TRUTH OF THE SWORD

Doors and roofs rattled in the drift camps. Cords of static began to gather in the cables running from the electro-kites to their tethers. The smell of the storm was thick in Sigismund's nose. He could hear the cries of the murder gangs, far off but coming closer, as they ran with the storm. The ground beneath him sloped down from the crag of stones that jutted up from the sprawl. The metal bar lay in the dust between his feet where he sat. He closed his eyes, for a second.

流浪者營(yíng)房的門和屋頂在吱嘎作響，靜電開(kāi)始在連接著導(dǎo)電風(fēng)箏和系繩的電纜中聚集著。風(fēng)暴的氣味頗為濃郁，充塞著西吉斯蒙德的鼻腔。他能聽(tīng)到那些嗜殺的幫派所發(fā)出的怒吼聲，聲音離他很遠(yuǎn)，但正在不斷接近——那些人在隨著風(fēng)暴狂奔。他身下的土地是一段從凸出的巖石峭壁傾斜而下的坡道。西吉斯蒙德坐在那里，一根金屬棒放在他雙腳間的塵土中。他閉上雙眼，靜待了一秒。

'May I sit with you?'

“我能坐在你旁邊嗎？”

Sigismund opened his eyes and looked up. A man stood next to him. His face was dark and lean. A ragged cloak of blue hung over battered and mismatched armour. His eyes were very dark. Sigismund began to rise, to open his mouth, but the man motioned him to stillness with a gesture.

西吉斯蒙德睜開(kāi)眼睛，抬頭看去。站在他身邊的是一個(gè)男人，面龐晦暗而精瘦，穿著一身破舊且錯(cuò)配的甲胄，外面還披著一件襤褸的藍(lán)色斗篷。男人的雙眼極為黑暗。西吉斯蒙德開(kāi)始站起身來(lái)，開(kāi)始張嘴發(fā)聲，但男人做了個(gè)手勢(shì)，示意他一切照舊便好。

'May I sit with you?' asked the man again.

“我能坐在你旁邊嗎？”男人再次問(wèn)到。

Sigismund nodded.

西吉斯蒙德點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。

'Yes,' he said, and he was suddenly aware that his limbs and body were clad in battleplate, his hands not bare but skinned in yellow ceramite.

“可以?！蔽骷姑傻抡f(shuō)到，他也突然意識(shí)到自己的四肢和軀體包裹在動(dòng)力甲中，他的雙手并非裸露，而是包覆著黃色的陶鋼。

The man lowered himself to the ground beside Sigismund and gazed out towards where the grey yellow blur of the storm had stolen the horizon

男人俯身坐在西吉斯蒙德身邊的地面上，他凝視遠(yuǎn)方，看著風(fēng)暴灰黃色的身影隱沒(méi)在地平線上。

'We are not here,' said Sigismund. 'This was long ago. I am with you on Ullanor, not here. This is a dream.'

“我們未在此地，”西吉斯蒙德說(shuō)到?！斑@是很久之前的事情，我現(xiàn)在和你同在烏蘭諾，而非此地。這是夢(mèng)境?！?/p>

'We have always been here,' said the man

“我們一直都在此地，”男人說(shuō)到。

Sigismund felt his eyes close for a second, and a shutter-blur of years flicked across his vision.

西吉斯蒙德感覺(jué)自己的雙眼閉上了一會(huì)兒，歲月模糊的身影從他眼前一閃而過(guò)。

'You have been fighting a long time,' said the man.

“你已經(jīng)戰(zhàn)斗很久了。”男人說(shuō)到。

Sigismund opened his eyes. He could barely tell apart the sound of the hunting gangs and the cry of the rising wind. He noticed that the man had picked the iron bar up and was looking at it, eyes intent as he turned it over, as though it were a wonder of the ages and not a length of raw metal pitted with rust. The dark eyes glanced at Sigismund, knowing but not judging, hard yet sorrowful.

西吉斯蒙德睜開(kāi)了雙眼。他幾乎分辨不出狩獵幫派的吼聲與不斷增強(qiáng)的風(fēng)聲；他注意到男人拾起了那根鐵棒，并正在端詳這件物品，男人目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地翻看這根鐵棒，仿佛那是一件（歷經(jīng)了）時(shí)代的奇跡珍寶，而非一根生銹的粗陋金屬。男人黑暗雙眼瞥了瞥西吉斯蒙德，目光中流露出的是理解而非審判，冷酷中又摻雜了哀傷。

'You wish for peace,' said the man.

“你渴望和平?！蹦腥苏f(shuō)到。

'Yes.' said Sigismund.

“是的?！蔽骷姑傻禄卮鸬健?/p>

'You will not have it,' said the man. 'But your life has been lived for a purpose. You have purpose.'

“你不會(huì)得到和平。”男人說(shuō)到，“但你是為了一個(gè)目標(biāo)而活著的，你是有目標(biāo)的?！?/p>

'What purpose?'

“什么目標(biāo)？”

'To stand.'

“去忍受?！?/p>

'Why?'

“為什么？”

'Because someone must.'

“因?yàn)楸仨氂心承┤巳ト淌堋！?/p>

The figure in battered armour stood and handed the iron bar to Sigismund. He nodded, and Sigismund saw there was tiredness in the eyes, the weariness of one who has come far and yet has further to go.

穿著破舊甲胄的男人站起身來(lái)，把鐵棒遞給西吉斯蒙德。他點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，西吉斯蒙德在他眼中看到了疲倦——那是來(lái)自某個(gè)已經(jīng)走了很遠(yuǎn)的路，卻仍有很遠(yuǎn)的路要走的人的疲憊。

'We will win?' asked Sigismund 'The war, we will win in the end, won't we? It will be over?'

“我們會(huì)贏嗎？”西吉斯蒙德問(wèn)到，“我們最終會(huì)贏得這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，不是嗎？這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)會(huì)結(jié)束嗎？”

The man gave a sad smile and tapped the iron bar in Sigismund's hands.

男人露出一個(gè)悲傷的微笑，輕輕地敲了敲西吉斯蒙德手中的鐵棒。

'Ask the sword,' he said, and then he was turning, wrapping the fold of his cloak over his head.

“問(wèn)問(wèn)這把劍，”他說(shuō)到，之后他轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，拉起披風(fēng)的兜帽，蓋住自己的頭。

Drops of rain had begun to fall. Cords of lightning arced down the cables of the electro-kites. Far off, but drawing closer, thunder growled. Sigismund watched as the man walked down the slope, a ragged outline in the billowing dust and ochre smog of the first fall of rain, then he was gone.

雨點(diǎn)開(kāi)始落下了。閃電沿著導(dǎo)電風(fēng)箏的電纜呈弧線向下流動(dòng)，遠(yuǎn)處的隆隆雷聲在不斷逼近。西格斯蒙德看著男人人走下斜坡，襤褸的身形在第一場(chǎng)雨帶來(lái)的滾滾灰塵和赭色煙霧中漸行漸遠(yuǎn)，然后消失在了塵霧中。

Sigismund was still for a long moment, and then stood. Rain struck his face, first one drop, then a scattering, then more. He looked at the black iron in his hand that would become a sword, and slowly, as he had for a lifetime and would for an eternity, he bowed his head and touched the cold metal to his forehead.

西吉斯蒙德靜坐了好一會(huì)兒，然后才站起身來(lái)。雨水落在他臉上，先是一滴，之后是一陣，繼而瓢樸大雨傾盆而下，沖刷著他。他看著手中那根將會(huì)變成一把長(zhǎng)劍的黑色鐵棒，之后，就像自己這一生都始終在做的那樣，他低下頭，用冰冷的金屬碰了碰額頭。