卷一第三章

nidhogg

3
Riding Through the Morning:
A Moment of Tranquillity
第三章  清晨的骑行：片刻安宁

    THE LIGHT OF the early morning touched the tall towers of Imrryr and made them scintillate. Each tower was of a different hue; there were a thousand soft colours. There were rose pinks and pollen yellows, there were purples and pale greens, mauves and browns and oranges, hazy blues, whites and powdery golds, all lovely in the sunlight. Two riders left the Dreaming City behind them and rode away from the walls, over the green turf towards a pine forest where, among the shadowy trunks, a little of the night seemed to remain. Squirrels were stirring and foxes crept homeward; birds were singing and forest flowers opened their petals and filled the air with delicate scent. A few insects wandered sluggishly aloft. The contrast between life in the nearby city and this lazy rusticity was very great and seemed to mirror some of the contrasts existing in the mind of at least one of the riders who now dismounted and led his horse, walking knee-deep through a mass of blue flowers. The other rider, a girl, brought her own horse to a halt but did not dismount. Instead, she leaned casually on her: high Melnibonean pommel and smiled at the man, her lover.
清晨的第一缕阳光洒到Imrryr城那错落的尖塔顶端，令它们熠熠生辉。每座高塔都彼此有着迥异的色调，组成千万种不同的淡雅色彩。玫瑰般的粉红配花粉般的嫩黄，紫色融着苍绿，浅紫色夹带褐色与橘黄，朦胧的苍蓝，白色与浅金；所有这些颜色，在阳光下显得如此美好。两个出行的骑者，将梦之城抛在身后，远离城市的高墙，骑向葱翠草原远方那黝黑树干围绕下的，似乎仍保有一丝夜色的松树林。松鼠们开始忙碌起来，狐狸爬回自己的巢穴；鸟儿开始吟唱，花朵重新张开花瓣，让空气中盈溢芬芳的香气。一些昆虫懒懒地在高处飞舞。这慵懒的乡野与近旁城市中的生活反差如此鲜明，似乎也正恰巧映照着至少其中一个骑者内心的某些反差——此刻已下马的他，正牵着马匹走在一大片及膝的蓝色花丛中。另一名骑者也跟着停下坐骑，但是并没有下马。她不经意地靠在那高高的Melnibone式鞍环上，对着她的爱人微笑。

    'Elric? Would you stop so near to Imrryr?'
“Elric，才离Imrryr这么近就不走了吗？”

    He smiled back at her, over his shoulder. 'For the moment. Our flight was hasty. I would collect my thoughts before we ride on.'
他转过头，笑着回应道，“稍微停一会儿。我们走得很急，我想在继续前行前整理一下思绪。”

    'How did you sleep last night?'
“你昨晚睡得好吗？”

    'Well enough, Cymoril, though I must have dreamed without knowing it, for there were--there were little intimations in my head when I awoke. But then, the meeting with Yyrkoon was not pleasant...'
“还不错，Cymoril，只是或许我做了梦却没有意识到，因为——因为醒来时已经不记得什么了。另外，和Yyrkoon的会面很不愉快……”

    'Do you think he plots to use sorcery against you?'
“你觉得他在密谋用巫术对付你吗？”

    Elric shrugged. 'I would know if he brought a large sorcery against me. And he knows my power, I doubt if he would dare employ wizardry.'
Elric耸耸肩。“如果他用大型魔法对我发动攻击的话，我会注意到的。他知道我的能力，我认为他不敢利用法术来对抗我。”

    'He has reason to believe you might not use your power. He has worried at your personality for so long--is there not a danger he will begin to worry at your skills? Testing your sorcery as he has tested your patience?'
“他是有理由相信你不会使用自己的力量。他已经质疑你的为人这么长时间了——难道就不存在他怀疑你技艺的可能，就像他挑战你耐心一样挑战你的魔法吗？”

    Elric frowned. 'Yes, I suppose there is that danger. But not yet, I should have thought.'
Elric皱起眉头。“没错，恐怕这样的危险是有的。但是我想还不是现在。”

    'He will not be happy until you are destroyed, Elric.'
“不把你摧毁，他是不会高兴的，Elric。”

    'Or is destroyed himself, Cymoril.' Elric stooped and picked one of the flowers. He smiled. 'Your brother is inclined to absolutes, is he not? How the weak hate weakness.'
“或者说是摧毁他自己，Cymoril。”Elric停下脚步，摘起一朵花。他微笑道，“你的哥哥倾向于走向极端，不是吗？懦弱之人痛恨弱点。”

    Cymoril took his meaning. She dismounted and came towards him. Her thin gown matched, almost perfectly, the colour of the flowers through which she moved. He handed her the flower and she accepted it, touching its petals with her perfect lips. 'And how the strong hate strength, my love. Yyrkoon is my kin and yet I give you this advice--use your strength against him.'
Cymoril明白他的意思。她下马，向他走去。她薄纱般的长袍，几乎完美地融入脚下花丛的色泽。他将花朵送予她，她抬手收下，用那完美的朱唇轻触花瓣。“而有力之人痛恨力量，亲爱的。Yyrkoon虽是我的血亲，但请听我的劝告——用你的力量干掉他。”

    'I could not slay him. I have not the right.' Elric's face fell into familiar, brooding lines.
“我不能杀死他。我没有权利这么做。”Elric的脸上浮现出一如往昔的忧虑的印痕。

    "You could exile him.'
“你可以将他放逐。”

    'Is not exile the same as death to a Melnibonean?'
“对Melnibone人的放逐，不就等同于死刑吗？”

    'You, yourself, have talked of travelling in the lands of the Young Kingdoms.'
“你自己也曾提起过，想去幼国的土地上旅行。”

    Elric laughed somewhat bitterly. 'But perhaps I am not a true Melnibonean. Yyrkoon has said as much--and others echo his thoughts.'
Elric的笑声中几乎带着苦闷。“但或许我不是一个真正的Melnibone人。Yyrkoon就曾这么说过——其他人也有与他相似的想法。”

    'He hates you because you are contemplative. Your father was contemplative and no one denied that he was a fitting emperor.'
“他是因为你沉思的性格才痛恨你的。你父亲也有这样的性格，但没人能否定他不是一个称职的君主。”

    'My father chose not to put the results of his contemplation into his personal actions. He ruled as an emperor should. Yyrkoon, I must admit, would also rule as an emperor should. He, too, has the opportunity to make Melnibone great again. If he were emperor, he would embark on a campaign of conquest to restore our trade to its former volume, to extend our power across the earth. And that is what the majority of our folk would wish. Is it my right to deny that wish?'
“我父亲不会让他的个人想法左右自己的言行。他就是以一个君王应有的样子在统治。我不得不承认，Yyrkoon也一定会以一个君王应有的样子来统治。他同样也有让Melnibone再次复兴的机会。如果他坐上王位的话，一定会为恢复我们的贸易网络而着手准备一场征服战役，让我们的影响拓展到世界各地，这就是大多数人的愿望。我有权利扼杀他们这样的愿望吗？”

    'It is your right to do what you think, for you are the emperor. All who are loyal to you think as I do.'
“你有权利做你想做的任何事，因为你是皇帝。那些忠于你之人的想法，都和我一样。”

    'Perhaps their loyalty is misguided. Perhaps Yyrkoon is right and I will betray that loyalty, bring doom to the Dragon Isle?' His moody, crimson eyes looked directly into hers. 'Perhaps I should have died as I left my mother's womb. Then Yyrkoon would have become emperor. Has Fate been thwarted?'
“或许他们的忠臣被误导了。或许Yyrkoon终究是对的，而我会背叛你们的忠臣，给龙岛带来毁灭？”他那心绪万千的猩红色双眼径直与她相对而视。“或许我应该在刚离开我母亲的子宫时就死掉。这样Yyrkoon就成了皇帝。命运是存心跟人过不去吗？”

    'Fate is never thwarted. What has happened has happened because Fate willed it thus--if, indeed, there is such a thing as Fate and if men's actions are not merely a response to other men's actions.'
“命运从不会存心阻挠任何事情的。命中注定的事情必然会发生，因为这是命运的旨意——如果前提是，真有命运这回事，而我们的行为并非仅仅只是对他人行为的回应的话。”

    Elric drew a deep breath and offered her an expression tinged with irony. 'Your logic leads you close to heresy, Cymoril, if we are to believe the traditions of Melnibone. Perhaps it would be better if you forgot your friendship with me.'
Elric深深叹息，给了她一个略带讽刺的表情。“如果我们按照Melnibone传统来的话，Cymoril，你的逻辑可算得上异端。或许最好还是请你忘记与我之间的友谊。”

    She laughed. 'You begin to sound like my brother. Are you testing my love for you, my lord?'
她笑道，“你这样听起来都像我哥哥在说话了。你打算考验我对你的爱恋吗，陛下？”

    He began to remount his horse. 'No, Cymoril, but I would advise you to test your love yourself, for I sense there is tragedy implicit in our love.'
他开始重新上马。“不是的，Cymoril，但我希望你自己来考验一下这场爱恋，因为我感觉我们的爱中暗含悲哀。”

    As she swung herself back into her saddle she smiled and shook her head. 'You see doom in all things, Can you not accept the good gifts granted you? They are few enough, my lord.'
她摇身上马，微笑着摇摇头。“你在每件事情中都只看到厄运，你就不能接受片刻赐予你的幸福吗？这样的事已经很少了，陛下。”

    'Aye. I'll agree with that.'
“对，我同意你的话。”

    They turned in their saddles, hearing hoofbeats behind them. Some distance away they saw a company of yellow-clad horsemen riding about in confusion. It was their guard, which they had left behind, wishing to ride alone.
听到后方传来的马蹄声，俩人调转马身。一段距离以外，一队身着黄色制服的骑士正困惑地向他们骑来。这些正是他们为寻求片刻安宁而刻意甩掉的守卫。

    'Come!' cried Elric. 'Through the woods and over yonder hill and they'll never find us!'
“快来！”Elric喊道。“穿过树林再越过远处的山丘，他们就再也找不到我们了！”

    They spurred their steeds through the sun-speared wood and up the steep sides of the hill beyond, racing down the other side and away across a plain where noidel bushes grew, their lush, poison fruit glimmering a purplish blue, a night-colour which even the light of day could not disperse. There were many such peculiar berries and herbs on Melnibone and it was to some of them that Elric owed his life. Others were used for sorcerous potions and had been sown generations before by Elric's ancestors. Now few Melniboneans left Imrryr even to collect these harvests. Only slaves visited the greater part of the island, seeking the roots and the shrubs which made men dream monstrous and magnificent dreams, for it was in their dreams that the nobles of Melnibone found most of their pleasures; they had ever been a moody, inward-looking race and it was for this quality that Imrryr had come to be named the Dreaming City. There, even the meanest slaves chewed berries to bring them oblivion and thus were easily controlled, for they came to depend on their dreams. Only Elric himself refused such drugs, perhaps because he required so many others simply to ensure his remaining alive.
他们策马疾驰，穿过晨光斑驳的松林，登上远处陡峭的山丘，再从另一侧狂奔而下，向远方生长着丛丛noidel灌木的平原奔去。那些灌木上结着多汁的，色泽如夜般幽深，连白天灿烂的阳光都无法化解的紫蓝色毒果。Melnibone生长着许多这样特有的药草与浆果，Elric的正是靠着其中一些才活到今天。其他草药则被用作魔法药剂的原料，古老时代之前的人们将它们栽种在这里，现在却很少有Melnibone人肯走出Imrryr城来摘取这些成果。只有奴隶们才会前往岛屿的野外，寻找使人产生恐怖与狂野梦境的根茎与灌木，因为Melnibone的贵族们，很多时候只有在梦中才能找到快乐。他们向来是一个心绪无常的内向种族，Imrryr也正是因此才得名梦之城。此地，即便地位最低下的奴隶也会吞服忘忧的药果，由此沉迷于梦境，让他们变得易于控制。只有Elric拒绝服用这样的迷药，或许因为他光是为了延续生命，就已经必须仰赖太多药物。

    The yellow-clad guards were lost behind them and once across the plain where the noidel bushes grew they slowed their flight and came at length to cliffs and then the sea.
追随的守卫已经被远远抛在身后，待穿过那片生长着noidel灌木的平原之后，他们放慢了骑行的脚步，最后终于抵达滨海的悬崖，来到海边。

    The sea shone brightly and languidly washed the white beaches below the cliffs. Seabirds wheeled in the clear sky and their cries were distant, serving only to emphasise the sense of peace which both Elric and Cymoril now had. In silence the lovers guided their horses down steep paths to the shore and there they tethered the steeds and began to walk across the sand, their hair--his white, hers jet black--waving in the wind which blew from the east.
大海闪烁银色的光芒，浪涛冲刷着悬崖下方的白色沙滩。海鸟在碧空中盘旋，自远方回荡而来的鸥鸣，让Elric与Cymoril俩人心中洋溢着恬静。这对恋人默默地牵马走下通往海滩的陡峭小径。他们拴住骏马，沿着沙滩步行。他们的长发——一个雪白，一个乌黑——在自东方袭来的海风中飞舞。

    They found a great, dry cave which caught the sounds the sea made and replied in a whispering echo. They removed their silken garments and made love tenderly in the shadows of the cave. They lay in each other's arms as the day warmed and the wind dropped. Then they went to bathe in the waters, filling the empty sky with their laughter.
他们发现一个回荡着大海的声响的巨大洞穴，干爽的洞中幽幽回响着徐徐浪涛。他们解下丝质外衣，在洞穴的阴影中温柔地缠绵。接着他们在彼此的怀抱中休息，气温渐升，风停止了。随后，他们到海中沐浴，空旷的天际充满他们的欢笑。

    When they were dry and were dressing themselves they noticed a darkening of the horizon and Elric said: 'We shall be wet again before we return to Imrryr. No matter how fast we ride, the storm will catch us.'
当他们晾干身子，重新穿上衣服之时，地平线上浮现幽暗的乌云。Elric说：“我们在回到Imrryr之前，就又要浑身湿透了。无论我们骑得多块，暴风雨都会追上我们的。”

    'Perhaps we should remain in the cave until it is past?' she suggested, coming close and holding her soft body against him.
“或许我们应该留在洞里等它过去？”她靠向Elric，将她柔软的身躯依偎在他身上。

    'No,' he said. 'I must return soon, for there are potions in Imrryr I must take if my body is to retain its strength. An hour or two longer and I shall begin to weaken. You have seen me weak before, Cymoril.'
“不行”，他说。“我必须尽快赶回去，因为我必须回Imrryr服用让我维持体力的药水。再过一两个小时，我就会开始衰弱。你见过我虚弱时的样子，Cymoril。”

    She stroked his face and her eyes were sympathetic. 'Aye. I've seen you weak before, Elric. Come, let's find the horses.'
她抚摸他的脸颊，眼中充满同情。“是的，我见过你虚弱时的样子，Elric。来，让我们回去找马吧。”

xxx

    By the time they reached the horses the sky was grey overhead and full of boiling blackness not far away in the east. They heard the grumble of thunder and the crash of lightning. The sea was threshing as if infected by the sky's hysteria. The horses snorted and pawed at the sand, anxious to return. Even as Elric and Cymoril climbed into their saddles large spots of rain began to fall on their heads and spread over their cloaks.
等他们找到马匹的时候，头顶的天色已经变成青灰，东方翻滚的漆黑乌云近在咫尺。他们听得见隆隆的雷鸣和闪电划破天际的声音。海中浪涛翻滚，就像在映射空中的骚动。马匹焦虑地吹着鼻息，在沙地上跺脚，急于回程。不待Elric和Cymoril在马鞍上坐稳，大滴的雨点就已经开始落在他们头上，潵湿他们的斗篷。

    Then, suddenly, they were riding at full tilt back to Imrryr while the lightning flashed around them and the thunder roared like a furious giant, like some great old Lord of Chaos attempting to break through, unbidden, into the Realm of Earth.
接着，突然间，就在他们向着Imrryr纵马疾驰的时候，猛烈的闪电开始在他们周遭霹闪，雷鸣如巨人狂暴的怒吼般震耳欲聋，仿佛古时伟大的混沌之主，企图挣脱束缚，撕裂时空进入这个世界。

    Cymoril glanced at Elric's pale face, illuminated for a moment by a flash of sky-fire, and she felt a chill come upon her then and the chill had nothing to do with the wind or the rain, for it seemed to her in that second that the gentle scholar she loved had been transformed by the elements into a hell-driven demon, into a monster with barely a semblance of humanity. His crimson eyes had flared from the whiteness of his skull like the very flames of the Higher Hell; his hair had been whipped upward so that it had become the crest of a sinister warhelm and, by a trick of the stormlight, his mouth had seemed twisted in a mixture of rage and agony.
Cymoril朝Elric苍白的面庞瞥了一眼，一道天光正好照亮他的轮廓。她感到一整寒意，而这寒意与周遭的风雨没有一点关系。因为在那一刻，她所深爱的这个温柔学者，仿佛突然被那一幕变成了一个地狱中的魔鬼，一个几乎毫无人性可言的怪物。他惨白的头颅上那两颗闪闪发光的腥红色双眸，简直像直接映照着发自地狱深处的光芒；他那被狂风吹得竖起的头发，就像一顶邪恶战盔上的饰毛，闪电劈下的诡异光芒，还把他的嘴扭曲成了狂怒又痛苦的样子。

    And suddenly Cymoril knew.
突然间，Cymoril明白了。

    She knew, profoundly, that their morning's ride was the last moment of peace the two of them would ever experience again. The storm was a sign from the gods themselves--a warning of storms to come.
她深切地意识到，这个早晨的骑行，是他们俩人共度的最后的平静时光。这场暴风雨就是发自诸神的征兆——预示着更多即将到来的风暴。

    She looked again at her lover. Elric was laughing. He had turned his face upward so that the warm rain fell upon it, so that the water splashed into his open mouth. The laughter was the easy, unsophisticated laughter of a happy child.
她再次看着她的爱人。Elric正在笑着。他将面孔对着天空，让温暖的雨水洒在自己脸上，让水滴进自己的嘴里。那笑声，是发自一个未经世事的快乐孩童的轻松笑声。

    Cymoril tried to laugh back, but then she had to turn her face away so that he should not see it. For Cymoril had begun to weep.
Cymoril想回应他的笑，但她却不得不将脸转开，转到他看不见的地方。因为Cymoril开始哭泣。

    She was weeping still when Imrryr came in sight a black and grotesque silhouette against a line of brightness which was the as yet untainted western horizon.
直到Imrryr城进入眼帘的时候，她还在继续哭泣。一道怪异的黑色剪影自上而下压在西方尚且明亮的，未被污染的天际线。

——第三章完——
——第四章——

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