那能够带给他们什么呢？什么也没有。

---Sarethia，Highever异族区的hahren（注：精灵语，城市精灵社会中的某种职务）


Codex Entry 108: On the history of the elves before the fall of Arlathan

Before the ages were named or numbered, our people were glorious and eternal and never-changing. Like the great oak tree, they were constant in their traditions, strong in their roots, and ever reaching for the sky.

They felt no need to rush when life was endless. They worshipped their gods for months at a time. Decisions came after decades of debate, and an introduction could last for years. From time to time, our ancestors would drift into centuries-long slumber, but this was not death, for we know they wandered the Fade in dreams.

In those ages, our people called all the land Elvhenan, which in the old language means "place of our people." And at the center of the world stood the great city of Arlathan, a place of knowledge and debate, where the best of the ancient elves would go to trade knowledge, greet old friends, and settle disputes that had gone on for millennia.

But while our ancestors were caught up in the forever cycle of ages, drifting through life at what we today would consider an intolerable pace, the world outside the lush forests and ancient trees was changing.

The humans first arrived from Par Vollen to the north. Called shemlen, or "quicklings," by the ancients, the humans were pitiful creatures whose lives blinked by in an instant. When they first met the elves, the humans were brash and warlike, quick to anger and quicker to fight, with no patience for the unhurried pace of elven diplomacy.

But the humans brought worse things than war with them. Our ancestors proved susceptible to human diseases, and for the first time in history, elves died of natural causes. Whats more, those elves who spent time bartering and negotiating with humans found themselves aging, tainted by the humans brash and impatient lives. Many believed that the ancient gods had judged them unworthy of their long lives and cast them down among the quicklings. Our ancestors came to look upon the humans as parasites, which I understand is similar to the way the humans see our people in the cities. The ancient elves immediately moved to close Elvhenan off from the humans, for fear that this quickening effect would crumble the civilization.

--"The Fall of Arlathan," as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

第一百零八卷：在Arlathan陷落前的那段精灵历史

在年份和时间都还没有被命名和计数的时候，我们的人群曾是荣耀的，永恒不变且不会衰老的。就像大橡树一样，他们保持着他们的传统，拥有牢牢的根基，甚至能够与天比高。

因为他们的生命是不会终结的，所以他们做事情并不急切。他们定期举行的对诸神的祭典一次会长达几个月。而通常的一个决定也许需要长达十年的讨论才能决定下来，而一段见面介绍则可能要长达数年。并且一次又一次地，我们的祖先们会进入几个世纪的长眠，这并不是死亡，因为我们知道他们只是在梦中漫游暗物质界而已。

在那个时代里，我们的人们将大地叫做Elvhenan，在古语中的意思是“我们人民的地方”。而耸立在世界中央的则是我们伟大的城市Arlathan，一个容纳知识与交流的地方，在那里，年长的精灵们常常会去交换知识，向老朋友问好，以及进行长达数千年的辩论。

今天的我们也许会认为这种暗淡而平缓的生活方式是难以忍受的。当我们的祖先沉寂在岁月的周而复始中的时候，远古之树与茂密之林之外的世界确在慢慢地改变，

当人类第一次从来自北方的Par Vollen到来的时候，我们的祖先们称他们为麻瓜，或“短命之人”，因为人类的一生在我们的祖先眼中看来有如匆匆一瞥。而当人类首次遇到精灵的时候，他们显得是那么性急与好战，容易愤怒且动不动就与人战斗。而他们对于精灵们那不慌不忙的外交方式则没有耐心。

然而人类所带来还有比战争更糟糕的东西。我们的祖先无法适应那些人类们所带来的疾病，因此在自古以来的历史上第一次，精灵居然因为自然的原因而死亡了。更可怕的是，那些与人类进行交易与沟通的精灵们开始发现自己渐渐地衰老，他们被人类那性急与短暂的生命所影响。许多人相信是由于远古之神认为他们不配长生，而将他们放逐到了那些短命之人当中。我们的祖先们开始视人类为寄生虫，我理解因为那其实就像现在的人类看待我们居住在城市中的人民那样一样。古老的精灵们立刻关闭了Elvhenan并禁止任何人类进入，害怕这种危险会颤动他们的整个文明。

---“Arlathan的陷落”，由Dalish精灵的Ralaferin部落长老Gisharel所讲述。

Codex Entry 109: On the fall of Arlathan

You ask what happened to Arlathan? Sadly, we do not know. Even those of us who keep the ancient lore have no record of what truly happened. What we have are accounts of the days before the fall, and a fable of the whims of the gods.

The human world was changing even as the elves slept. Clans and tribes gave way to a powerful empire called Tevinter, which--and for what reason we do not know--moved to conquer Elvhenan. When they breached the great city of Arlathan, our people, fearful of disease and loss of immortality, chose to flee rather than fight. With magic, demons, and even dragons at their behest, the Tevinter Imperium marched easily through Arlathan, destroying homes and galleries and amphitheaters that had stood for ages. Our people were corralled as slaves, and human contact quickened their veins until every captured elf turned mortal. The elves called to their ancient gods, but there was no answer.

As to why the gods didnt answer, our people left only a legend. They say that FenHarel, the Dread Wolf and Lord of Tricksters, approached the ancient gods of good and evil and proposed a truce. The gods of good would remove themselves to heaven, and the lords of evil would exile themselves to the abyss, neither group ever again to enter the others lands. But the gods did not know that FenHarel had planned to betray them, and by the time they realized the Dread Wolf’s treachery, they were sealed in their respective realms, never again to interact with the mortal world. It is a fable, to be sure, but those elves who travel the Beyond claim that FenHarel still roams the world of dreams, keeping watch over the gods lest they escape from their prisons.

Whatever the case, Arlathan had fallen to the very humans our people had once considered mere pests. It is said that the Tevinter magisters used their great destructive power to force the very ground to swallow Arlathan whole, destroying eons of collected knowledge, culture, and art. The whole of elven lore left only to memory.
--"The Fall of Arlathan," as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves


第一百零九卷：Arlathan的陷落

你问Arlathan为什么陷落？可悲的是，我们也不知道。即使是我们当中那些保留了古老知识的人也没有关于究竟发生了什么事情的记载。我们仅仅记得他已经陷落了多长时间，和一段诸神们如何逝去的传说。

人类的世界即使是在精灵们睡觉的时候也在不断改变。各个部族与部落都为叫做Tevinter的强大帝国征服Arlathan的大军而让路---具体由于什么我们也不清楚。当他们攻破Arlathan城市的时候，我们的人民因担心人类携带的疾病与接触人类而可能导致失去不朽能力的原因，并没有进行战斗而选择了逃跑。拥有着魔法，恶魔，甚至巨龙的帮助，Tevinter帝国轻松地在Arlathan中纵横穿没，摧毁了无数已屹立数个世纪的家园，纪念馆，露天剧场。我们的人民被当作奴隶掠夺走，且因与人类的长期接触，渐渐地影响了他们的身体，使得每一个被人类所捕获的精灵最终都失去了他们不朽的能力。精灵们向远古之神呼唤帮助，但却没有得到回应。

而至于为什么诸神没有响应他们，我们的人民只留下了一个传说。他们说Fen’Harel---恐惧之狼与欺骗之神，接近了善良与邪恶之神并提议停战和谈。善良之神回到了天堂，邪恶之神回到了地狱，任何一方都不得再进入另一方的领地。但是众神们并不知道Fen’Harel暗中计划背叛他们，而等到他们意识到恐惧之狼的背叛的时候，他们已经被封印在了自己的次元中，并且永远无法与我们这些凡人进行沟通了。当然，这只是个神话，但是那些漫游在暗物质界的精灵们则声称Fen’Harel仍然在梦境的世界里徘徊，看守着那些诸神，避免他们从自己的监狱中逃脱出来。

无论是什么原因，Arlathan被我们的祖先一度认为是害虫的人类所攻陷了。他们说Tevinter的魔法领主运用他们那强大的破坏力量让大地吞噬了整个Arlathan，毁灭了万古以来积累的知识，文化以及艺术。精灵们所有的知识都只剩下下了对他们的回忆。

--“Arlathan的陷落”由Dalish精灵的Ralaferin部落长老Gisharel所讲述。

Codex Entry 109: On the culture of the Dalish people today

For Dalish PCs

In time, the human empires will crumble. We have seen it happen countless times. Until then, we wait, we keep to the wild border lands, we raise halla and build aravels and present a moving target to the humans around us. We try to keep hold of the old ways, to relearn what was forgotten.

We call to the ancient gods, although they do not answer and have not heard us since before the fall of Arlathan, so that one day they might remember us: Elgarnan the Eldest of the Sun and He Who Overthrew His Father, Mythal the Protector, FenHarel the Dread Wolf, Andruil the Huntress, FalonDin the Friend of the Dead, Dirthamen the Keeper of Secrets, Ghilannain the Mother of Halla, June the Master of Crafts, and Sylaise the Hearthkeeper.

We gather every ten years for the Arlathvhen, to retell the ancient stories and keep them alive. For when the human kingdoms are gone, we must be ready to teach the others what it means to be elves.

--Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

For all other PCs

I took the road north from Val Royeaux toward Nevarra with a merchant caravan. A scant two days past the Orlesian border, we were beset by bandits. They struck without warning from the cover of the trees, hammering our wagons with arrows, killing most of the caravan guards instantly. The few who survived the arrow storm drew their blades and charged into the trees after our attackers. We heard screams muffled by the forest, and then nothing more of those men.

After a long silence, the bandits appeared. Elves covered in tattoos and dressed in hides, they looted all the supplies and valuables they could carry from the merchants and disappeared back into the trees.

These, I was informed later, were the Dalish, the wild elves who lurk in the wilderness on the fringes of settled lands, preying upon travelers and isolated farmers. These wild elves have reverted to the worship of their false gods and are rumored to practice their own form of magic, rejecting all human society.

--From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

第一百一十卷：Dalish精灵如今的文化

Dalishi精灵的记载：

随着时间的推移，人类帝国的根基开始动摇。我们已经无数次地预见到这样的事情发生。但直至那发生之前，我们都会等待着，我们只在荒野的界限的边界之外游荡，我们饲养了Halla并建造了Aravels，在周遭的人类看来我们的迁徙是永不停止的。我们尝试保持古老的生活方式，以及那些已经被遗忘的现实。

我们对古老的神灵们发出呼唤，尽管在Arlathan陷落之后再也听不见我们的声音并无法回应，这样终有一天他们会记住我们：击败了他父亲的Elgar’nan，守护者Mythai，恐惧之狼Fen’Harel，狩猎女神Andruil，亡者之友Falon’Din，秘密的守护者Dirthamen，海拉之母Ghilan’nain，工艺之神June，以及壁炉守护者Sylaise。

我们每十年就为Arlathvhen聚集一次，互相交换并讲述古老的故事以使它们流传下去。当人类的王国覆灭之后，我们必须做好准备教导那些其他的精灵们生存的意义。

--由Dalish精灵的Ralaferin部落长老Gisharel所讲述。

其他的记载：

我同一只商队走上了从Vla Royeaux出发北上去往Nevarra的路。在离开了Orlesian边界不到两天的时候，我们遭到了一群强盗的袭击。他们没有预警地从树林地掩护下向我们发动了攻击，用箭矢射满了我们的篷车，瞬间杀死了大多数商队的守卫。那些少数从箭雨中活下来的人则拔出剑冲入了树林中追逐那些攻击者。我们只听到了从树林中传来他们的惨叫声，而后就什么也听不见了。
，
在很长的一段沉默之后，强盗们现身了。他们是一群刺满刺青，披着伪装衣物的精灵，他们掠了所有能拿走的补给品及有价值的物品后，就又消失在了树林之中。

后来我才知道，这些强盗就是Dalish精灵，那些隐藏在居民地周遭荒野中的精灵，猎捕着那些独自旅行者与独居的农夫们。这些野精灵们只崇拜他们那虚假的神灵，并且据传说他们拥有且使用他们自己的魔法，并拒绝与人类社会做接触。

---源自“追寻知识：一位教会学者的旅行”，由Genitivi修士编写。