Chapter One第一章

City of Vorganthian, Kobor, within Terra’s light

沃甘提安城，科博爾，泰拉之光所照之地(指太陽(yáng)系內(nèi))

Pain was an old friend. Meroved kept this in mind as he worked through the last of the sword and spear disciplines. Thrust, turn, parry, thrust, turn, parry. The regimen was nece-ssarily rigorous, the pace increasing with each rotation, and it showed in the finest sheen of sweat across his body. His muscles burned as he completed the final kata, his spear-tip blurring with sheer ferocity.

痛苦是一位老朋友。梅羅維德在練習(xí)最后一項(xiàng)劍術(shù)和矛術(shù)時(shí)牢記這一點(diǎn)。刺、轉(zhuǎn)、抵擋、刺、轉(zhuǎn)、抵擋。這套動(dòng)作必須非常嚴(yán)格，每轉(zhuǎn)一圈，速度都會(huì)加快，他全身都流出了細(xì)密的汗珠。當(dāng)他進(jìn)行到最后一項(xiàng)套路時(shí)，他的肌肉在燃燒，他的矛尖因純粹的兇猛而模糊不清

Meroved held his stance for several minutes at the end, his skin trembling with the effort, his breath even and controlled to siphon the pain.

最后，梅羅維德保持了幾分鐘的姿勢(shì)，他的皮膚因用力而顫抖，他的呼吸均勻而有節(jié)制，以擺脫疼痛。

He looked into the eyes of the man in the mirror before him. They were weary and the colour of creamy jade. It was not for vanity that the entire north wall of the training arena had been replaced with this silver reflective pane. He studied with it. Form mattered, so did speed and precision.

他看著面前鏡子里那個(gè)人的眼睛。它們疲憊不堪，顏色像乳白色的翡翠。訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)的整個(gè)北墻都換成了這種銀色反光玻璃，這并不是為了虛榮。他用它研究。套路很重要，速度和精度也很重要。

An old man, at least to Meroved’s eyes, looked back. Barefoot, naked but for the short-legged training fatigues he wore. Sweating and weary from exertion. More grey than black in his beard. The skin looser than it had been before, the ink proclaiming his many deeds and many names faded, scars that had soured with age. Even the bionics, the metal that had replaced shattered bone and destroyed tissue, appeared to have lost some of their Martian solidity. Centuries take a toll. He had lessened. To mortal eyes he would appear quite different. But their senses were not so attuned, and more awestruck.

一個(gè)老人，至少在梅洛維德的眼中是這樣，他回過頭來。這個(gè)老人光著，除了訓(xùn)練短褲外一絲不掛。因勞累而滿頭大汗。他的胡須已經(jīng)更多地是灰色而非黑色。皮膚比以前松弛，標(biāo)示著他眾多事跡和眾多名字的墨跡已經(jīng)褪色，年歲已經(jīng)使得那些曾經(jīng)令年輕的他驕傲的傷疤變得蒼白。甚至那些曾經(jīng)取代了破碎骨骼和毀壞組織的金屬生化裝置，也似乎失去了一些他們?cè)诨鹦侵圃鞎r(shí)的堅(jiān)固性。幾個(gè)世紀(jì)過去了，他已經(jīng)變得蒼老。在凡人的眼中，他會(huì)顯得截然不同。他們的感官并不那么敏銳，比起對(duì)衰老的鄙薄(意譯),更多的是敬畏?！瓻nd session,’ he said with barely a discernible hint of fatigue, but Meroved heard it. He knew.

“結(jié)束訓(xùn)練，”他說，聲音中幾乎沒有一絲疲憊，但梅洛維德聽到了。他知道。

The chrono confirmed it. Three-tenths of a second slower.

計(jì)時(shí)器證實(shí)了這一點(diǎn)。慢了十分之三秒。

‘I am dying…’ he said to himself, and set down the spear. It touched the ground with heavy metallic resonance. ‘As all things must. As all things should.’

我要死了...... "他自言自語(yǔ)著，丟下長(zhǎng)矛。長(zhǎng)矛觸地，發(fā)出沉重的金屬共鳴。'萬物皆如此。萬物皆應(yīng)如此'。

He turned from his reflection, tired of seeing it and being reminded of everything he was not, and everything he used to be in his mind’s eye, and padded out of the room.

他轉(zhuǎn)過身，厭倦地看著自己的倒影，被它提醒著自己所不再擁有的一切，以及他在想象中曾經(jīng)成為的一切，然后悄悄踱出了房間。(意譯)

‘Zatu…’ he said, pulling a black robe from the rack in the arming chamber.

“扎圖……”他說著，從武裝室的架子上扯下一件黑色長(zhǎng)袍。

‘My lord.’

??主人

?Relayed through a vox-speaker built into the wall, the voice of his majordomo sounded cold and metallic.

聲音借由墻上內(nèi)置的揚(yáng)聲器傳遞，他的大管家的聲音聽起來冰冷而堅(jiān)硬(意譯)。

Meroved cast his eye across the many weapons shackled behind stasis fields.

梅羅維德將目光投向了被桎梏在靜止場(chǎng)后的眾多武器。

‘I am resuming vigil,’ he said.

他說：'我將繼續(xù)守望?！?/p>

‘As you wish, my lord.’

“如你所愿，大人?！?/p>

The various armaments took up most of the south wall in a vaulted room that stretched fifty feet above where he was standing. It had taken several centuries to curate those weapons and the other pieces of armour and battle ephemera that he stored alongside them. Many remained unused, for he had his favourites, though they all paled in comparison to the trappings of his former calling.

各種武器占據(jù)了南方的拱形房間，該房間高達(dá)五十英尺。他花了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)的時(shí)間來整理這些武器，以及存放在它們旁邊的其他盔甲和戰(zhàn)利品。許多武器從未得過垂憐，因?yàn)樗凶约旱膿磹郏M管與他以前的職業(yè)相比，這些武器都相形見絀。

Except for one. The misericordia(意大利語(yǔ)的悲憫) was a knife of rare provenance and still rarer craftsmanship. Its beauty and significance eclipsed everything else in Meroved’s vast arsenal and yet he had not drawn it from its scabbard in many centuries. Before he had exiled himself.只有一把除外。悲憫之刃是一把來歷罕見、工藝更是精美絕倫的短劍。在梅洛維德龐大的武器庫(kù)中，此劍的精致和意義迥絕他物，但他已經(jīng)有好幾個(gè)世紀(jì)沒有把它從劍鞘中拔出來了,在他放逐自己之后.

In any case, in this place he was no longer a spear-bearer

無論如何，在這個(gè)地方，他不再是禁軍了

He had left behind the life of auric gods. He had embraced shadows and alchemy.

‘I am His eyes,’ he reminded himself, and tried very hard to believe that was still enough.

他已經(jīng)放棄了作為耀金的生活。隱入陰影和變局(意譯,煉金術(shù)又是啥的指代,小梅也沒用過啊)之中

“我仍是他的眼睛，”他提醒自己，努力相信這就已經(jīng)足夠了。

He walked out onto a metal promontory that resembled a gangplank. Below his feet, the chamber plummeted into a deep shaft not unlike a large well. At the end of the gangplank an iron cage hung from a cable bolted to the ceiling, turning slightly with the movement of the air.

他走到一個(gè)類似舷梯的金屬岬角上。在他的腳下，是深不見底的黑洞，與一口深井別無二致。在跳板的盡頭，一個(gè)鐵籠子懸掛在天花板上的纜繩上，隨著空氣的流動(dòng)微微轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)。

Meroved crossed the rest of the promontory and entered the cage.

梅羅維德越過剩下的岬角，進(jìn)入了牢籠。

‘Ascend,’ he uttered, and the cage began to rise. ‘Any items of import, Zatu?’ he asked during the ascent.

'上升'他說，于是籠子開始上升?！捎幸拢鷪D？"他在上升過程中問道。

‘The Vexen Cage has been found, my lord. Awaiting confirmation.’

"心控牢籠(意譯)已經(jīng)找到了，大人。等待您的確認(rèn).”

A tremor of unease and excitement warred ambivalently within Meroved at this news. His tone betrayed none of this inner conflict, however.

‘Where?’

‘Within the city districts.’

‘Active?’

‘Unknown.’

‘Exact location?’

‘Unknown.’

聽到這個(gè)消息，梅洛維德內(nèi)心矛盾地顫抖著，既不安又興奮。然而，他的語(yǔ)氣中絲毫沒有流露出內(nèi)心的駁雜。

“在哪里？”

“在市區(qū)內(nèi)?！?/p>

'是否活躍？'

'未知。'

“確切位置？”

'未知。'

The cage finished its ascent and came to a halt. The soft glow of another room beckoned through an archway. Meroved heard the low susurrus of the machine within. Its activity hum had become like music.

‘Then let’s rectify that, Zatu.’

籠子上升完畢，停了下來。另一個(gè)房間的柔和光芒透過拱門向他招手。梅羅維德聽到了里面機(jī)器低沉的嗡嗡聲。機(jī)器的嗡嗡聲此時(shí)變得像音樂一樣動(dòng)聽。

'那就讓我們活動(dòng)(意譯)一下吧，扎圖。'

‘As you wish, my lord,’ the major-domo replied, welcoming Meroved to the nexus chamber, the dwelling place of the machine.

“如您所愿，大人?！笨偣芑卮鸬?迎接梅羅維德進(jìn)入機(jī)器的核心室，那是機(jī)器主體(意譯)之所在。

Zatu bowed as Meroved entered beneath the archway, retreating on the wheeled trackbed he possessed in place of legs. His arm ports were currently vacant, having been slaved to the machine. The light in the vision slit of his helm turned from red to green as he surrendered operation to Meroved.

扎圖在梅羅維德走進(jìn)拱門下時(shí)鞠躬退下，他的雙腿被履帶代替(我不確定)。原來應(yīng)是雙臂的地方目前已經(jīng)被嫁接上了機(jī)器。扎圖頭上的金屬縫隙中燈光由紅變?yōu)榫G，表示他將操作權(quán)交給了梅羅維德。‘And the other matter, my lord?’

“還有別的事嗎，大人？”

‘Make contact,’Meroved answered, taking up position in the command throne of the machine and allowing the mechadendrite frame to attach to his back. A twitch of pain recognition registered in his cheek as synaptic pins entered his flesh. ‘Bring her here to me. Events are transpiring more quickly than I anticipated, Zatu. We must be swift to ascertain the nature of the threat.’

“設(shè)法和他們(意譯)取得聯(lián)系”梅洛韋德回答，在機(jī)器的命令寶座中占據(jù)位置，并允許機(jī)械支架連接到他的背部。當(dāng)突觸針進(jìn)入他的肌肉時(shí)，他的臉頰上出現(xiàn)了肉眼可見的疼痛

”把她帶到我這里來。事情發(fā)生得比我預(yù)想的要快，扎圖。我們必須迅速查明威脅的性質(zhì)”

‘I can reach the Unsighted for you, my lord, and petition the Aegis.

“我是否該替您聯(lián)系無視者(不知道是啥)，并向金座請(qǐng)求幫助。

Meroved considered it. Much was still unknown.”

梅洛維德考慮過這種可能，但事態(tài)尚未明朗。

‘That won’t be necessary. Not yet.’

‘那沒必要。至少現(xiàn)在沒有?！?/p>

(ps:本人英語(yǔ)奇爛,對(duì)錘更是云的透徹,特放上原文.望錘友們不吝賜教)