第一步 First Steps

没有人相信女孩说的话。即使人们给她裹上了毯子，安慰她冷静下来，能以完整句子表达意思，她的话仍然不着调。

Nobody believed the girl. Even after they’d clothed her and calmed her down enough to speak in complete sentences, nothing she’d said made any sense.

这些村民住在巨神峰山脚，不可避免地接触过不少怪力乱神的东西。但那孩子的话完全不能令人相信。

The villagers had seen their fair share of otherworldly things – living at the foot of Mount Targon made this an inevitability – but the child’s story didn’t add up.

她说有一个来自异界的类人生物，从环绕他们村落的海洋中升起。听起来她说的似乎是浪游者：这些迷途的星界生物有时候会从巨神峰山下来。但从来没有人听说过星灵会从海洋里现身。小女孩很可能是在玩恶作剧。

She’d described some sort of otherworldly humanoid who had risen from the sea that bordered their village. It sounded like a wanderer: one of the lost, confused celestial creatures who sometimes ventured from Targon’s summit. No one had ever heard of a celestial appearing from the ocean, though. More likely, the young girl was playing games.

但当那个红色双眸的女子挟着一池任凭操控的水游进村子时，村民才发现，这可不是什么小孩子的恶作剧。

But when a woman with crimson eyes swam into their village, held aloft by a pool of water that ebbed and flowed at her command, the villagers realized it was no game.

“你好。”陌生女子说：“我是娜美，来自深海的鲛人。我没有恶意。”

“Hello,” the stranger said. “I am Nami. I am a Marai, a creature of the blue. I mean you no harm.”

村民目瞪口呆，大概是被她的外貌吓到了。这不足为奇，因为娜美也同样觉得他们的样子很怪——皮肤上没有鳞片，鱼尾的位置还长着两只倒生的手。

The villagers stared at her, mouths agape. Perhaps they were taken aback by her appearance. That would make sense, considering how unusual they looked to Nami’s eyes: flesh without scales and two backward arms where fins ought to be.

虽然双方的交流不太顺畅，但娜美吸引了所有人的注意。

Though they weren’t much in the way of conversation, Nami did have their attention.

“我是来寻找月亮星灵的，它有我族需要的东西。如果找不到它，不仅是我的族人，整个世界都会被饥饿和无情的黑暗吞噬。”

“I seek the Aspect of the Moon, for the Aspect has something my people require. Without it, they, and possibly all the world, will succumb to a hungry and merciless darkness.”

村民继续目瞪口呆地盯着娜美。只有一头困倦的四脚兽，对这位不速之客的外观毫不在意。它从一辆轮式推车上拉下了一大片干草，大快朵颐，口水四溅。

The villagers continued to stare at Nami, slack-jawed and mute. Only a sleepy, four-legged beast went unfazed by the appearance of the mermadic creature in the village, as it carried on pulling mouthfuls of dried grass from a wheeled cart and smacking its slobbery gums.

娜美沉默地站着，手中的魔杖在地上没章法地乱磕。

Nami stood in the silence, tapping her staff awkwardly.

“所以，如果任何人知道星灵在哪里，那……”她抽了抽鼻子，希望能制造点声响打破冷场。“就对我再好不过了。”

“So, if anybody knows where the Aspect is, that would be, erm.” She sniffed, eager to create any noise to break the endless hush that had fallen over the crowd. “Most helpful. To me.”

村民像被冰封住般，默默无语。娜美四处张望，看见到处都有微小的光芒，摇曳在纤细的蜡柱或粗木棒上。那些光芒如天真的精灵一般，懵懵懂懂地随着微风跃动，发出充满活力的噼啪声。

It was as if the villagers had been frozen in place it was so quiet. Nami looked around the village and saw small, fluttering lights all around. Anchored to small pillars of wax or large, wooden sticks, the lights indeed seemed to be alive, but not sentient. They fluttered in the breeze and crackled with energy.

“这是什么东西? ”她指着那些精灵问道。“看起来真美丽。”

“What do you call that?” Nami asked, pointing at the light. “It’s lovely.”

一名穿着金色外袍的老头——其实她一时之间不能理解陆地上的人为何坚持以衣蔽体——在两个哨兵的护卫下走了出来。从他身上厚重的层层布料来看，她估计他在村里应该担任的是长老一类的重要角色。或者，他只是觉得冷而已。

An old man in golden robes stepped forward – the people of the oversky insisted on covering themselves, for reasons Nami couldn’t immediately understand – flanked by two sentinels. From the many layers of draped fabric, Nami deduced he must be some type of elder. Or perhaps he was just cold.

“你在找月亮？它于你有恩？还是有仇？”他问了一连串问题。

“You seek the moon?” he asked. “Is she your friend, or your foe?”

娜美眯起了眼睛。老人按捺着怒气，嘴唇不住发抖。月亮星灵显然对他十分重要，但他是抱着哪种态度呢?是崇拜和希望能守护它，还是把它当成敌人?

Nami narrowed her eyes. The man’s lip quivered with silent rage. The moon’s Aspect was clearly important to him – but in what way? Did he worship and wish to protect it, or did he consider it an enemy?

她权衡了一下，心想，应该没有人傻到要和月亮作对吧。

Nami weighed the options. Surely, she thought, no one would be so unwise as to make an enemy of the moon itself. She replied:

“当然是恩——”

“Friend, of cour–”

“异教徒！”老人大叫。

“–HERETIC!” the elder shouted.

“恶魔！我说的是恶魔！你听错了！”她试图抗辩，但被哨兵的命令声盖了过去。村民纷纷拿起武器，把长矛浸入液体中，然后将它们点亮。

“–Fiend! I said fiend! You misheard me!” Nami shouted, but her pleas went unheard as the sentinels shouted orders. Many of the village’s people grabbed their weapons, dipping their spears into round containers of fluid and sparking them alight.

娜美凝望闪烁着橙色光芒的长矛尖端。它们的舞姿动人心弦，但散发出炙热的高温。她猜想碰到它们时肯定不好受。

Nami stared at the tips of the spears now flickering with orange light spirits. Their dance was mesmerizing, but radiated heat. Nami suspected touching one would be incredibly unpleasant.

“马上离开我们村子！你只会带来恐惧和诡计，我们不会上当！”

“You will leave this village at once! You spread FEAR and DECEIT, and we will have none of it!” the elder demanded.

她盯着他们好一会儿，表情变得严肃起来。这是她作为陆行者面临的第一个挑战。她知道，如果有需要的话，她能够以一人之力胜过这里所有村民。

Nami stared at them for a moment, her face hard. This was it – her first test as a landwalker. She knew, that if need be, she could defend herself against everyone in this village.

但那样对她的目的没有半点好处。

But that wouldn’t get her what she needed.

“我很害怕。”她说。

“I am scared,” she said.

长老面露笑容。她得用尽全力才能装作没有看见。

The elder smiled. Nami did her best to ignore it.

“但不是怕你们。我曾经在深渊里见识过黑暗的饥饿、仇恨和贪婪，早已失去快乐的滋味。你们的长矛怎能与之相比？”

“Not of you, mind. I’ve looked into the hungry, hateful maw of darkness and thought I would never feel joy again. Your spears can’t compare to that,” she said.

“所以，我并不会离开。尤其是我的族人当下就要大难临头了。”话毕，她向前踏步，把魔杖插进了地面。

“And so, I’m not going to leave. Not while my people are still in danger,” she said. She moved forward and planted her staff in the ground.

她的大无畏精神把村民震慑住了。人们却步不前，有个倒霉的家伙还忍不住向后退了几步。

She moved with such confidence and fearlessness the villagers were taken aback – physically, in one unfortunate case.

他退后时不慎滑落了手里的长矛，戳到了载满干草的推车上。热量堆积，火焰很快席卷了干草堆。只消一会，整辆车都包围在雄雄烈火中。

A young villager stumbled backward, his spear of heat skittering out of his hands, landing beneath the cart of dried grass. The dancing heat spirit grew taller. It licked the grass, spreading its own energy to the pile of dry hay. Within moments, the entire cart was ablaze with the hot, volatile energy.

四脚兽受了惊，转身就跑。它在混乱中慌不择路，一抬腿就将推车踢翻，燃烧的草叶霎时间漫天飞扬。

The grazing beast brayed in terror and turned away from the blaze. It kicked its muscular legs in confusion, knocking the cart onto its side, launching the burning grass into the air.

当火花落在村庄的茅草屋顶上时，火势迅速蔓延，瞬间便把接触到的一切都化为尘土。

The wisps of heat landed on the village’s thatched roofs and spread rapidly, consuming everything in its path with a voracious appetite.

村民忙着从附近的井中汲出一桶桶水。娜美看着村民奋力朝着饥饿的热光泼水，感到又恐惧又着迷。过了一会儿，他们的努力似乎击退了愤怒的力量，将闪烁的精灵变成了一团可怕的烟云。与空气不同，它的重量和形态逐渐扩张。余下的精灵在屋顶上跌宕起舞，吞下井水，吐出盘旋的烟雾，发出嘶嘶的声响， 将蓝色的夜空染得橙红。

The villagers scrambled to fetch bucketfuls of water from a nearby well. Nami watched in frightened fascination as they hurled the liquid at the hungry spirits. For a moment, their efforts seemed to beat back the spirits’ rage, transforming the flickering glow into a horrible cloud of hissing air that, unlike the rest of the air in the oversky, seemed to expand with weight and form. The hissing smoke swirled as the spirits drank up the water and danced on along the rooftops, turning the blue night orange.

“拿水来！”村民纷纷喊道。“快点！”

“More water!” the villagers yelled. “Quickly!”

我可以帮个忙。娜美心想。

I can help with that, Nami thought.

她举起唤潮者之杖，收紧捏着魔杖的手指。

Nami raised her Tidecaller staff, her knuckles tight.

在她专心致志的召唤下，围着村庄岸边的海水开始聚拢和颤动起来。

Focusing her thoughts, the seawater lapping the village’s shore began to collect and vibrate.

她握牢了手中的杖，闭起双眼，抽起魔杖，指引着海水朝她涌来。

Nami tightened her grip and closed her eyes, pulling back her staff to draw the seawater toward her.

海洋发出咆哮声。浪花升起来比村庄还高，如墙壁般的海浪蓄势待发。人们尖叫起来。

The ocean roared. It stretched itself into the air high above the village, a sheer wall of tidal ferocity hovering at the ready. The people screamed.

娜美将魔杖奋力挥向跃动的烈火。

Nami thrust her staff forward, pointing its headpiece toward the dancing heat.

“快走！”她对着村民大喊。

“Please move,” she shouted to the villagers.

危急关头，他们没有反抗。

They did.

海浪波涛汹涌地冲上陆地，彷佛要淹没整个村庄。在碰到地面之前，水转动扭曲成一根巨大而狂暴的触手。它探到空中，抓下了炽热和愤怒的气流。

The wave crashed forward as if to drown the entire village. Just before hitting the ground, the water twirled and twisted into an enormous, turbulent tentacle. It snaked through the air, sniffing out the ravenous trails of heat and rage.

海水的触须围绕着腾跃的火焰，像蛇一样缠绕在一起，收缩和压缩光芒使它缺氧。随着最后的烟雾散去，火光发出嘶嘶作响的声音，它们的光芒被夜色安静的蓝所取代。

The tendril of ocean water encircled the angry light, coiling around it like a serpent, constricting and squeezing the brightness in a suffocating collapse. With one last smoky gasp, the spirits fizzled, their glow replaced with the quiet blue of night.

娜美呼出一口气，放松了牢牢抓住魔杖的手指。 潮浪瞬间失去了支撑，拍在地上化作无形，旁观的众人发出又惊又喜的叫声。

Nami exhaled, loosening her grip on the staff. The tentacle of water lost its shape in an instant, and splashed to the ground to the startled delight of onlookers.

老人和他的哨兵丢下水桶，纷纷转向娜美。不久前对她的愤怒已一扫而光。他们用和善的眼神看着他们的访客。

The elder and his sentinels dropped their buckets. They turned to Nami, the rage they’d carried moments before now but a memory. They looked upon their visitor with new eyes.

“艾欧尼亚。”长老说。

“Ionia,” the elder said.

“什么？”

“What?”

“月亮在那片土地上，寻找自己的星灵。往那个方向。”他指向大海那边，恰巧就是魔杖牵引着娜美的方向。

“The moon, look for her Aspect there – it’s a continent. That way,” he said, pointing out toward the sea in the direction Nami’s staff tugged her.

原来如此。月亮和潮汐如同兄妹。无论月亮在哪里，唤潮者之杖都能找到方向。

Of course. The moon and the tide were as brother and sister. Wherever the moon went, the Tidecaller staff would be drawn.

“噢！”娜美惊叹，心里充满希望。“对，对了，谢谢你。还有，对不起，呃……”她懊恼地看着到处湿漉漉的村庄，无奈地摆了摆手。“无论如何，谢谢。”

“Oh!” Nami exclaimed, her heart flush with hope. “That is – yes. Thank you. Sorry about the, er...,” she said, waving her hand noncommittally at the drenched, dripping village. “Anyway. Thank you.”

娜美举起魔杖，潮浪旋即升起，包裹着她，准备携她回到海洋。突然，长老在她身后大呼。

Nami raised her staff and a wave reared up from the shore wrapping her in a cocoon of water and carrying her back toward the ocean. The elder called after her.

“那是火！”他喊道。

“Fire!” he shouted.

“什么？”她问。

“What?” Nami asked.

“这些木棍和长矛上的东西，叫做火。它能保护我们，但有时……可能会失控。”

“The lights on our torches, our spears. It’s called fire. It keeps us safe, but it can be...irrational, sometimes.”

“火。”她扬起笑容。“我喜欢。”

“Fire,” Nami said, smiling. “I like it.”

话音未落，唤潮者就已经回到了海洋，朝向未知的世界继续游去。

And with that, the Tidecaller returned to the oceans, headed for parts unknown.