《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之三（魔法与宗教篇）

Codex Entry 82:Why do demons seek to possess the living?

History claims they are malevolent spirits, the first children of the Maker, angry at their creator for turning from them and jealous of those creations he considered superior. They stare across the Veil at the living and do not understand what they see, yet they know they crave it. They desire life, they pull the living across the Veil when they sleep and prey on their psyche with nightmares. Whenever they can, they cross the Veil into our world to possess it outright.

We know that any demon will seek to possess a mage, and upon doing so will create an abomination. Most of the world does not know, however, that the strength of an abomination depends entirely on the power of the demon that possesses the mage. This is true, in fact, of all possessed creatures. One demon is not the same as any other.

Demons can, for instance, be classified. Enchanter Brahms categorization of demons into that portion of the psyche they primarily prey upon has held since the Tower Age.

According to Brahm, the weakest and most common of demons are those of rage. They are the least intelligent and most prone to violent outbursts against the living. They expend their energies quickly, the most powerful of them exhibiting great strength and occasionally the ability to generate fire.

Next are the demons of hunger. In a living host they become cannibals and vampires, and within the dead they feed upon the living. Theirs are the powers of draining, both of life force and of mana.

Next are the demons of sloth, the first on Brahms scale that are capable of true intelligence. In its true form, this demon is known as a shade, a thing which is nearly indistinct and invisible, for such is sloths nature. It hides and stalks, unaware, and when confronted, it sows fatigue and apathy.

Demons of desire are amongst the most powerful, and are the ones most likely to seek out the living and actively trick them into a deal. These demons will exploit anything that can be coveted--wealth, power, lust--and they will always end up getting far more than they give. A desire demons province is that of illusions and mind control.

Strongest of all demons are those of pride. These are the most feared creatures to loose upon the world: Masters of magic and in possession of vast intellect, they are the true schemers. It is they who seek most strongly to possess mages, and will bring other demons across the Veil in numbers to achieve their own ends--although what that might be has never been discovered. A greater pride demon, brought across the veil, would threaten the entire world.

--From The Makers First Children, by Bader, Senior Enchanter of Ostwick, 8:12 Blessed

第八十二卷：为什么恶魔们寻求占据生灵？

历史宣称他们是恶毒的灵魂，造物主的第一批孩子，因造物主离他们远去而愤怒，因造物主认为其他创造物比它们更好而嫉妒。他们穿过中间结界盯着这些生物，无法理解他们所看到的一切，然而它们却知道自己渴望这些活物。恶魔们渴望生命，它们在生物们睡觉的时候将他们拉过中间结界，用噩梦猎捕他们的灵魂。

我们知道任何恶魔都寻求去占据一名法师，而一旦这样就会产生一具憎恶者。但世界上大多数的人都不知道，，憎恶者的力量完全依赖于占据了法师的这名恶魔。实际上对于大多数被占据的生物来说都是如此。没有两名完全相同的恶魔。

恶魔们能够，举例来说，被分成许多种类。附魔师Brahm的“根据猎食不同灵魂的恶魔分类”自高塔纪元起一直延用至今。

根据Brahm，最弱也是最常见的恶魔是那些狂怒恶魔。他们最不聪明且最倾向于采取暴力来对抗生物，他们的能量扩散的很快，他们种类中最厉害的那些恶魔展现出强大的力量，并且偶尔还能够生成火焰。

其次的饥饿恶魔。在占据了生物宿主后他们就会成为食人鬼或吸血鬼，并且在死亡中猎食活人的生命。他们的能力是吸取，既能吸取生命又能吸取法力。

在其次的就是懒惰恶魔，用Brahm的尺度来讲是第一种真正拥有智慧能力的恶魔。在它真实的形态下，这种恶魔通常称之为阴影，一种变幻不定且隐形的生物，因为这就是懒惰恶魔的天性。它们隐藏并潜伏着，难以被人发现，而它们的伪装一旦暴露，还能够让对手疲惫与冷漠。

魅魔则是最强大的，且是那种尝试骗取生物达成某种协议的恶魔之一。这些恶魔会利用一切可能令人馋涎的东西---财富，权利，欲望---而最后它们总是能够得到比它们付出的多一万倍的回报。一只魅魔的能力是制造幻想和精神控制。

而所有恶魔中最强壮的则是骄傲恶魔。它们是世界上所见到的最可怕的生物之一：它们是知识和魔法的大师，它们是真正的阴谋家。正是它们带有强烈的欲望去占据魔法师的身体，并将其他的恶魔带过中间结界以达成它们自己的目标---尽管它们真正的目标从不为人所知。一只高阶的骄傲恶魔如果被带入这个世界，将会对整个世界都构成可怕的威胁。

----源自“造物主的第一个孩子”，由Ostwick的首席附魔师Bader编写，8：12祝福纪元

Codex Entry 83: The fundamental laws of magic

You must not be under the misimpression that magic is all-powerful. There are limits, and not even the greatest mages may overcome them.

No one, for instance, has found any means of traveling--either over great distances or small ones--beyond putting one foot in front of the other. The immutable nature of the physical world prevents this. So no, you may not simply pop over to Minrathous to borrow a cup of sugar, nor may you magic the essay you "forgot" in the apprentice dormitory to your desk. You will simply have to be prepared.

Similarly, even when you send your mind into the Fade, your body remains behind. Only once has this barrier been overcome, and reputedly the spell required two-thirds of the lyrium in the Tevinter Imperium as well as the lifeblood of several hundred slaves. The results were utterly disastrous.

Finally, life is finite. A truly great healer may bring someone back from the very precipice of death, when breath and heartbeat have ceased but the spirit still clings to life. But once the spirit has fled the body, it cannot be recalled. That is no failing of your skills or power, it is simple reality.

--From The Lectures of First Enchanter Wenselus.

第八十三卷：魔法的基本定律

你必须不要误解魔法是全能的。它也有极限，并且即使是最强大的法师也无法超越它。

举例来说，没有人能够不抬脚而去旅行---无论距离是远是近。我们这个世界不可改变的物理规则决定了这一切。因此，你不要妄想够轻而易举地瞬间移动到Minrathous去借一杯糖，也不要妄想利用魔法完成那篇你声称“忘记”在学徒宿舍的论文。你最起码要好好准备才行。

类似地，即使你将你的精神体放入暗物质界，你的身体仍然只能留在这里。只有一次这个障碍被突破了，但据说为了执行那次魔法，耗费了Tevinter帝国三分之二的Lyrium物质，以及数百名奴隶的性命。这个结果是灾难性的。

最终，生命是有限的。一个真正强大的医师也许能够把一些人从死亡的悬崖边拽回来，但只有当仅仅是心跳和呼吸停止，而灵魂仍附在身体上的时候才行。但一旦灵魂离开了身体，它再也不能够被呼唤回来。那并不是你能力不够的问题，而是不可改变的事实。

---摘自首席附魔师Wenselus的一堂课程

Codex Entry 84: A discussion of blood magic

Foul and corrupt are you
Who have taken My gift
And turned it against My children.


-- Transfigurations 18:10.


The ancient Tevinters did not originally consider blood magic a school of its own. Rather, they saw it as a means to achieve greater power in any school of magic. The name, of course, refers to the fact that magic of this type uses life, specifically in the form of blood, instead of mana. It was common practice, at one time, for a magister to keep a number of slaves on hand so that, should he undertake the working of a spell that was physically beyond his abilities, he could use the blood of his slaves to bolster the casting.

Over time, however, the Imperium discovered types of spells that could only be worked by blood. Although lyrium will allow a mage to send his conscious mind into the Fade, blood would allow him to find the sleeping minds of others, view their dreams, and even influence or dominate their thoughts. Just as treacherous, blood magic allows the Veil to be opened completely so that demons may physically pass through it into our world.

The rise of the Chant of Light and the subsequent fall of the old Imperium has led to blood magic being all but stamped out--as it should be, for it poses nearly as great a danger to those who would practice it as to the world at large.


--From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

第八十四卷：关于血魔法的讨论

肮脏而堕落的你
夺走了我的礼物
还用它来对付我的子民。

---哀歌篇 18:10

远古的Tevinter的人们最初并不认为血魔法是独立的一门魔法学科。取而代之，他们将它看成是任何魔法学校中想要得到更强大的力量的一种方法。它的名字，当然了，来自使用这种魔法的法师必须以生命能量作为基础，一般是以鲜血的方式，而不用法力作为基础。曾经有一度，魔法领主们都会保持拥有一定数量的奴隶，这样当他们在施放一些超出他们实际能力的魔法的时候，就可以用他奴隶们的血液作为催化剂来加强他的能力了。

随着时间的推移，帝国的人们发现了数种只能使用鲜血来施放的魔法。在Lyrium能够让法师在清醒的状态下进入暗物质界的时候，血液更能够让他找到其他的那些睡梦中进入物质界的人的灵魂，并观察他们的梦，甚至可以与他们的思想展开互动且进行操控。而就像叛徒那样，学魔法还能够开启中间结界并使得恶魔们从物理上穿越到我们的世界中来。

光明教会的崛起以及旧帝国的湮灭导致了血魔法被明令禁止---这样做是正确的，因为它即使是对施放他的人来说也极度的危险。

--摘自“四个派系：一篇论文”，作者首席附魔师Josephus。