《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之四（文化与历史篇）

Codex Entry 120: A story of the Frostback Mountains

Even mountains had a heart, once. When the world was young, Korth the Mountain-Father kept his throne at the peak of Belenas, the mountain that lies at the center of the world, from which he could see all the corners of earth and sky. And he saw strong men become weak, brave men grow cowardly, and wise men turn foolish for love.

Korth devised a plan that he might never be betrayed by his own heart, by taking it out and hiding it where no soul would ever dare search for it. He sealed it inside a golden cask, buried it in the earth, and raised around it the fiercest mountains the world had ever seen, the Frostbacks, to guard it.

But without his heart, the Mountain-Father grew cruel. His chest was filled with bitter mountain winds that shrieked and howled like lost souls. Food lost its flavor, music had no sweetness, and he lost all joy in deeds of valor. He sent avalanches and earthquakes to torment the tribes of men. Gods and men rose against him, calling him a tyrant, but with no heart, Korth could not be slain. Soon there were no heroes left, either among men or gods, who would dare challenge Korth.

The Lady of the Skies sent the best of her children--the swiftest, the cleverest, and strongest fliers--to scour the mountains for the missing heart, and for a year and a day they searched. But sparrow and raven, vulture and eagle, swift and albatross returned to her with nothing.

Then the ptarmigan spoke up, and offered to find the god-chiefs heart. The other birds laughed, for the ptarmigan is a tiny bird, too humble to soar, which spends half its time hopping along the ground. The Lady would not give the little creature her blessing, for the mountains were too fierce even for eagles, but the ptarmigan set out anyway.

The little bird traveled deep into the Frostbacks. When she could not fly, she crawled. She hugged the ground and weathered the worst mountain winds, and so made her lonely way to the valley where the heart beat. With all the gods terrible deeds, the heart was far too heavy for the tiny bird to carry, so she rolled it, little by little, out of the valley and down a cliff, and when the golden cask struck the earth, it shattered. The heart was full almost to bursting, and the pain of it roused the mountain god to come see what had happened.

When Korth neared his heart, it leapt back into his chest and he was whole again. Then Hakkon Wintersbreath bound Korths chest with three bands of iron and three bands of ice, so it could never again escape. And all the remaining gods named the ptarmigan honored above even the loftiest eagles.

--"The Ptarmigan: An Avvar Tale," from Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

第一百二十卷：Frostback山脉的故事

即使是山脉也有情感。当世界刚刚诞生不久的时候，山岭之父Korth在Belenas之崖上拥有自己的宝座，这座山崖坐落在世界的中心，从那里他可以看到全世界的每一个角落。他目睹了强壮的人变得衰弱，勇敢地人变得胆怯，聪明的人因为爱情而变得愚蠢。

Korth想到了一个永远不会被因他的内心而改变自己的方法，他把自己的心掏了出来并藏到了没有一个灵魂敢于去寻找的地方。他把它密封在了一个金色的桶里，并且将它深深地埋在了地下，而后又 在地面上升起了一座巨大的山脉来保护它，那便形成了如今的Frostback山脉。

但是因为没有了他的内心，山岭之父变得残忍。他的胸膛里装满了像迷失灵魂的尖啸与怒吼一样的苦涩的山岭之风。他的食物失去了味道，音乐也不再甜美，也同时失去了对勇敢事迹的喜悦。于是他发出了雪崩和地震去折磨部落的人们。诸神和人类们都起来反对他，称呼他为暴君，但是因为没有心脏，Korth无法被杀死。很快就没有一位英雄，无论是人类还是神，敢于挑战Korth了。

天空女士派出了她最优秀的孩子---最敏捷，最聪明，也是最强壮的鸟儿们---去山脉中寻找那颗丢失的心，它们找了一天又一天，一年又一年。但无论是麻雀和乌鸦，秃鹫和老鹰，雨燕还是信天翁，都什么东西也没有找到。

继而小雷鸟说话了，并且承诺要找到那颗属于神的心脏。其他的鸟儿们都嘲笑它，因为雷鸟是如此小的小鸟，也无法飞翔，大多数的时间只能在地面上奔跑。于是我们的女士没有给予它祝福，因为山岭对于老鹰们来说都是那么危险，但是雷鸟毅然决然地出发了。

这只小鸟行走到了Frostback山脉最深的地方。当无法飞翔的时候它就在地上爬行。它在可怕的山风中抱紧大地，最终来到了那带有心跳声的山谷。而此时由于山岭之神的罪孽深重，这只小鸟已经无法背动它沉重的心，于是她就把心放在地上滚，一点一点地，一直把它推出了山谷并推下了一座悬崖，当金色的桶摔落在大地上的时候碎成了碎片。心脏也膨胀到快要裂开，此时，感觉到了巨大疼痛的山岭之神赶忙前去察看发生了什么事。

当Korth靠近他的心脏的时候，心脏突然滚回到了它的胸膛之中，于是山岭之神再次地完整了。继而Hakkon Wintersbreath用三层铁外带三层冰雪将山岭之神的胸膛封了起来，以免它再次逃脱。而雷鸟，也因此被诸神给予了比最高傲的老鹰更高的荣誉。

---“雷鸟：一段化身之神的传说”，源自“Ferelden：乡间传奇和历史”，作者教会学者，Petrine修女。

Codex Entry 121: On the Teyrnir of Gwaren

The human settlement of Gwaren is built directly on top of a dwarven outpost by the same name. Prior to the first Blight, in a time when Ferelden was not yet a nation and was still carved up into barbarian tribes, the outpost served as a source of salt and a means by which the dwarves could reach the sea-lanes of the Amaranthine Ocean. Unwilling to come to the surface, the dwarves made an agreement with the local teyrn to build a port and relied on the humans to ferry goods between the ships and the underground outpost. This made Gwaren a prosperous place and extraordinarily wealthy for a time.

When, in the Divine Age, the dwarven kingdoms fell to the darkspawn and the Deep Roads were closed off, so too did the dwarves disappear from Gwaren. The human settlement, the envy of surrounding barbarian tribes, was assaulted and sacked, its wealth stolen.

The town remained, however, and despite its remote location continued to find value as a source of fish and timber. As the first settlement liberated by King Maric and Loghain during the Fereldan Rebellion, Gwaren was eventually granted to Loghain when he became teyrn in 9:11 Dragon.

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

第一百二十一卷：Gwaren郡的记载

Gwaren的人类领地就建在那里矮人前哨的正上方，并且都使用了相同的名字。在第一次天灾之前，当Ferelden还不是国家，还被分割成一个个野蛮人部落的时候，这个要塞作为盐的重要产地，且作为一种矮人们能够接触到Amaranthine海洋的象征而存在。矮人们因为不愿意来到地面，跟当地的领主达成了一项协议，由矮人们建造一座港口并由人类来负责进行地底世界和船舶之间的货物运输。这使得Gwaren成为了当时非常兴旺与富有的地方。

在神圣纪元，矮人王国沦陷给了黑暗大军，且无底之路被迫关闭的时候，矮人们也从Gwaren消失了。那里的人类则被周遭充满嫉妒的野蛮人所包围，遭到了袭击和掠夺，它的财富也被掠走。

然而城市却保留了下来，它虽然位置偏远但仍然可以作为食物和木材的来源。作为被Maric国王和Loghain第一座在Fereldan起义中解放的城市，Gwaren最终在Loghain在9：11巨龙纪元被封为领主的时候封给了他作为领地。

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

Codex Entry 122: On the Teyrnir of Highever

Castle Highever has stood since the Divine Age, when it was not an independent bannorn, but merely an outpost of the growing Bannorn of Amaranthine, in the days before Amaranthine became an arling itself. The outpost of Highever was originally held by the Elstan family, cousins of the Howes. In the Age of Towers, however, Bann Conobar Elstan was murdered by his wife, Flemeth, thus ending the bloodline. Conobars captain of the guard, Sarim Cousland, took the lands and title.

The Couslands Declared their independence from Amaranthine, starting a war that lasted 30 years. When the dust settled, Highever was on its own, and in possession of half the land that had once been southwestern Amaranthine.

Highever became a teyrnir during the Black Age, when Haelia Cousland gathered the lords together under her banner to drive the werewolves out of their lands, earning herself the title of teyrna almost as an afterthought.

Today, Highever is one of only two remaining teyrnirs, making the Cousland family second in rank only to the king.

The Cousland family, however, was all but wiped out in an unexpected attack by Arl Howe of Amaranthine, and the fate of the teyrnir is now in question.

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

第一百二十二卷：Highever郡的记载

Highever城堡自从神圣纪元开始就一直屹立，在Amaranthine还没有成为一个郡之前的日子里，它并不仅仅是一个独立的领地，而更像是Amaranthine不断扩大的领地的一个前哨。Highever前哨最初是被Elstan家族所掌握，Howes家族的表亲。在高塔纪元的时候，Conobar Elstan男爵被他的妻子Flemeth谋害，因此结束了这条的血脉。Conobar的守卫队长，Sarim Cousland取而代之地得到了这片领土以及爵位。

Couslands家族后来宣布了他们从Amaranthine中独立，开始了一场长达三十年的战争。当尘埃落定的时候，Highever终于属于它自己管辖了，并且半数的土地都是取自于原本属于Amaranthine西南部分的领地。

Highever在黑暗纪元的时候被封为了一个郡，而当Haelia Cousland在她的旗帜下聚集了附近的地主并击退了在他们土地上的狼人之时，她几乎立刻便被封为了领主。

今日，Highever是仅剩的两个郡之一，使得Cousland家族取得了在王国中仅次于国王的地位。

而Cousland家族却意外地因来自Amaranthine的Arl Howe的一次突然袭击而被灭族，这个郡未来的命运现在仍然处在疑问之中。

Codex Entry 123: Legends of Lake Calenhad

The waters of Lake Calenhad are steeped in legends. The Avvar people say that it was once the site of Belenas, the mountain which stood at the center of the world, from which Korth the Mountain Father surveyed the earth and sky. But it was destroyed in the battle between Korth and the serpent Nathramar, leaving only a vast crater behind. When the Lady of the Skies saw that Belenas was gone, she wept, and her tears filled the crater, making the lake.

The Tevinters believed that the waters of Lake Calenhad were blessed by Razikale, god of mysteries, and that those who drank from them were granted special insights. This was why they built the great tower on an island in the middle of the lake, hoping the powers of the lake would aid their magical research.

But most of us know the legend of King Calenhad, which gives the place its name. It is said that Calenhad Theirin spent a year and a day in the Tower of the Magi. Each day, he drew a single cup full of water from the lake and carried it to the Formari at the top of the tower. By magic, each cup of water was forged into a single ring of the mail armor the Circle gave to Calenhad. In that armor, made from the lifeblood of the land itself, no blade could strike him, no arrow pierce him, so long as he stood on Fereldan soil.

--From Thedas: Myths and Legends, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

第一百二十三卷：Calenhad湖的传奇

Calenhad湖中的湖水已经沉浸在了传奇之中。Awar的人们说那里曾经是Belenas，那座世界中心高耸入云的山脉的遗址，在那里，山脉之父Korth曾坐在顶峰俯瞰世界。但是它在Korth与Nathramar巨蛇的战斗中被摧毁了，只留下了一个巨大的火山口。当天空女士看到Belenas消失之后，她忍不住哭泣了，而她流下的泪水则汇聚在那里，形成了这座湖。

Tevinter人相信Calenhad的湖水被神秘之神Razikale所祝福，那些喝了他的人能够看到特殊的景象。这也就是他们为什么在湖中间建立起了巨大的高塔，期望湖的力量能够帮助他们进行魔法的研究。

但是我们的大多数人知道的是Calenhad国王的传说，湖水也是因他命名。据说Canlenhad Theirin在法师之塔待了一年零一天。每一天，他都从湖中盛出一杯满满的湖水，并把它捧到塔的顶端交给Formari。通过魔法，每一杯水都被铸造成了一件锁子甲上的一颗圆环，最后法师将这件锁子甲赠与了Calenhad。在那件盔甲中凝聚了大地的血液，因此只要他站在Fereldan的土壤上，就没有任何宝剑能够击破它，也没有任何箭矢能够刺穿它。

--源自“Thedas：神话与传奇”，作者教会学者，Petrine修女