《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之四（文化与历史篇）

Codex Entry 111: On the city of Denerim

When anyone in Ferelden speaks of "going to the city," they inevitably mean Denerim. There is no other place in the kingdom which rivals it: Not in size, population, wealth, or importance. It is the seat of the Theirin family, the capital of Ferelden, the largest seaport, and, by ancient tradition, the meeting place of the Landsmeet.

As well, Denerim was the birthplace of Andraste. One of them, anyway, as several other sites claim to have been the prophets early home, including Jader, in Orlais. The Chantry takes no stance on which sites claim is valid, but it is well known that Andraste was Fereldan by birth. When visiting the pilgrimage site in Denerim, it is inadvisable to mention Jader at all.

The city rests at the foot of the Dragons Peak, a solitary mountain scarred by ancient lava flows. During Andrastes lifetime, it reputedly filled the sky with a great column of black ash and sent burning rock raining down as far away as the Free Marches, but it is now considered extinct. Some believe it merely sleeps, and will again darken the sky with ash and fire when the last Fereldan king dies, but this is highly unlikely.

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

第一百一十一卷：Denerim城的事迹

当所有Ferelden人说要“进城”的时候，他们不约而同所指的都是Denerim城。在王国的其他地方没有什么地方能与它比拟：无论是从规模，人口数量，财富，或者重要程度来说。那里是Theirin家族的宝座，Ferelden的首都以及最大的港口，而且根据传统，那里也是领主会议的举行地。

同样，Denerim也是Andraste的出生地。起码是她传闻中众多出生地的一个，也有许多其他的地方声称是先知早期的家乡，包括了在了Orlais的Jader。教会说没有一个声称是先知故乡的地方是真实的，但众所周知地Andraste确实是在Fereldan的土地上出生的。当前去Denerim朝圣的时候，强烈建议不要提到有关Jader的任何事情。

这座城市建立在龙之山峰---一座由古代岩浆流而形成的独立山峰的脚下。在Andraste生活的时代，据说它还会喷出遮住天空的黑色灰尘，并会迸裂出最远落到Free Marches去的燃烧石块，而如今这种迹象已经绝迹了。但有些人相信它只是在沉睡中而已，且当Ferelden最后一位国王逝去的时候，它会再次令天空布满灰尘与火焰，不过这只是不太可能实现的谣传而已。

--源自“追寻知识：一位教会学者的旅行”，作者Genitivi修士。

Codex Entry 112: On the worship of dragons

Let us suggest, for the moment, that a high dragon is simply an animal. A cunning animal, to be sure, but in possession of no true self-awareness or sentience. There has not, after all, been a single recorded case of a dragon attempting to communicate or performing any act that could not likewise be attributed to a clever beast.

How, then, does one explain the existence of so-called "dragon cults" throughout history?

One dragon cult might be explainable, especially in light of the reverence of the Old Gods in the ancient Tevinter Imperium. In the wake of the first Blight, many desperate imperial citizens turned to the worship of real dragons to replace the Old Gods who had failed them. A dragon, after all, was a god-figure that they could see: It was there, as real as the archdemon itself, and, as evidence makes clear, did offer a degree of protection to its cultists.

Other dragon cults could be explained in light of the first. Some cult members might have survived and spread the word. The worship of the Old Gods was as widespread as the Imperium itself--certainly such secrets could have made their way into many hands. But there have been reports of dragon cults even in places where the Imperium never touched, among folks who had never heard of the Old Gods or had any reason to. How does one explain them?

Members of a dragon cult live in the same lair as a high dragon, nurturing and protecting its defenseless young. In exchange, the high dragon seem to permit those cultists to kill a small number of those young in order to feast on draconic blood. That blood is said to have a number of strange long-term effects, including bestowing greater strength and endurance, as well as an increased desire to kill. It may breed insanity as well. Nevarran dragon-hunters have said these cultists are incredibly powerful opponents. The changes in the cultists are a form of blood magic, surely, but how did the symbiotic relationship between the cult and the high dragon form in the first place? How did the cultists know to drink the dragon’s blood? How did the high dragon convince them to care for its young, or know that they would?

Is there more to draconic intelligence than we have heretofore guessed at? No member of a dragon cult has ever been taken alive, and what accounts exist from the days of the Nevarran hunters record only mad rants and impossible tales of godhood. With dragons only recently reappearing and still incredibly rare, we may never know the truth, but the question remains.

--From Flame and Scale, by Brother Florian, Chantry scholar, 9:28 Dragon

第一百零二卷：巨龙的崇拜

让我们先假设一下高等巨龙只是一只动物。当然肯定是一只狡猾的动物，然而却没有自我的意识。因为到目前为止并没有一份记录记载高等巨龙曾尝试与其它生物进行沟通，同样他们也没有过任何能够说明他们是有智商的生物的行为。

但是如果是这样的话，那该怎样解释历史上所出现的那些“巨龙信徒”呢？

第一批巨龙信徒的出现也许是可以被解释的，这尤其要从Tevinter帝国崇敬诸位古神的时代说起。在第一次天灾觉醒的时候，许多绝望的市民们转而去崇拜真实的巨龙来以取代他们曾经的远古之神，因为它们在危急时候无法拯救人们。然而，一只巨龙却是真实存在且可被看见的：它就存在于那里，像大恶魔的存在一样真实，且据确凿的证据说明，巨龙确实能为它的信徒们提供一定程度上的保护。

其它巨龙信徒的出现就是因为第一批信徒的原因了。一些信徒成员们可能幸存了下来并开始传达这些讯息。而因为当时对古老诸神的崇拜已蔓延了整个Tevinter帝国，因此这种信仰的说法传到了许多人的耳中。然而，在那些帝国们没有触及的地方，甚至从来没有听说过远古之神的地方的人们中，也无缘无故地出现了巨龙们的信徒。究竟该怎么解释这个现象呢？

巨龙信徒的成员们和他们所崇拜的巨龙生活在一个巢穴里，他们负责喂养并保护那些无助的幼龙。作为交换，巨龙允许它的信徒杀死一些幼龙并饮用它们的龙血。这种血液据说有许多奇怪的长期效果，包括了能增强人的力量与耐力，且增强了人们杀戮的欲望。同样它还会导致精神错乱。据Nevarran的巨龙猎人们说，这些信徒们在战斗中是非常可怕的对手。巨龙信徒的这种改变从某种形式上可以说是血魔法的一种，但是巨龙与它的信徒之间的这种关系最初是怎样建立的呢？信徒们怎么知道要去饮用巨龙的血液？高等巨龙们是怎么说服他们照顾它的幼崽，并且知道他们会这样做呢？

是不是龙的智慧比我们想象的要聪明许多？但没有一名巨龙信徒被成功活捉过，且从Nevarran猎人以来的记载中，提到的只是些疯狂地夸夸其谈和一些不可能的神话传说。如今巨龙们也只是刚刚出现且数量极其稀少，因而我们永远无法知道事实的真相，但是这个疑问却一如既往地存在。

--源自“火焰与鳞片”，作者教会学者Florian兄弟，9：28巨龙纪元。


Codex Entry 113: The history of Ferelden up to the Orlesian occupation

Ferelden, as we think of it now, did not exist before the Exalted Age. Instead, the valley was divided up into dozens of old Alamarri clans. They warred constantly with one another over land, honor, the allegiance of the freeholders, and, on one notable occasion, the name given to a favorite mabari.

And then, in the 33rd year of the Exalted Age, Calenhad Theirin became teyrn of Denerim, and everything changed.

Most of what we know about the founding of our nation comes from old songs that the bards passed down through the Ages. The songs are filled with wild exaggerations and outright lies, but this hardly differs from the scholarly papers of some of my contemporaries. There is no agreement among poets or scholars on how he did it, but Calenhad gained the support of the Circle of Magi, and they crafted for him a suit of silvery white armor that, by all accounts, repelled both arrow and blade. Calenhad led his army across the valley and captured Redcliffe--one of only three men who ever successfully laid siege to that fortress--and presented himself to the banns of the Landsmeet as their king.

The poets tell us that every lord knelt before Calenhad without question. The fact that he attended the Landsmeet surrounded by Ash Warriors and loyal mages of the Circle is generally omitted from the ballads, however.

From Calenhad came the line of Theirin kings and queens who reigned, uninterrupted, until the 44th year of the Blessed Age, when the Orlesian invasion came. The rightful king was forced to flee Denerim, and for 70 years a puppet sat upon the throne.

--From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

第一百一十三卷：Orlesian占领之前的Ferelden的历史。

我们如今所熟知与了解的Ferelden，在崇高纪元之前并不存在。那时的平原地区分布着若干个Alamarri部落。他们之间因为领土，荣誉，为争取其他部落的支持，甚至是为了一只心爱Mabari犬命名的原因，互相征战不停。

直到在崇高纪元的第三十三年，Calenhad Theirin成为了Denerim的领主，一切都改变了。

对于我们国家是如何建立的，大多数人都是从吟游诗人的口中的古老歌谣所了解。然而歌中充满了各种不实且令人混淆的谎言，而对我们当代学者的记录来说也是一样。究竟Calenhad是如何从魔法议会取得支持，且让法师议会为他打造了一幅纯银色的，能够抵挡所有的箭矢和刀剑的盔甲，诗人和学者们之间从没有在此原因上达成共识。Calenhad带领着他的军队穿越了平原地区并占领了Redcliffe---成为了历史上征服过该堡垒的仅有三人中的其中一位---并在领主会议中声称自己是他们的国王。

诗人们对我们说，当时所有的领主都没有丝毫疑问地跪在了Calenhad面前。而事实上，歌谣中忽略了一个事实，那就是他其实是在灰烬武士与法师议会里的忠诚法师的团团保护下才进入了领主议会。

源自Calenhad延续下来的Theirin国王与王后的血脉自从那时就保持了下来，且中间从未间断。直至祝福纪元第四十四年的时候，Orlesian入侵的到来，名正言顺的国王因此被迫逃离了Denerim，致使在后来将近七十年的时间里，坐在国王宝座上的人始终是个傀儡。

---源自“Ferelden：乡间传奇与历史”，作者教会学者Petrine修女。

Codex Entry 114: The Orlesian occupation of Ferelden

The occupation was a dark blot on Fereldens history. Our people, who from time immemorial valued their freedom over all else, were forced to bow to Orlesian rule. The Empire Declared our elves property and sold them like cattle. Chevaliers routinely plundered freeholds of coin, food, and even women and children, and excused it as "taxation." And for 70 years no Landsmeets were held, for the Imperial throne had Declared our ancient laws a form of treason.

King Brandel was one of those who escaped. He tried to organize the other fugitive lords to retake their land, but Brandel was neither clever nor persuasive, and the nobles preferred to take their chances alone. Ferelden might still be little more than a territory of the Empire were it not for the fact that his daughter had all the charisma that her royal father lacked. The Rebel Queens rule began with a midnight attack on the imperial armory at Lothering. It was swift and successful, and with their pilfered arms the rebels began a campaign against the Orlesians in earnest.

But the turning point of the war came when a young freeholder joined the queens army. The lad, Loghain Mac Tir, possessed a remarkable talent for strategy, and quickly became the favorite advisor of young Prince Maric. The queen finally died at the hands of Orlesian sympathizers anxious to curry favor with their painted masters, and Maric took her place as the leader of the rebellion. Loghain became Marics right hand. Maric and Loghain led the rebels in a new campaign against their Orlesian oppressors, culminating in the battle of River Dane, where the last Chevaliers in Denerim were crushed. With the capital once more in the hands of Fereldans, the battle to free our people was finally over. But the battle to rebuild what had been lost had only just begun.

--From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

第一百一十四卷：Orlesian对Ferelden的侵占史

这段侵占史是Ferelden历史上最黑暗的一段时期。我们的人们带着他们自古俱来对着自由的信仰，不得不屈服在Orlesian的统治下。帝国夺取了属于我们的精灵并把他们像牲畜一样进行贩卖。侠义骑士们频繁地向人们强行索取金币，食物，甚至是女人和小孩，并把它称之为“所得税”。在持续的七十年中，没有举行过一次领主会议，因为帝国的皇帝宣称我们古老的法律是一种叛国的形式。

Brandel国王是那些逃脱的人群里的其中一个。他曾经尝试将我们其他那些逃脱的领主们联合起来，并重新获取他们的领地，但是由于他既不从聪明也没有说服力，其他的领主们宁愿自己尝试也不愿服从于他。如果没有那位比她皇室父亲更有魅力的女士的出现，也许Ferelden仍然看起来只像是帝国领土的一部分而已。叛乱女王的统治从那次对Lothering武器库成功的午夜袭击开始。那次行动十分迅速与成功，并通过这些缴获来的武器，起义军开始了对Orlesian人真正意义上的对抗。

而战争的转折点从一位年轻的游荡少年加入了女王的军队才真正开始。这位名叫Loghain Mac Tir的孩子，对策略有着十分显著的天赋与特长，并且很快成为了Maric王子最喜爱的助手与参谋。很快，女王死于了那些急于向他们的新主人表示讨好的Orlesian的支持者，且Maric取代了女王的位置成为了叛军的领袖。Loghain则成为了Maric的左右手。Maric和Loghain带领着起义军对Orlesian的统治者们发动了一场新的战役，最终在Dane河战役中，Denerim的最后一批侠义骑士力量被摧毁。随着首都再次地回到了Fereldan人们的手中，解放我们人民的战争终于结束了。但是重建我们那些失去的事物的战斗才刚刚开始。

---来自“Ferelden：乡间传奇与历史”，作者教会学者Petrine修女。