《龙之纪元起源》部分Codex翻译之一（生物篇）

Codex Entry 29: Wild Sylvan

For demons crossing over into our world, mankind is not always the preferred prey. Possessing humans means risking encounters with powerful mages and templars, as well as other complications. Some demons find it far easier to seek out animals or even plants, assuming that these will make as suitable a host as a human. Those that possess trees are known as wild sylvans.
Generally, only demons of rage, the weakest of the demon hierarchy, will become a sylvan. Once they do, they must spend a great deal of time twisting and molding the host in order to make it mobile, and once they have the sylvan is a powerful and deadly opponent. Other, more intelligent, spirits have also been known to become sylvans, and are generally much less violent, but these are rare.
Slow but immensely powerful, wild sylvans prefer to lay in ambush, waiting for a victim to become lost, tired, or trapped before closing in for the kill. They hide among regular trees, nearly undetectable until they begin to move and to reach. When they do "come to life" as some travelers say, they stand tall, roots forming into legs and feet and branches stretching out into lashing arms.
When not presented with a living target, however, it has been noted that sylvans often fall into a form of dormancy, perhaps brought on by the nature of their tree host. While mobile, they normally return to wherever they were rooted once their prey has been killed. For both these reasons, a forest that has sylvans within can become incredibly dangerous to pass through for very long periods of time.

第二十九卷：野树精

那些穿越到我们世界的恶魔并不都喜欢捕猎。占据人类的身体意味着很大的风险，它们可能会面对强大的法师或圣殿武士，其他的生物也一样。一些恶魔发现寻找动物或甚至植物更加的简单，并认为它们能够像人类一样成为一个合适的宿主。那些占据了树木的就被称之为野树精。

总体来说，只有狂怒恶魔这种最弱的恶魔后代，才会成为野树精。一旦它们占据宿主之后，它们必须花很长的时间扭曲并制造形状从而使宿主能够进行移动，成功以后，野树精将会变成一个强大并且致命的敌人。其他那些更聪明的灵魂有时也会成为树精，且通常不倾向于暴力，但是比较少见。

缓慢却威力十足，野树精喜欢进行埋伏，等待受害者迷路，变得疲惫，或者掉入陷阱，而后才予以击杀。它们藏在普通的树木之中，直到它们开始移动为止都不容易被发现。当它们确实“活了”的时候，像一些旅行者所说，它们高高地站起，树根变成了腿，而树枝则变成了大量的胳膊。

当他们没有遇到生物的时候，野树精会陷入一种冬眠的状态，这可能是由于他们宿主是树的本质所造成的。当移动的时候，它们通常在猎物被击杀后回到原本扎根的地方。因为这两个原因，一个拥有野树精的森林能够在很长的一段时间内变成行人们通过时极端危险的地方。

Codex Entry 30: Werewolf

"And Dane he stood his ground, The fanged beast approached. He saw the rage within its eyes, The wolf that once was there. The sword he raised, Merciful death be praised, To the maker went his prayer."
--From the popular telling of Dane and the Werewolf, a legend of Ferelden circa 4:50 Black.
Fereldan lore is full of instances where these creatures have plagued the countryside: wolves possessed by rage demons and transformed into humanoid monsters with incredible speed and strength, able to spread a curse to those they bit that would drive them mad with unthinking fury. When in this enraged state, a human host can likewise become possessed and be transformed into a feral, wolf-like beast. Tales differ on these werewolves of human origin, some claiming that their transformation into a bestial form happens uncontrollably. Some claim the transformation is irreversible. As is often the case with demonic tales, both versions were most likely true at some point.
The ability of normal dogs to detect a werewolf even when it is in a human guise is what first led Fereldans to adopt dogs as indispensable companions in every farmhold. The alliance between humans and regular wolves is the subject of the popular Fereldan folk tale "Dane and the Werewolf."
The actual hero Dane led a crusade to eliminate the werewolf threat during the early Black Age, and while werewolves have never assumed the same prominence since, there have still been reports of individual packs lurking in remote forests. In recent years, some have even been reported to have developed an uncanny willpower and intelligence... though why this is so is still unknown.

第三十卷：狼人

“Dane站在原地，戴着毒牙的野兽慢慢的靠近。他看到了它眼中的怒火，那只曾在那里的狼。他举起剑，仁慈的死亡将被称赞，就像祈祷者走向造物主。”

--源自盛行的Dane和狼人的传说，一个Ferelden的传奇故事，大约在4：50黑暗纪元。

Fereldan的大地上盛行着这样的例子，这些生物像瘟疫一样席卷着乡村：被恶魔占据的狼变成了人形的生物，它们拥有着不可思议的速度和力量，能够将它们的诅咒传递给任何它们咬过的人，诅咒会让将他们逼疯并带给他们难以想象的怒火。当在这种激怒的状态下，一个人类的宿主可能会被转变成一个凶残的，像狼一样的野兽。而对于这些原本是人的野兽的传说各不相同，有些说它们变形成野兽是不可控制的。有些说他们变形成野兽的过程是不可逆转的。就像那些带有恶魔的故事一样，这些版本的故事在某种意义上确实是真实的。

狗能够识别出一个狼人，即使它是在人类的形态下也一样，这一点后来一经发现，立刻导致所有的Fereldan乡村家庭都开始养狗。人类和这些普通的狼之间的羁绊最终演变成了Fereldan的人们茶余饭后最常讨论的故事：“Dane和狼人”。

Codex Entry 31: Wisp

"A great deal is made of the most powerful demons, those that create abominations and those that have changed the history of Thedas. It is often forgotten that not all demons are such awe-inspiring beings. some that break through the cracks in the Veil into our world are known as wisps, a silver of a thought what once was. A wisp is a demon that has lost its power; either it has existed in our world for too long without finding a true host or it has been destroyed--often, so weve found, by other demons. What remains of its mind clings tightly to the one concept that created it--a hatred of all things living.
While its ability to target a living creature is limited, these wisps often mindlessly attack when encountered in the Fade. In the living world, they often have been known to maliciously lure the living into dangerous areas, being mistaken for lanterns or other civilized light sources. This does, however, seem to be the very limit of their cunning."
--From the journal of former Senior Enchanter Maleus, once of the Circle of Rivain, Declared apostate in 9:20 Dragon Age.

第三十一卷：小精灵

“大量的故事都是关于那些强大的恶魔，那些制造了憎恶者的家伙以及那些改变了Thedas历史的家伙。通常人们却忘记了并不是所有的恶魔都是那么可怕的。有些穿越到我们世界的恶魔被叫做“小精灵”，或者“银色的意识”。一个小精灵是一个丧失了所有能力的恶魔；也许是它在我们的世界中太久没有找到合适的宿主，又或者是它的宿主被摧毁了----而且我们发现通常它们是被其他恶魔所摧毁的。它残留的意识紧紧地依附于最初创造了它的意念—-那就是憎恨所有的生物。

它并不能很好地针对某一个目标进行行动，小精灵通常只是盲目地攻击暗物质界中它所接触的一切。而在活人的世界，它们会被认为是危险的事物，诱使一些以为它们是灯火的行人误入危险地方。这个也许是它们所能做到的最狡猾的一面了。”

--源自前资深附魔师Maleus的日记，他曾经是Rivain议会的一员，在9：20龙之纪元的时候被定罪为异教徒。

Codex Entry 32: Wolf

"It is rather unfair, the reputation that the wolf possesses in Ferelden. For a people that so clearly adore their hounds, Fereldans simultaneously harbor a distrust of wolves that borders on the unreasonable. Unreasonable, that is if one were not familiar with the ancient legends regarding werewolves. There was a time in Fereldens past when demons inhabited the bodies of wolves in great numbers, causing the wars against werewolves and spreading great fear and panic. The werewolves were slain, but even today the noble wolf is still looked upon with distrust."
--From Legends of Ferelden, by Mother Ailis of Denerim, 9:10 Dragon.
An attack by wolves upon civilized folk happens rarely, often only in times of desperation and even then only when the wolves have the advantage of numbers. This can change during a Blight. When darkspawn rise onto the surface their presence dramatically alters the savage nature of normal beasts.
In Blights past, as the corruption of the darkspawn spread through the wilder areas of Thedas, it would infect the animals found there... and the more powerful of them would survive and be transformed into a more vicious and dangerous beast. A blight wolf is one such example, mad with the pain of its infection, and only through the overriding command of the darkspawn does it still retain some semblance of its pack instincts . Blight wolves are always found in large groups and will tend to overwhelm a single target if they can, using their numbers to their advantage. It is fortunate that these creatures rarely survive their corruption for very long.

第三十二卷：狼

“狼在Ferelden所拥有的名声其实很不公平。作为能够同时如此喜爱他们猎犬的人，Ferelden的人们却同时拥有着对狼这样的偏见。偏见，都是源自于他不了解远古传说中狼人的故事。在很久很久以前的Ferelden，许多恶魔们侵占了狼的身体，致使它们变成了狼人，引发了针对狼人的战争和恐惧。最终狼人们被杀死了，而过去了这么多年的今天，人们仍然对那些高贵的狼们充满了不信任。”

--源自Ferelden的传奇，出自Denerim城的Ailis义母，9：10龙之纪元。

狼攻击文明人的事件很少发生，通常只有在极度绝望的情况下，并且当狼群占有数量优势的时候才会发生。但在天灾发生的时候，这些都可能改变。当黑暗生物来到地面上的时候，它们的出现会明显改变许多原本普通的野兽的野蛮本性。

在过去的天灾中，由于黑暗生物的污染传播到了Thedas的荒野地区，它也影响了在那里出没的野兽…那些强大的生物会生存下来，并且被转变成一种更加凶残和危险的野兽。天灾之狼就是一个例子，感染的痛苦导致了它的疯狂，只有通过黑暗生物的命令，它才能够勉强保持一些它原本具有的族群本能。天灾之狼通常会成群的出现，并会通过它们数量上的优势去尝试制服单个目标。幸运的是这些生物很少能够在被感染后存活很久。

Codex Entry 33: Mabari dominance

Mabari hounds are descended from pack hunters, and like their ancestors, they are highly influenced by a defined order of dominance. The primary method of determining that order is by claiming territory through scent-marking major landmarks. Once established, the dominant mabari gains a substantial increase in confidence and stature within his territory, a trait that indirectly benefits master as well as hound.

第三十三卷：Mabari地盘


Mabari战犬是由一群猎犬进化而来，正像他们的祖先那样，他们受到划分出的不同地界所影响。而划分地界的主要的方法就是通过在一些特殊的位置进行气味标记。而一旦建立这些地标后，处于这个区域的Mabari战犬就会获得信心与实力的增强，并间接地加强了战犬以及其主人的能力。