上古卷轴ol书籍翻译——艾琳赫尔的繁荣
[著] 正在致力于成为城市法师的贾罗德 . 远飞
这座坐落于荒崖(Craglorn)的文明之光,如同明星般闪耀的艾琳赫尔城(Elinhir)一直以来都备受瞩目。
来到这里,映入眼帘的便是那远古的尖顶塔(Apex tower),如同石碑述说着那个蛮荒陌生的远古时代——远在精灵们和尤库达人踏入并占领荒崖之时,艾琳赫尔,这座墓碑一样的城市,昭告着这里繁华壮丽的法师与先贤文明力量。
直到第二纪元,这座城市才出现了一些文明层次的倒退。原因正如同荒崖的大部分地区,这个领地被那帝国统治的异见者和叛党所占据。正如此,现在的荒崖是一个危险的地方,缺少真正的领导以至于毫无规章法律所言,而且不断的被野蛮的强盗团伙和山岭里的钢铁兽人(Iron orcs)们所侵略。
但是,在第二纪元早期,一支由光照学院的大法师菲利克斯“黑色施法者” . 奥古斯图思(Felix “Blackcaster”Agustus)走出了他们的舒适圈,来到了荒崖建立了法师工会。
众多历史与传言记载,黑色施法者的法师们并不比原住民多守规矩,而且通常都是有些问题的,叛逆而边缘的法师工会反叛者。显然这个故事因为荒崖的野蛮无章而留下刻板印象,但这样足够使你相信,初到这里的法师们在文明建设上做出的贡献比抢掠这里的强盗高不了多少。
但是事实远非这样!只要简单的梳理一下留在帝国城里法师工会的档案就可以知道,当初菲利克斯“黑色施法者”的离开不是出于学术与训练上的意见分歧,而是为了探索奥术技艺上的一块新领土,超越公会目前的领域。证据显示,法师在离开后的十年内都一直与他的上级保持着联系,直到艾琳赫尔的领主签署了至高条约(Apex accord)。
来往的信件说明了这些法师初来乍到时发生的情景,他们说服那些未开化的、无法无章的人民接受领导和保护所付出的努力程度。我不会在书里详细说明这些,但我会做个总结。
黑色施法者和他的法师们当时对那些空无一人的尖顶塔很感兴趣,多次恳求城市的领主(虽然他更像是军阀)让他们入驻那些高塔。但领主每次都拒绝了他们,这挫败了他们的积极性,打消了这个念头。但是,当山岭上的钢铁兽人下山进攻城市时,这些法师们由于其出色的法术和谨慎严密的应对措施而受到了善变的艾琳赫尔的青睐。他们迅速拥护黑色施法者为新的领主——就在至高条约颁布的不久后。这则条约从那时起一直履行至今,条约上规定,只要城市的人们和政府支持法师学院的行动和制度,高塔上的法师们就会永远保护城市免受侵略者的袭击。
有人认为,这则条约的颁布并不像表面上那样,甚至宣传法师们暗中与钢铁兽人们达成了交易,以获得艾琳赫尔人民的统治权。这个说法完全虚假,充满了侮辱和污蔑,很明显,由于伟大的黑色施法者享有如此高的声誉与赞扬,他的反对者一定会格外嫉妒,此外更不用说钢铁兽人们在交易与谈判上臭名昭著。
所以事实是,自从至高条约颁布以来,艾琳赫尔就一直在法师们的保护下安然矗立在这里,作为荒崖的文明之星闪耀着。
原文:
The flouring of Elinhir
Being an Account of the City of Mages
by Garold Farfly
The one place in Craglorn where the light of civilization can be said to shine is the gleaming city of Elinhir.
Instantly recognizable by its ancient mage towers, monuments to a strange and foreign age before Elf or Yokudan laid eyes on Craglorn, Elinhir stands as a testament to the civilizing power of the scholar and the mage on an otherwise wild population.
Until the beginning of the Second Era, Elinhir was little more than a wild, lawless backwater. Like most of Craglorn it was settled mainly by those unfit for life inside the Empire. As such, it was a dangerous place, lacking true leadership or even laws to govern it, and constant prey to the predations of bandits and Iron Orc raiders from the mountains.
Early in the Second Era, however, a group of mages led by the illuminated Felix "Blackcaster" Augustus, left the comfort and confines of the Mages Guild to practice their arts in Craglorn.
Common myth suggests that Blackcaster and his mages were nothing more than unruly, morally questionable, and undisciplined hedge mages, rebelling against Mages Guild authority. This tale is perpetuated by the lawless element that still lingers in Craglorn. They would have you believe that the mages that first settled in Elinhir were no more a civilizing influence than the bandits who regularly raided the city.
This could not be farther from the truth! One need only comb the archives of the Mages Guild in the Imperial City to learn that Felix Blackcaster was, in fact, a guild member of high standing. His leaving the guild had nothing to do with any disagreement in discipline or practice, but with the desire to set out to new territories beyond the guild's reach. Correspondence shows that Blackcaster remained in constant communication with his superiors in the guild as late as ten years after the Apex Accord was signed by the leaders of Elinhir.
This correspondence sheds ample light on the situation Blackcaster and the other mages found on their arrival in Elinhir and the lengths to which they went to persuade the unruly populace to accept their leadership and protection. I will not go into exhaustive detail, but I will summarize. Blackcaster and his mages, intrigued by the sight of the then-empty Apex Towers in the city, had previously pleaded with the town's mayor (he was really more of a warlord) for access to the towers. Having been denied multiple times, they were despondent and about to give up their quest.
Their fortunes shifted, however, when Iron Orcs came down from the mountains and laid siege to the city. Using their considerable power, Blackcaster and his mages drove off the Orcs, quickly winning the love of the fickle people of Elinhir. They acclaimed Blackcaster their new mayor and shortly after the Apex Accord was struck—an agreement that stands to this day and states that the mages of Elinhir's Apex Towers will provide protection for the city for as long as the city supports them in the operation of their mages' academy.
Some have argued that the appearance of the Iron Orcs is not all it seemed. They have even gone so far as to declare that Blackcaster and his mages made a deal with the Orcs in order to win over the people of Elinhir. I find this suggestion both dubious and insulting. Such trickery would have been beneath one of Felix Blackcaster's stature and reputation, not to mention the fact that the Iron Orcs are notoriously intransigent in matters of cooperation and negotiation.
The truth is that from the time of the Apex Accord until now, Elinhir has flourished under the guidance and protection of the Blackcaster mages, becoming a prominent center of civilization in the wilderness of Craglorn.