《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之四（文化与历史篇）

Codex Entry 138: House Aeducan

The Assembly has never named a Paragon with so little disagreement as there was for Paragon Aeducan. No naysayers, only a single abstention. His worthiness was unquestionable, his favor with the Ancestors clear.

But family rumor says that the man himself was deeply troubled. Prone to fits of melancholy and self-doubt, never satisfied with his great achievement in protecting Orzammar, he died cursing that he had not managed to save the outlying thaigs.

Before he rose to Paragon, he was of little note. The Memories tell us that he never entered a single Proving, never sought to elevate his place among the Warrior Caste. He spent most of his years prior to the first Blight fighting skirmishes in the Deep Roads, keeping them free from surface bandits, content to live quietly with his wife and daughters.

When the Blight began, it caught Orzammar in the midst of a vicious inter-house war. Most of the Warrior Caste was caught up in the feuding, for as word of attacks poured in, each great house demanded that the army be sent to defend their thaig, and no house would agree to sacrifice their own holdings for the safety of any others. The Assembly was so utterly tied up with the infighting that the darkspawn spread, unchecked, to the gates of Orzammar herself.

In the chaos, Aeducan grudgingly took command of the armies. He enlisted the aid of the Mining Caste to collapse overrun passages, called upon the Smith Caste to supply them with arms, and bypassed the Assembly and the nobles entirely. With his leadership, Orzammar was saved from annihilation. For his insubordination, he was made Paragon.

Yet he always considered it a defeat.

--From A History of Aeducan: Paragon, King, Peacemaker, by Scholar Gertek

第一百三十八卷：Aeducan家族

矮人会议从来没有如此统一地一致赞同认可矮人贤者Aeducan。没有反对票，只有一位缺席票。他的价值是毋庸置疑的，他受到的祖先们的眷顾是明显的。

但是家族传言却说他本人其实十分的迷惑。有着忧郁和自我怀疑的倾向，从不因为他在保卫Orzammar中所取得的伟大成就而满意，他最后怀着没有能够拯救外围矮人殖民地的怨恨而死去。

在他被提升为矮人贤者之前，他并不太引人注意。记录者们告诉我们他从未参加过任何一场角斗赛，从未跻身于战士阶级。而他在第一次天灾之前的大多数时间都是在无底之路中进行着大大小小的战斗，保护他们不受地面强盗们的侵害，并和他的妻子与女儿们过着平静的生活。

当天灾来临的时候，当时的Orzammar正在因为家族纠纷而引起了内部战争。大多数的战士阶级都怀有世仇，因此当入侵的消息传来时，大多数家族都要求派遣军队去保护他们的殖民地，却很少有人愿意牺牲自己的所有去保护其他人的安全。当矮人会议还在因为解决内部争斗而纠缠不休的时候，黑暗生物们已经不断地扩散，并抵达了Orzammar的大门口。

在混乱之中，Aeducan勉强地接过了军队的指挥权。他召集了采矿阶级的帮助截断了被占领的通道，召唤了铁匠阶级为他们提供了装备的武装，并完全忽略了矮人会议和所有贵族们的同意。带着他的领导力，Orzammar被从毁灭的边缘上拯救了下来。因为他逆转了局势，他被封为了矮人贤者。

然而他总是认为那是一场大败仗。

---源自“矮人贤者，国王，维和者：Aeducan的记载”，作者是学者Gertek。

Codex Entry 139: An explanation of the Paragons

As I studied among the dwarves, I became aware that their social system was as rigid as the stone that surrounded them. From the lowest servant to the king of Orzammar, each dwarf has a caste, a rigid social standing, which dictates what he may do and how he may do it. What fascinated me then was that the dwarves, stubborn and proud as they may be, have built in a way for even the lowliest dwarf to bypass the caste system and reach prominence. Any dwarf who has made an achievement of significance can be named Paragon, elevating that dwarf above all others.

To become a Paragon is to be recognized as, essentially, a living ancestor. Your words are considered ineffable, and the dwarves liken you unto a god. Your family, those you choose to ascend with you, become the founders of a new line of nobility. Indeed, every existing noble house among the dwarves traces its line back to a founding Paragon. It is a rare thing, however. In my visit, I learned that only one Paragon has been elected in generations: The smith Branka, exalted for her discovery of smokeless coal.

I met the Paragon Branka only once during my stay, and I consider it an odd occasion indeed. Surrounded by those of her house, this ill-tempered woman was draped in the finest clothing and jewelry, and was obviously revered even above the highest nobles--perhaps above even the king--yet she seemed to enjoy none of it. The burden of being a living legend is great, it appears.

Statues of the Paragons are found throughout Orzammar, though nowhere so prominently than in the Hall of Heroes through which one passes on entering from the surface. It is a breathtaking sight to behold, great works of stone all seeming to hold up the ceiling above. It is meant to impress upon visitors to Orzammar of all who have gone before, I think. It is also meant to remind dwarves going to the surface--and thus abandoning their brethren forever--of all they are leaving behind.

--From Stone Halls of the Dwarves, by Brother Genitivi, Chantry scholar

第一百三十九卷：矮人贤者的一种解释

当我在矮人中进行学习的时候，我渐渐注意到他们的社会系统就像包围着他们的石头那样牢不可撼。从最低的Orzammar的国王仆人，每一位矮人都拥有一个阶级，一个不可撼动的社会地位，并且那决定了他能够做些什么和他能够怎样去做。而真正使我著迷的则是矮人们虽然那样地顽固和高傲，却保留了一个能够让最低级的矮人绕过阶级体系而获得杰出声望的方法。任何获得了杰出成就的矮人都可以被命名为矮人贤者，使得该名矮人跃居到所有矮人之上。

成为一名矮人贤者意味着他本质上是一位活着的祖先。你的所说的一句话将会被认为是神圣且不可违背的，并且矮人们会将你奉为神明一般。你的家族，那些你决定提拔的人，会成为一只新贵族的血脉。确实，每一个现存的贵族家族都能够追溯至他们的祖上为一名矮人贤者。然而这是一件很少见的事情。在我的访问中，我了解到在过去数代的矮人中只有一位矮人被提拔为了矮人贤者：铁匠Branka，因为她发明了无烟煤。

在我的停留期间只见过Branka一面，并且我认为那确实是一个奇怪的时刻。她被她的家族们围绕着，这位怪脾气的女人身披着最好的服装和珠宝，并且很明显地比任何最高的贵族都更加受人尊敬---也许比国王还要受尊敬---然而她看起来并不因此而开心。看起来身为一个活着的传说人物确实有不少压力。

矮人贤者们的雕像在整个Orzammar中都可以见到，而在从地面进入时首先来到的英雄大厅中则集中展示了许多的这种雕像。他确实是一个令人屏息的壮观景象，全是一些高高顶住天花板的伟大作品。它们就是为了提醒那些进入Orzammar的人那些逝去的事物。我想，它同样也为了提醒那些离开地底去往地面的矮人们---他们将会因此而永远抛弃他们的族人---他们将会失去的一切。

---源自“矮人的石头大厅”，作者教会学者，Genitivi教士。

Codex Entry 140: On the political structure of Orzammar

As dangerous as it is to mistake a dwarfs caste, it is far more deadly to mistake his alliances among the noble houses of Orzammar. Everyone in the city is allied with someone, whether by blood or by word. The nobles do not engage directly in commerce themselves, as that is the domain of the Merchant Caste, but they do serve as patrons. They invest in shops or in artisans work, and in turn reap a share of the profits as well as a measure of the credit. Merchants and warriors alike benefit from the service of a prestigious patron.

The relative power of each house is ever-changing. It is usually safe to assume that whichever noble house holds the throne is at the top of the heap, but below that, things grow into a tangled mess. Houses ally with one another by marriage. They earn rank and prestige when combatants loyal to them, or from their own bloodlines, win Provings. They earn it when artisans they patronize become sought-after or well regarded, or when the merchants they invest in become successful. The degrees of power that these achievements confer is so murky, even to the dwarves, that it isnt unusual for nobles to challenge each another to Provings over whose smith forges better belt buckles, or whose servants have the best manners. Nor is it out of the ordinary to find two merchants arguing over whose noble patron has won the most acclaim, for the rank of the patron is the rank of the client.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Assembly, where the deshyrs, representatives of each noble house, meet. Although the king technically rules Orzammar, kings are elected by the Assembly, and so each king must work constantly to maintain the support of the deshyrs. Kings who prove unpopular find their heirs deemed unacceptable to inherit the throne. Power then passes to another house.

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

第一百四十卷：Orzammar的政治结构

就如同错误地称呼了一位矮人的阶级一样，错误地说出了他在所效忠Orzammar所效忠的家族将会更加地致命。每一个城市中的人都会和某人联盟，无论是通过血缘关系还是口头承诺。
贵族们并不亲身进入商业运作，因为那是商人阶级的领域，然而他们却作为顾客而进入。他们在一些艺术家的作品或者商店中进行投资，并且作为回报他们将会根据他们的投资额而获得利润中的一部分。商人们和战士们都是一样通过为一名更高级的赞助人服务而谋取利益。

每一个家族的相关势力都是在不断变更的。通常认为那位坐在家族宝座上的人是他们中的领袖的想法是安全的，但是在他之下，事情就会变得有一些纠缠复杂。家族们通过婚姻而达成联盟。当效忠于他们的战士们，或者他们的血亲，在角斗赛中胜利，将会为他们赢得地位和荣耀。当他们所光顾的艺术家们的作品成为抢手货或者受到好评的时候，又或他们投资的商人获得成功的时候，他们同样也会获得这些殊荣。而这些成就所带来的权力程度是很阴暗的，甚至对矮人来讲也是如此，贵族们为了谁的铁匠制作的皮带扣更好，或者谁的仆人们拥有最好的礼仪而通过角斗赛挑战对方并不是一件稀奇的事情。

而在deshyr们和每一个贵族家族的代表们见面的矮人会议中，这一切更是显露无遗。 尽管国王理论上是Orzammar的统治者，然而国王却是由矮人会议所选出来的，因此每一位国王都必须日以继夜地争取保持住deshyr们的支持。那些不受欢迎的国王的后裔们会被认作不适合继任他的王位。而后权力便会转移到另外的一个家族手上。

---源自“追寻知识：一位教会学者的旅行”，作者教会学者，Genitivi教士。

Codex Entry 141: A story of the Provings

Valos atredum. In the 23rd year of the reign of King Ragnan Aeducan, an old man of the Servant Caste was accused of stealing a sapphire ring from his employer, Lord Dace. The servant was stripped of his position, he and his family thrown to the streets, and soon after, the servant died.
The son of the disgraced servant challenged Lord Dace to a Proving, declaring that his father had been the victim of a cruel injustice and the ancestors would bear him witness. Lord Dace had no choice but to accept.

On the sacred stone of the Proving Ground, the nobleman faced the servant boy. Lord Dace carried a sword crafted for his own hand and was clad in his great-grandfathers armor. The servant boy had neither armor nor weapon. When the battle began, the boy fought like a whole pack of angry deepstalkers, flinging himself upon the startled lord, wrenching the sword from his hand, and prying at his armor with bare fingers. The boy knocked Lord Dace to the ground and beat him until the lord begged for mercy.

The boy and his family were reinstated to their place in the Dace household, and the virtue of the boys father was not questioned again. The ancestors had spoken, and no one would question their word.

--As told by Shaper Vortag

第一百四十一卷：一个角斗赛中的故事

Valos atredum。在Ragnan Aeducan国王统治的第二十三年，一位仆人阶级的老人被指控从他的主人Dace领主那里偷走了一枚蓝宝石。这位仆人被剥夺了他的地位，他和他的家族被扔到了街上，并且很快地，这位仆人就去世了。

而这位不光彩的仆人的儿子在角斗赛中挑战了Dace领主，宣称他的父亲是一场不公平裁决的受害者并且祖先将会为他作证。Dace领主没有选择的余地只能够接受了挑战。

在角斗场神圣的石头之上，这位贵族面对了这位仆人的男孩。Dace领主佩戴着一柄专门为他所铸造的剑，身穿着他曾祖父的盔甲。而仆人的孩子却既没有盔甲也没有武器。当战斗开始的时候，男孩就像一群愤怒的地底潜行者一样发动了攻击，在这位惊慌的领主周围跳来跳去，并扭去了这位领主手上的剑，用他的手指对这位领主的盔甲发动攻击。这位男孩将Dace领主击倒在地，并用双手打到领主开始求饶。

这位男孩和他的家人恢复了他们在Dace家族中的位置，并且这位男孩父亲的名誉再未遭到质疑。因为祖先的旨意已经宣布，并且没有人会去怀疑他们的话。

--由塑形师Vortag所讲述。