战火金兰 第三部：破镜难圆 Sisterhood of War Part III: Irreparable
作者：Ian St. Martin
天光黯淡。
The light is dying.我头顶的天空渐渐变成黑色，太阳已经沉入地平线以下，只在天边留下一抹暗红，那是白昼残存的最后一丝温暖。我身边也散发着红色，从盔甲上、剑上。我今天夺走的生命在这里残存的最后一丝温暖。起初的几天，我还会在完事以后清洗自己身上的红色，将鲜血和死亡冲刷干净，但我从未洗干净过。所以一段时间过后，我也就不再洗了。Above me, the sky fades to black as the sun sinks beneath the horizon, leaving ripples of dappled red trailing above it, the last warm echoes of the day. There is red trailing from me, too, from my armor, my sword. The last warm echoes of the lives I’ve taken today. In the first days I would work in the aftermath to cleanse myself of it, to wash and scour the blood and death away, but was never truly able to. After a time, I stopped trying.我听到绯红斗篷摩擦的声音，有人进入防御工事来到我身边。我用余光看到了军衔。I hear the swish of a crimson cloak as someone drops into the bulwark beside me. From the corner of my eye I see the markings of rank.“队长。”我说着，正要站起身。“Captain,” I say, beginning to stand.“免了吧。”她挥手让我坐下。我已经忘了，现在我也带兵了，所以我和她是平级，但这种感觉不对。她是贵族，而我只是拿起剑的孤儿。“Please,” she waves me back. I forget that I lead my warriors now, that she and I are equals, but it feels false. She is nobility, I am an orphan sword.我认识她，她是骑兵的军官，我们就是要护送她的骑兵队进入丘陵地区，尝试打破这场耗尽心血的僵局。她高傲、精干、暴戾。就像是我们帝国的眼睛在注视她的一举一动。她打量了我片刻，“你看起来很需要休息的样子。”I know her, the cavalry officer we’ve been escorting into the hills, some attempt to break the stalemate bleeding us white. Proud, skilled, furious. As though the eyes of our empire watch her every move. She considers me for a second. “You look like you need rest.”我抬起目光，“他们用一种炸弹，能模仿小孩哭的声音，让我们无法入睡，也有的时候他们趁夜色过来抹我们脖子，只有繁星见证他们的暗杀。”I glance up. “They use bombs that mimic the sound of children screaming to rob us of our sleep, or they come by night to slit our throats, with only the stars to bear witness.”这位队长移开目光，若有所思。“我从第九大队的一位军官那里听说，他们能通过梦境杀死你。”The captain’s eyes trail off, in thought. “I heard an officer from the Ninth cohort, saying that they can kill you through dreams.”“梦境？”我问。“Dreams?” I ask.她点点头。She nods.我惊叹一口气，“如果他们能在梦里杀你，你该怎么办？”I exhale. “What do you do if they kill you in a dream?”她耸耸肩，对我露出疲惫的笑容。“我估计，只能尽量忘了有这回事吧。”She shrugs, and offers me a tired grin. “Try not to remember it, I suppose.”我没有听到附近有动物的声音，但我知道这一只从来不会离开太远。“你的坐骑呢？”I hear no beast nearby, and know this one is never far from hers. “Where is your mount?”她的表情变得黑暗。“上周我们打下来的土地……他们的女巫……”Her face darkens. “That ground we took last week… Their witch…”我吞了一口唾沫，暂时闭上双眼挡住回忆。I swallow, closing my eyes for a moment to block the memory.“那个女巫临死前，”她继续说道，“对我的骏马低声说了什么，可能其实是该对我说的。随后就来了一场恶病。今天早晨，他就站不起来了。”“Before she died,” she continues. “The witch whispered something to my steed, probably meant for me. A wasting disease. This morning he could not stand.”“抱歉。”“I’m sorry.”“他太痛苦了，于是我让他解脱了。”她看看我，“你痛苦吗？”“He was suffering, so I eased it.” She looks at me. “Are you suffering?”我与她对视，然后她轻轻笑了出来。I meet her gaze, and she chuckles softly.“放轻松，这个帝国需要你。我问的是那个痛苦。“Relax, the empire needs you. I refer to that.”她朝我的巨剑努努嘴，这把巨大的剑刃现在就插在我身边的地上，依然散发着红色。She inclines her chin toward my sword, its massive blade sunk into the earth beside me, still trailing red.“那把剑是一份恩赐，”她的用词很谨慎，“我见过你舞弄这把剑的技艺，但漫长的时间总是能把恩赐变为负担。你一直以来都如此坚强。如果这份负担太过沉重，我愿帮你背负。”“That blade is a gift,” she says, her words cautious. “I have seen you wield it with skill, but time can so often make a gift into a burden. You have been so strong through all this. If the burden you bear has become too heavy, I would carry it for you.”“不，”我的手不自主地伸向它，它可怕的重量让我安心。“我背负的这个东西只属于我。我不会把它送给别人。哪怕为此粉身碎骨。”“No.” My hand reflexively goes to it, its terrible weight reassuring. “This thing I carry is mine. I would wish it on no one else. Even as it breaks me.”她默默地端详我，眼神冷峻了片刻，然后笑着说，“我无意令你蒙羞——正如我说的，我们需要你。我们共同在此地洒下热血，这意味着我们是歃血金兰。”In silence she studies me, her eyes cold for a moment, before she smiles. “I meant no shame upon you—as I said, we need you. We have shed blood together here, and that act makes us sisters.”孩童的尖叫声划破了初黑的夜空。那个声音萦绕在空气中，悠长得让人发慌。睡意感觉是上辈子的事，在这里不可能合眼。A child’s scream slices open the early night. It hangs, gouging the air with unnatural length. Sleep seems like a thing from another life, impossible here.“这里真的很恐怖。我们一起，一定会让这里变得更美好。”她站起身，一只拳头抵在胸口。“为了达克威尔。”“This truly is a horrible place. Together, we’ll make it better.” She rises, and presses a fist to her chest. “For Darkwill.”“为了达克威尔,”我向她回敬军礼，“谢谢你，队长。”“For Darkwill,” I return the salute. “Thank you, captain.”她摇摇头，“你可以叫我马莉特。”
She shakes her head. “You can call me Marit.”Riven blinked sweat from her eyes. The sting brought her out of the memory, and back to the calm of the field. Her senses adjusted to now, the rich smell of earth and crops ready for harvest, the crisp spice on the air as the leaves turned crimson, the heat of the sun on her skin.
She walked between the rows of the crop, sunlight peeking in golden bars through broad leaves and stalks. For a moment Riven was a child again, growing up tending the fields, though the barley she grew in her youth didn’t rise up past her head, or shimmer with the traceries of magic that suffused every part of the First Lands. Every few paces there would be a gap, the light flooding in to highlight a patch that had been harvested in stark relief, the prize portions of the crop that had already been taken to market. She paused each time, standing in the sun, allowing its heat to wash over her, as her insides twisted.
锐雯用力眨眼挤出汗水。眼中的刺痛感让她从回忆中醒来，回到这片宁静的田野。她的感观逐渐调整到当下，沃土的芬芳和粮食的饱满籽粒，映着火红的树叶让空气中洋溢着香辛料的气息，和煦的阳光洒在她身上。
The sun had reached its zenith, the hottest part of the day. Riven drew a forearm across her brow, and tried to clear a parched throat. Her thoughts turned to water.
她走在田埂之间，阳光透过高高的秸秆和宽厚的叶子照进来。这一刻，锐雯又成了一个孩子，一边照料农田一边渐渐长大，只不过她小时候种的大麦从来都不会高过她的头，也不会在魔法的交织下灿灿发光，这里是初生之土，魔法盈溢在每个角落。每隔几步远的距离，都会出现一个空缺，阳光放肆地涌进来，明显地照出一处收割过的地方，那是一株庄稼的果实部分已经被拿到市场上贩卖。她每到一处缺口都驻足片刻，沐浴阳光的温热，希望能平息内心的翻腾。
Emerging from between the stalks, she found Asa, his eyes kind as he waited for her with a skin in his hands. Riven had been distant from her adoptive father since they had returned from the market, wanting to give him his privacy to think, to feel.
太阳已经升至最高点，这正是一天之中最热的时候。锐雯举起小臂遮在眉梢，尝试着清一清干涩的喉咙。她想起了水。
To bury his wife.
她从秸秆的缝隙之间走出，找到了亚撒，他投来慈祥的目光，手中拿着水囊正在等她过去。自从赶集回来以后，锐雯就一直在躲避自己的义父，她不想打扰他私密的思考和感受。
“Soup will be ready soon,” he said. Then he looked down. “I think I made too much again. I forgot.”
不想打扰他安葬亡妻。
Riven’s eyes darted to the shrine they had built for Shava Konte, the closest thing she had ever had to a mother. “Forgive me, fair.”
“菜就要炖好了，”他说完，低下了头，“我好像又做多了。总忘。”
“For what?” Asa tilted his head, regarding her.
锐雯的目光立刻看向他们一起为莎瓦•孔德制作的灵龛，那是对她来说最像母亲的人。“对不起，因呗。”
“I should have gone alone to market,” Riven continued. “You weren’t here when—”
“为什么道歉？”亚撒歪着头看着她。
“It is not upon your shoulders that the weight of the world be laid,” Asa shook his head slowly. “Nor the path that the stars turn in the heavens, or the dance that happens across the veil. Their accordances are great, they are beyond our influence.”
“我应该自己去赶集的，”锐雯说，“结果害得您没能——”
“Yet I still feel guilt.”
“这个世界的重量可不是让你一人承担的，”亚撒摇摇头，“天上的星轨也不会让你摆弄，帷幕对面的舞蹈也不会让你掺和。所有那些冥冥之中的安排，都不是我们能左右的。”
“Our responsibility rests upon our own actions, the choices made by our hearts.” Asa offered Riven the skin of water. “I know your heart, dyeda. It is pure.”
“然而我依然觉得自己有罪。”
“Not all of it,” Riven took the skin, but her gaze lingered over the shrine. “I miss her, fair.”
“我们自己做事自己当，自己的选择由心而生。”亚撒将水囊递给锐雯，“我知道你的心，黛达。你的心是纯净的。”
“As do I,” Asa stood at her side. “Yet I do not grieve my beloved Shava, because she is not lost to us. She was at peace when we found her. No pain, and the fortune of passing in her sleep. I treasure her, as someone certain that when the blossoms return next, I will see her again.”
“也不尽然。”锐雯接过水囊，目光依然徘徊在灵龛上。“我想她，因呗。”
Riven felt a tear slide down her cheek. “Do you think her blossom will be hard to find?”
“我也是，”亚撒站在她身边，“然而我并不为亲爱的莎瓦感到悲哀，因为她并没有迷失。我们找到她的时候，她很安详。没有痛苦，是在睡梦中离去的福分。她是我的珍宝，下一次花开之时，我一定会再度见到她。”
“My wife?” Asa smiled broadly. “I don’t believe a single blossom can contain her spirit. That woman, she will be an orchard.”
锐雯感到一滴泪珠顺着脸颊向下淌。“你觉得她的花会不会很难找？”
Riven smiled, looking up at Asa but finding the joy had vanished from his face. She turned, following where he stared transfixed upon a small group of figures that had appeared in the distance.
“我老伴？”亚撒自豪地笑，“依我看一朵花都装不下她的灵。那个婆娘，她得霸占一整座林园。”
Her blood went cold. Her heart was stilled by an utter certainty within her, an inevitability she could no longer hope to hide from. The smell of a campfire welled in Riven’s nose, the words of the mender they had met upon the road echoing sharply in her mind.
锐雯笑了，她抬起目光看看亚撒，但却发现他脸上的欢乐已经消失。她回过头，循着他失神目光的方向，看到远处有一小群人影出现。
“Fair,” said Riven, her hands clenching into fists. “Hide.”“Farming,” Marit sighed. “Really.”
她感到一阵透骨寒意。一种铁定的确信让她感到心气凝结，该来的还是来了，她已经无处可藏。锐雯似乎闻到了篝火的气息，赶集路上遇到的那位修补匠的话语在她脑海中回荡。
Erath followed the huntresses as they looked out across the stretch of land ahead of them. Great columns of natural stone lined the east, like the broken ribs of a long-dead god left exposed. To the west was forest, hued in a thousand shades of crimson, and nestled in between, a humble solitary farmstead.
“因呗，”锐雯说着，双手握成了拳，“藏起来。”
“Perhaps the war truly did break her,” said Tifalenji. Her blade’s hum had become a full-throated song as they traveled from the bleached site of the chemical attack. Now, here, it was felt rather than heard, a sensation that shivered the bones and caused gums to ache. “She seeks to grow and create, some kind of attempt to assuage her past.”
“She grows crops, nourishing them, and then she harvests them. Cuts them away and sells them,” Marit snorted. “I’m sure a poet could do something with that.”
“种地，”马莉特感叹道，“真的嘛。”
“Remember,” grumbled Arrel, reaching down to scratch First’s scalp. “We want her alive.”
俄拉斯跟在几位女猎手身后，放眼望过面前的土地。自然形成的巨大石柱在东边一字排开，看上去就像一具历经沧桑的旧神遗骸，一条条残破的肋骨立在荒野中。西边是一片森林，姹紫嫣红、千叶不同的色彩。而在中间，坐落着一间孤零零的农舍。
“Alive,” echoed Marit. “Such a malleable term. How many limbs is ‘alive’?”
“可能战争真的是毁掉她了。”蒂法莲芝说。自从他们离开那个炼金武器袭击地点以后，她的符文长剑已经从微弱的低鸣变成放声的歌唱。现在，站在这里，那个声音已经不止能用听觉感受到，已经变成了一种入骨的震颤，让人的牙根钝痛。“她想要培育和创造，对她的过往进行某种安抚。”
“Marit…” warned Teneff.
“她种庄稼，浇水施肥，然后收割。砍断庄稼贩卖庄稼。”马莉特不屑地说，“来个诗人一定能给她写出点名堂来。”
“She betrayed us.” Marit glared down from atop Lady Henrietta. “Not the army, not even Noxus, us. No mercy for deserters and traitors. Or have you forgotten that?”
“记住，”阿蕾尔没好气地说，同时用手抓了抓老一的头皮，“我们要抓活的。”
Teneff met her gaze. “I haven’t forgotten. But we walk into this clear-headed, and we walk out back to the empire with her in chains. Understand?”
“活的，”马莉特说，“很宽泛的要求。没胳膊没腿不也算‘活的’？”
Erath listened, reaching for Talz and patting the basilisk’s flank. He was outside of their conversation but still he felt a part of it, especially Marit’s barb about deserters. Rather than anger at her, though, after all that had happened, he found himself agreeing with her. His father’s betrayal was still lodged tightly in his chest, jagged and insistent.
“马莉特……”提涅芙用警告的口吻提醒她。
Teneff lingered back a few steps, allowing Erath to catch up to her.
“她背叛了我们。”马莉特骑在亨丽埃塔小姐背上怒目俯视，“不说军队，甚至不说诺克萨斯，背叛的是我们。对逃兵和叛徒绝不姑息，你们不是忘了吧？”
“I doubt she will come peaceably—there will almost certainly be a confrontation,” said the warrior, hefting the chains wound around her forearm.
提涅芙迎上她的目光，“我没忘。但我们出发的时候就定好了，我们要用枷锁把她拷回帝国。明白吗？”
“You sound excited at the prospect,” Erath replied.
俄拉斯听着，一只手抚摸塔尔兹侧腹上的鳞片。他并没有参与她们的对话，但却感觉与自己息息相关，尤其是马莉特对逃兵的奚落。他并不生她的气，相反，这一路走下来，他发现自己十分赞同她。被自己父亲出卖，这件事依然令他耿耿于怀，始终心存芥蒂。
Teneff gave a wry smile. “Just be prepared. Simply do as you did before, you acquitted yourself well in the last battle.”
提涅芙放慢了几步，让俄拉斯追上她。
“我估计她不会乖乖跟我们走，几乎肯定是要有一场对峙了。”女战士说着，掂了掂小臂上缠着的锁链。
“听你的语气好像还挺期待的。”俄拉斯
提涅芙不怀好意地一笑，“就是让你有点准备。你和平常一样就好，上次战斗中，你的表现已经证明自己了。”
“难道我取敌人性命之前还应该犹豫伤感一番吗？”俄拉斯不屑地说，“拿我当什么了，德玛西亚娘们吗？”
“Was I supposed to sulk and be maudlin at the prospect of taking an enemy’s life?” Erath scoffed. “What am I, some Demacian girl?”
其他女兵不约而同地回过头瞪他。
As one, the women turned around and stared at him.
“咋？”俄拉斯依次看向她们，“我说的德玛西亚。”于是她们转回身。
“What?” Erath looked at each of them. “I said Demacian.” They turned back around.
阿蕾尔瞄了一眼蒂法莲芝，那把符文长剑发出的噪声让她一脸不悦，“还有必要听这动静么？”
Arrel glanced at Tifalenji, scowling at the noise rippling from her sword. “Is that still necessary?”
“没。”符文工匠咧嘴笑。她一只手拂过刻着符文的剑身，那个声音静了下来。“我们已经不需要循味道了。我自己就能感觉得到，猎物已经现身了。”
“No.” The runesmith grinned. She ran a hand over her rune-etched blade, and the sound ceased. “We require the scent no longer. I can feel it myself, for the quarry is now in sight.”
诺克萨斯小队向农场进发。俄拉斯听到几位女猎手之间窃窃私语，那是在走上战场之前的战术密谋。她们如何占据位置、参照的地标和角度、如果需要流血的话谁要做什么，一切细节都在平淡、无聊、甚至冷静得令人恐怖的语气下商定。这期间她们的手始终紧握着武器。
The Noxians advanced upon the farm. Erath heard the huntresses mutter amongst themselves, the subdued talk of tactics on the march to war. Where they would stand, angles and landmarks, who would do what if the need for bloodletting arose, all discussed in a bored, almost horrifically calm manner. All the while their hands tightened over their weapons.
女猎手之间就像是在谈论围攻一座要塞，或者迎击一整支军队。她们很忌惮锐雯，担心她制造破坏的能力，于是让俄拉斯的脑海中浮现出一个可怕的身影：无情的战斗女皇手握一把附魔重剑，敌人的鲜血浸透她全身，敌人的尸首散乱在她四周。
The huntresses spoke as though they were laying siege to a fortress, or meeting an entire army in the field. They were wary of Riven, mindful of the devastation she was capable of, filling Erath’s head with a vision of a ruthless warrior queen wielding an enchanted sword, drenched in the blood of the slain enemies strewn around her.
这副景象让他很难与前方这个孤零零的农场联系起来。这里有着一种宁静，就像隐藏在绚烂混沌之中的一瓢清爽，是俄拉斯踏上艾欧尼亚以后少有的感觉。他思索了片刻，难以相信这真的是他旅途的神秘终点。他回想自己在不朽堡垒的阴影下，仰望那高耸的石塔感觉已经是上辈子的事。
It was a vision that he found hard to reconcile with the lonely farm they were approaching. There was serenity here, a pocket of calm tucked away from the grandeur and chaos Erath had encountered in Ionia along the way. He considered for a moment if it was the reality that his journey had reached its destination that was really jarring. He thought back to the Immortal Bastion, staring up at its towers what felt like a lifetime ago.
无论俄拉斯曾经是什么人，如今站在这里的他，已准备好为帝国尽忠，把叛徒带回去接受审判。
Whoever that Erath had been, the one here now was ready to do his duty to the empire, and bring this traitor to justice.
塔尔兹哼了一下，发出深沉的卡喉咙声，俄拉斯撑开这头龙蜥的牙床，在里面翻找了一通，最后抽出手臂，手中握着一根沾满唾沫的鸡骨头。
Talz grumbled, making a deep choking sound. Frowning, Erath peeled back the creature’s gums, searching around and finally drawing his arm out, clutching a spittle-slick chicken bone.
“你什么时候吃的鸡？”他自言自语道。
“When did you have chicken?” he murmured.
塔尔兹咕噜了一声。俄拉斯盯着他看了片刻。“走吧。”他说着，轻轻拉了一下缰绳，顺手把鸡骨头扔到一边。
Talz grunted. Erath stared at the beast for a moment. “Come on,” he said, giving a tug on the basilisk’s reins before flinging the bone away.
通往农场大门的是一条简陋的土路。俄拉斯一边前进一边琢磨着这片地，房子的样式和艾欧尼亚当地自然编织的风格一样，一座巨大的谷仓，足以容纳下一两头壮牛，一小片农田上种了一排排的稻谷，其中有几块地已经被收割过了。他强迫自己像那些女猎手一样思考，就像他在训练中学到的那样。哪里可能会有埋伏？哪里是最开阔的战场，如果局势不利，我们可以向哪里撤退？
A rough dirt road led to the farm. Erath studied the land as they approached, a house in the same woven, organic style inherent to Ionia, a barn big enough for an ox or two, a small plot with rows of grain, some patches of it already cut down and harvested. He made himself think like the huntresses did, like his training had taught him. Where could an ambush lie? Where was the best open ground for a fight, and where could we fall back to if that fight turned bad?
俄拉斯看不出埋伏的地点，没有什么手持寸铁也要拼命保护自己家园的农民。只有一个女子，穿着带泥水的衣服，独自站在路的尽头。
Erath saw no ambush, no band of farmers armed with whatever they had to protect their land. Only a woman, standing alone in muddy clothes at the end of the road.
几位女猎手停在一小段距离外，小心地看着她。
The huntresses stopped a short distance from her, eyeing her carefully.
“她是谁？”俄拉斯文。
“Who is that?” Erath asked.
提涅芙缓缓吸一口气。“她就是锐雯。”
Teneff took a slow breath. “That is Riven.”
俄拉斯眨眨眼，“就是她？”
Erath blinked. “That’s her?”
“就是她。”阿蕾尔说。
“That is her,” replied Arrel.
他又仔细看了看，“她跟我想象的不一样。”
He looked closer. “She’s not what I imagined.”
“外表不能说明一切，仆人，”马莉特说，“比如说，你外表看上去就像个蠢货。”她又品了品自己的话，“或许这个例子没有说服力。”
“Appearances aren’t everything, manservant,” said Marit. “You look like an idiot, for example.” She mulled her words for a second. “Perhaps that is a bad example.”
“东西在哪？”
“Where is it?”
所有人都看向蒂法莲芝。
All eyes turned to Tifalenji.
“什么？”提涅芙问。
“What?” asked Teneff.
“她的剑，”符文工匠咬牙切齿地说，“我能感知到它，并不在一个地方，而是分散开的。有点不对劲。”
“Her blade,” the runesmith said through gritted teeth. “I sense it, not in one place but in many. Something is wrong.”
“她肯定是没拿在手上了，”马莉特说，“这个我是没想到的。或许她已经把剑砸成了犁头。”
“Well she isn’t wielding it,” said Marit. “That is surprising. Maybe she’s beaten it into a plowshare.”
蒂法莲芝瞪了马莉特一眼。那位女骑手笑了几声，不过并不是因为愉悦。
Tifalenji glared at Marit. The rider chuckled, though there was no mirth in it.
“我知道，我也不希望看到这样的事。”
“I know, I hope not either.”
一段时间过去了，没人再说任何一句话。锐雯站在她的农舍门前，几名女猎手在她面前排成一列。俄拉斯牵着塔尔兹站在一步之遥以外，透过女兵之间的缝隙看着事情的发生。
For a few moments, nobody said anything. Riven stood before the door to her farmhouse, the huntresses arrayed before her. Erath stayed a pace behind with Talz, peering between the women to see what was happening.
沉寂在延续，如履薄冰，最后终于被打破。
The silence stretched, untenable, and finally broke.
“你好，姐妹。”提涅芙喊道。
“Hello, sister,” called Teneff.
“提涅芙。”锐雯的声音很低，几乎可以说是柔弱，但也带着一种悲伤的锐气。俄拉斯在她的声音中听不到愤怒，也没有恐惧，只有痛苦。她口中说出的曾经战友的名字，裹着一层剧痛的外衣。锐雯的目光在其他几名诺克萨斯士兵身上跳跃，看清每一个人，最后落在追猎手和她的猎犬身上。“阿蕾尔。小狗都长大不少。”
“Teneff.” Riven’s voice was low, almost soft but with an edge of sadness. Erath detected no rage in it, no fear, only pain. Anguish coated the speaking of her former comrade’s name. Riven’s eyes flicked quickly to the other Noxians, taking each of them in before settling on the tracker and her hounds. “Arrel. Pups have grown.”
阿蕾尔向前探出头。
Arrel inclined her head.
“这么说，她还记得她遗弃了的那段日子。”马莉特高呼道，看了看其他女猎手，然后看回锐雯，“还有她背叛了的人们。”
“So she does remember the life she cast aside,” Marit exclaimed, looking to the other huntresses, then back at Riven. “The ones she betrayed.”
锐雯的身姿惊讶地抖了一下，因为她听到了带着面罩女子的声音。“马莉特？”
Surprise flickered over Riven’s features at hearing the masked woman’s voice. “Marit?”
“伤痕累累，面目全非。”女骑手冷笑着说，亨丽埃塔小姐也发出一声吐息。“你早就知道这一天肯定会来的吧。”
“Scars and all,” the rider sneered. Lady Henrietta hissed. “Surely you must have known this day would come.”
锐雯呼出一口气，“我估计，迟早的事。”
Riven let out a breath. “It was a matter of time, I suppose.”
提涅芙向前一步，“那现在，时候到了。就你自己？”
Teneff took a step forward. “And now, that time is here. You are alone?”
“是。”她答道。
“Yes,” she answered.
阿蕾尔露出怀疑的眼神，“我们应该相信你吗？”
Arrel’s eyes narrowed. “Should we believe you?”
“本来还有一个人，”锐雯指了指农舍门前一旁的死人灵龛。俄拉斯可以看出来这是最近刚制作的。“她去世了，现在就只剩我了。”她的眼神变得坚决，“你们要干什么？”
“There was another,” Riven gestured to a death shrine beside the farmhouse door. Erath could see it was newly made. “She passed, now it’s only me.” Her eyes grew hard. “What do you want?”
“我们要你，锐雯。”马莉特从鞍座上向前探身，“我们来找你了。”
“You, Riven,” said Marit, leaning down from the saddle. “We have come for you.”
俄拉斯可以明显看出锐雯绷紧了。她手臂上精炼的肌肉线条抽动了一下，手指紧握，她想抓住的剑柄并不在她手上。而剑僮的手则落到腰间，扶在入鞘的弯刀刀柄上。
Erath could see Riven visibly tense. The bands of lean muscle in her arms twitched, fingers tightening around the grip of a sword she wasn’t holding. The blade squire’s hand dropped to rest on the pommel of his sheathed falchion.
“你打算给我们找麻烦吗，姐妹？”提涅芙让自己手上的棘刺锁链松弛下去，沉重的钢铁流星钩落到地上发出闷响。“打算找找曾经的感觉？”
“Do you plan on giving us any trouble, sister?” Teneff allowed the barbed chain in his hand to slacken, the heavy iron hook striking the ground with a thud. “Remembering who you really are?”
“我已经不是曾经那个人了，”锐雯静静地说，“那个人早已离我远去。”
“I’m not that person anymore,” Riven said quietly. “That is all far behind me.”
“没多远。”阿蕾尔说。
“Not far enough,” said Arrel.
几下心跳过去，死寂散发着紧张的气氛。俄拉斯的目光在几名女猎手和锐雯之间游移，等着其中一方率先行动，等着那个叛徒的刀剑魔法般地突然出现在她手里，等着激战开始。
Silence held for a handful of heartbeats, radiating with tension. Erath looked between the huntresses and Riven, waiting for either of them to make the first move, for the traitor’s blade to magically manifest in her hand and furious combat to begin.
“好吧，”马莉特说，俄拉斯吃惊地看到她抬起腿，从亨丽埃塔小姐身上下来，把缰绳交给了他。“你就不打算尽一下地主之谊请我们进屋吗？我们可得好好聊聊呢。”
“Well,” said Marit, surprising Erath by swinging her leg over and dismounting from Lady Henrietta, handing him the reins. “Are you going to be a polite host and invite us in? We have so much catching up to do.”
锐雯停滞了片刻，随后退到门边，摆出邀请的手势，“请进。”
Riven was still for a moment, before she stepped back beside the open door, gesturing inside. “Please.”
几位女猎手迈过门槛进入农舍，每个人都把武器立到了门边。“坐。”阿蕾尔对猎犬下令，三只猎犬小声发出哀嚎，然后分开坐在门口两侧。俄拉斯想要跟进去，但蒂法莲芝抓住了他的手臂。
The huntresses stepped over the threshold and into the farmhouse, each setting their weapons down beside the door. “Stay,” Arrel bade her hounds, and the trio huffed and whined before sitting on either side of the entrance. Erath made to follow them, only to find Tifalenji’s hand on his arm.
“不包括你。”符文工匠低声说道，她的手指扣进他的肉里。她眉头紧锁，眼神四下扫视。俄拉斯看到她略微抬头侧耳，似乎是在聆听某个微弱的声音。“你跟我走。”
“Not you,” the runesmith murmured, her fingers digging into his flesh. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes darted about. Erath noticed her head tilt slightly, as though she were straining to hear a sound just beyond earshot. “You will come with me.”Riven watched as the huntresses seated themselves at the table, the three of them together on one side. Waves of emotion rolled out of them, crashing against her in a storm of alarm, dread—and in some small corner of her, relief.
These were the women she served beside, the sisters she made in fire and blood. The essence of them was clear to her, but each had changed, overlaid with scars she never saw inflicted. Riven knew that she had changed as well, the span of the table a rift yawning between them. They were almost like strangers, wearing masks of the comrades she used to know.
锐雯看着几名女猎手坐在桌前，三人并排坐在她的对面。所有人的情绪都涌了上来，像一场风暴迎面拍打过来，让她警觉、恐慌——另外还在心底的某个角落，感到释然。
她和这些女子并肩作战，她们是用烈火和鲜血铸造的姐妹金兰。她们的灵魂在锐雯面前清澈可鉴，但每个人都有所改变，多了许多锐雯不认识的伤疤。锐雯知道自己也变了，她们之间的餐桌就像一道不断开裂的鸿沟。她们几乎已形同陌路，只是戴着她老战友的面具。
马莉特戴着真正的面具。她发现锐雯盯着自己。
Marit was literally wearing a mask. She caught Riven staring at it.
“哦，这个吗？”女骑手把手伸向脑后，解开搭扣，摘下面甲，锐雯见状心中一凉。
“Oh, this?” The rider reached back, undoing the clasps behind her head. She pulled the mask free, and Riven’s heart sank at the sight.
“怎么了，姐妹？”马莉特向前靠过去，“不记得了吗？那场火，那些喊叫声？你当时可是在场的。”
“What’s the matter, sister?” Marit leaned forward. “Don’t remember what happened? The fire, the screams? You were there, after all.”
锐雯觉得双眼刺痛。“你都遭遇了什么，马莉特？”
Riven’s eyes stung. “What happened to you, Marit?”
“我活下来了，”马莉特被烧毁的面容扭曲着露出没有嘴唇的笑容，“嗯，如果当时你多等一会再走，或许就能亲眼看到了。”
“I survived.” Marit’s ruined visage twisted in a cruel lipless grin. “Hmm, perhaps if you had stuck around, you would know.”
锐雯避开了目光，“我以为你们都死了。”这是真心话，直到今天为止，她一直深信不疑。而现在她不知道自己说出这句话，是为了说服这几位女猎手，还是为了说服自己。
Riven looked away. “I thought you all were dead.” The words were genuine, until this day they had been fact to her, now she couldn’t tell if she was uttering them to convince the huntresses, or herself.
“我们没死，”阿蕾尔声音粗哑，忍着痛清了清嗓子，“你有认真找过吗？”
“We aren’t,” croaked Arrel, clearing her throat painfully. “How hard did you look?”
“一切发生的都太快了，”锐雯说着，陷入到回忆中，“艾弥丝坦，她向我们开火的时候——”
“It all happened so quickly,” said Riven, lost in the memory. “Emystan, when she fired on us—”
“别跟我提那个名字，”提涅芙气愤地喊出来。马莉特剜了她一眼。提涅芙站起身，“还有，不要推卸责任。你逃跑了。”
“Do not speak that name to me,” snarled Teneff. Marit shot the warrior a glance. Teneff rose. “And do not seek to cast blame upon others. You ran.”
“你还记得多少，”阿蕾尔发出湿漉漉的呛咳声，“那天的事？”
“What do you remember,” said Arrel, coughing wetly, “of that day?”
锐雯闭上双眼。残缺的影像在她脑海中浮现，她的耳畔充斥着火焰和惨叫。血肉烧灼的味道和毒气刺痛她的鼻腔。痛苦、重压、抓着她靴子的手指、乞求救命的声音。可是她谁也无法拯救。
Riven closed her eyes. Broken images flashed across her mind, her ears swelling with fire and screams. Her nose stung from burnt flesh and poison. Agony, pressure, fingers clawing at her boots, begging her to save them. But she couldn’t.
“很少。”锐雯最后回答，“都是片段，断断续续。我不知道自己是怎么活下来的，好像跟我的剑有关。”
“Little,” Riven finally replied. “Fragments, here and there. I don’t know how I lived, something with my sword.”
“你看上去可是毫发无伤。”马莉特说。
“You do look quite unscathed,” said Marit.
“不是的，”锐雯坚定地说，“我也有我的疤。”
“I am not,” Riven said firmly. “I have my scars.”
“我们都有，”提涅芙说着，鄙夷的目光投到锐雯身上，“你为什么逃跑？”
“We all do,” said Teneff. She locked her withering gaze upon Riven. “Why did you run?”Erath followed close behind Tifalenji, the runesmith moving as though in a trance. Sweat trickled down Tifalenji’s face as she walked, eyes closed, the tip of her sword flicking and waving in the air as its runes glimmered and pulsed. Erath spared a glance back at the farmhouse, wondering what was happening inside, and nearly collided with Tifalenji as she came to a halt outside the barn.
“In here,” she murmured. “Something.”
俄拉斯紧紧跟在蒂法莲芝身后，符文工匠的动作似乎意识恍惚。汗水从蒂法莲芝的脸上滑落，她闭着眼，长剑的尖锋在空气中颤抖摇摆，剑身上的符文闪烁跳动。俄拉斯回过头看了一眼农舍，好奇里面究竟发生着什么，差点撞到蒂法莲芝身上，她在谷仓外突然站定。
Erath’s curiosity peaked. They had succeeded in tracking the traitor down by following the runic magic infused within her sword, so it had to be here somewhere, hidden away. After witnessing what Tifalenji was able to do with her own weapon, the blade squire was eager to see such a powerful relic first hand.
“这里面，”她低声嘀咕道，“有东西。”
The barn was small, occupied only by a thin-ribbed ox munching contentedly on straw in a stall. Erath thought back to Talz and Lady Henrietta where he had hitched them outside, happy he had not chosen to house them here. Talz was far too big, and likely to bring the structure down, while Lady Henrietta would have taken an interest in the ox… and it was a lot of work to clean all that jewelry.
俄拉斯好奇难耐。他们跟着一把剑中的符文魔法找到了这名叛徒，所以这把剑一定就在附近藏着。俄拉斯已经见过蒂法莲芝的武器在战斗中的能耐，现在这位剑僮很想亲眼看看这把来头不凡的剑究竟是什么样。
The tip of Tifalenji’s sword stopped abruptly over a heap of straw. “There,” she breathed, stooping down. “A pox on her life, to keep a blade like hers in a place like this.”
谷仓很小，里面只有一头瘦牛正在围栏里安心地嚼着干草。俄拉斯回想起塔尔兹和亨丽埃塔小姐，多亏他把他们拴在了外面，没牵到这里来。塔尔兹体型太大了，没准能把整座仓房拱塌，而亨丽埃塔小姐则会对这头牛很感兴趣……清理她的“珠宝首饰”真的很费事。
Tifalenji dug, her fingers clawing away at heaps of straw and dried grass. Finally she held her blade over it, whispering a sharp string of syllables that boiled the chaff away, revealing a flat piece of metal, about the size of Erath’s fist. He could make out a portion of a rune, etched into the dark material, cut off by the edge of the fragment where it appeared to have been shattered from the whole.
蒂法莲芝的剑突然停在一堆干草上。“这，”她说着弯下腰，“她这个招瘟的家伙，居然把那么高贵的刀剑放到这种地方。”
“No,” Tifalenji’s breath caught in her throat as she touched it. “No, no, no…”
蒂法莲芝扒开一堆堆麦秆和干草，最后她将自己的剑举到草堆上，轻轻念出一串音节，零碎的谷壳立刻飞散，露出了一片金属，差不多和俄拉斯的拳头一样大。黑色的材质上有蚀刻的印记，他能认出一部分符文的纹样，但纹样并不完整，看上去像是一部分碎片。
Erath took a step back, feeling the runesmith’s rage rolling off her like a heat haze. “Is that part of the sword? How could something of such power be broken?”
“不，”蒂法莲芝用手摸了摸，惊得不敢喘气。“不，不，不……”
“She did it.” A tear streaked down Tifalenji’s face as her fingers closed over the shard. “She actually did it.”
俄拉斯后退了一步，他能感受到符文工匠的怒火化作滚滚热风袭来，“这是她剑上的碎片吗？那么强大的东西怎么会被打破？”
Erath looked back at the farmhouse, thinking of the deserter inside with the huntresses. What had happened to this woman?
“她打破了。”蒂法莲芝落下一滴泪，将碎片握在手中，“真让她打破了。”
Tifalenji bolted upright and rounded on Erath in a single swift motion, her eyes smoldering. “There are more pieces like this,” she hissed. “I can feel them, and you and I are going to find them. Every single one.”Riven ladled soup into bowls, placing one in front of each of the huntresses before filling one for herself.
俄拉斯回望农舍，那个逃兵正在和女猎手们坐在里面。这个女的到底怎么了？
“You certainly made a lot,” Marit remarked, glancing at the large pot simmering over the fire. “You must have quite the appetite, Riv.”
蒂法莲芝猛然站起，利落地转过身面向俄拉斯，眼里压着火。“还有许多像这样的碎片，”她恶狠狠地说，“我能感觉得到，你来和我一起把它们找出来。一块都不能少。”
Riven swallowed a spoonful of broth. “I eat some of it fresh. The rest can sit over the fire for a week or so.”
Marit stirred the contents of her bowl. “How quaint.”
锐雯用长柄杓往碗里一一盛满炖菜，放到每一位女猎手面前，最后给自己也盛了一碗。
“You didn’t answer me,” Teneff pressed, her food untouched. “Tell me why you abandoned everything you had pledged your life to. You owe us that much.”
“你没少炖啊，”马莉特一边说，一边瞄着火炉上煨着的大锅。“你胃口很好嘛，雯子。”
Riven stopped eating, placing her spoon on the table. “I was an orphan. Father died fighting far from home, I was never told where. Mother died having me. When Noxus called, I leapt at the chance—not for adventure, or a desire to spill blood.” She looked at the huntresses. “For family. For a chance to finally feel like I belonged somewhere. That changed that day in Navori, when the rain caught fire set by those we called ally.”
锐雯咽下一口浓汤，“我做一次只吃一点。剩下的能继续炖一周左右。”
Riven took a breath, fighting to keep the memory from resurfacing. “We didn’t mean anything to them. We never did.”
马莉特搅动碗里的东西，“真新鲜。”
“Noxus is not the same empire that you abandoned,” said Teneff. “It has evolved. Changed. Darkwill is dead, the nobility torn down.”
“你还没回答我呢，”提涅芙没有动她的饭食，而是逼问道，“告诉我，你为什么要抛弃自己曾宣誓要用生命守护的一切。你欠我们一个说法。”
Riven noticed Marit’s eyes narrow, her mask of scar tissue twitch involuntarily.
锐雯把勺子放到了桌上，“我曾是孤儿。父亲战死他乡，从来都没人告诉我究竟是什么地方。母亲生我的时候难产死去。当诺克萨斯征兵的时候，我立刻就冲上去了——不是为了冒险，也不是为了杀人放血。”她看向女猎手一行人，“为的是家。为的是让自己觉得有所归属。我们在纳沃利的那一天，一切都变了，我们所谓的友军，在我们头上放火。”
“The empire is now a place where any with the strength to thrive can do so,” Teneff continued. “Where we all work as one to bring the same freedom and meaning to everywhere the sun touches.”
锐雯叹了口气，努力不想让回忆重现，“对他们来说，我们什么都不是。从来都没变过。”
Riven considered her words. “If this new Noxus is some different place, then why does it still care about me?”
“诺克萨斯已经不再是被你抛弃的那个帝国了，”提涅芙说，“它已经改朝换代。脱胎换骨。达克威尔已经死了，贵族都被推翻了。”
“We care about you,” said Arrel.
锐雯注意到马莉特的眼神流露出憎恨，那副疤痕组织构成的面具不自主地抽动。
“We all thought you were dead,” added Marit. “A fallen hero. And instead we had to learn from others that you not only are alive, but have turned your back on those who would have died for you.”
“现在的帝国，任何有实力的人都能出人头地，”提涅芙接着说，“所有人都齐心协力，要把生的自由和活的意义送给太阳普照的每一寸土地。”
“I met a mender here,” said Riven. “A healer of broken things, pottery, stone. She would sing to them, play charms, help guide the edges back to one another to become one again. She told me the spirits within all things want to be whole, but I don’t know if I believe that. I believe, sometimes, that which is broken cannot be pieced back together. It can’t go back. It is irreparable, and that is how it should stay. How it must stay.”As Tifalenji roved around the farm, murmuring to herself as she hunted for more fragments, Erath approached the door to the cellar on her instructions. He stopped beside the death shrine that had been recently built, studying the graceful architecture of the small structure.
锐雯思索着她的话，“如果新的诺克萨斯已经彻底改变，那它为什么还在乎我？”
For a moment he thought to search it for a fragment, but found himself unwilling to risk desecrating the shrine. Tifalenji had found other shards of the blade, mourning each discovery like the body of a dear friend. If she detected one within the shrine, Erath had no doubt the runesmith would not share his misgivings.
“我们在乎你。”阿蕾尔说。
Erath had heard nothing from within the farmhouse. No shouts, no sounds of violence. He was intensely curious to know what was happening inside, where the huntresses would find the answers that had driven them across Ionia to find Riven, but knew well enough he was not welcome there. What occurred within those walls was between the four sisters, and nobody else.
“我们都以为你死了，”马莉特说，“把你当成英烈。可结果呢，别人告诉我们，你不仅还活着，而且还背弃了那些为你而死的人。”
Yet Erath could not help but wonder how long it would stay that way.
“我在这里遇到过一个修补匠，”锐雯说，“她能修补破碎的物品，无论是陶器还是石块。她会对物件唱歌，帮它们弥合裂缝，重新成为一个整体。她告诉我，万物的灵都想要回归完整，但我不知道她说的对不对。有的时候，我觉得破碎的东西不可能拼回原样。碎了就再也回不去了。破镜难圆，而且也应该残破，必须残破。”
Squatting down, he took hold of the cellar door and swung it up and open. Cool, moist air wafted up toward him, revealing a set of rough stone steps leading down into the gloom. Peering into the dark, Erath wished he had his own runeblade, for no other reason than to light the way.
Instead, he relied on more traditional methods, walking over to Talz. After checking both his and Lady Henrietta’s hitchings, making sure both strong creatures would be unable to break loose and cause him even more trouble, Erath used the materials borne on the basilisk’s back to fashion himself a small torch.
蒂法莲芝在农场上走来走去，低声自言自语，继续寻找其他碎片。俄拉斯按照她的指示前去查看一口地窖。他在灵龛旁边驻足，仔细查看这座最近新立起的灵龛，虽然尺寸不大但细节精美。
Now able to see, he descended the cellar steps. He played the light of his torch in front of him, only able to clearly determine what existed inside its flickering glow. The vague impressions of stacks of sackcloth, shelves lined with sealed jars made of clay and stone, farmer’s tools.
有那么一刻，他想要在灵龛里寻找碎片，但却发现自己并不愿意为此而亵渎死者。蒂法莲芝又找到了几块断剑的碎片，每发现一块都像寻得了老友的遗体一样为它哀悼。如果她在灵龛内部感知到了碎片，俄拉斯敢肯定这位符文工匠是绝对不会存在他这样的顾虑的。
Erath heard a noise—a short, sharp rustle in the dark.
俄拉斯没有从农舍中听到任何声音。没有喊声，没有打斗声。他非常好奇屋子里究竟在发生什么，几位女猎手将在那里找到她们想要的答案，她们就是为了这个答案，才不畏险阻跨越艾欧尼亚。但俄拉斯知道屋子里的人不欢迎他。屋檐之下，是四个姐妹之间的私事，容不下其他任何人。
Immediately his knife was in his hand. The cellar was cramped, the quarters too tight for his falchion. He froze, straining his hearing, and slowly moved his torch around him.
但俄拉斯忍不住好奇，她们之间的姐妹密谈能持续多久。
他俯下身，抓住门板，打开了地窖。湿冷的空气飘上来，一条简陋的石阶通向下方的阴暗。俄拉斯向里面看了看，他真希望自己也有一把符文剑，不为别的，发光照路就很方便。
没办法，他只能依靠更传统的方式，于是向塔尔兹走去。他检查了两个动物伙伴的缰绳，确保这两个强壮的异兽不会挣脱乱跑，制造麻烦，然后俄拉斯用那头龙蜥行囊中的材料制作了一根火把。
现在他有光亮了，于是开始沿着地窖的阶梯向下走。他将火把举在前面，借着摇曳的火光判断里面有什么。他隐约看出一摞摞的麻袋，几个架子，上面摆着陶土和石雕的密封罐子，还有一些农具。
俄拉斯听到一声响——黑暗中短暂而清晰的摩挲声。
他立刻拿起匕首。地窖很窄，狭小空间不适合用弯刀作战。他一动不动，小心仔细地听，举着火把缓缓转身。
火光只能大概照出物体的形状和质地。他循向声音传来的方向，呼吸放松平稳，持刀的手也毫无颤抖。然后他突然停了下来，因为他发现火把的亮光映照出一双惊恐的眼睛。
The light granted shape and texture wherever Erath brought it. He focused on the location of the sound, his breathing low and even, as steady as his grip on his knife. Then he came to an abrupt halt, as he discovered the light of the torch glittering back in a pair of wide, frightened eyes.
地窖里没有符文剑的碎片。有人。
It was no runic blade fragment. It was a man.“Do you think we will accept that?” Marit had still not touched her food, her mind on anything but her appetite. “After what we endured to find you, the blood we spilled? You think we will just turn around and leave you be, like nothing ever happened?”
“Much has happened,” Riven slowly shook her head. “Too much. Go back and tell them I’m dead. There is truth enough in that, the Riven you knew is dead. I’m someone else, someone broken who this land still holds to account.”
“你以为这就能把我们打发了？”马莉特依然没有碰自己的饭食，她此刻思绪万千，唯独没有吃饭的胃口。“为了找你，我们遭了那么多罪，流了那么多血。你觉得我们能转身离开，放着你不管吗？就当无事发生？”
“That is a lie,” rasped Arrel. “We are the ones who hold you to account.”
“发生了太多事，”锐雯摇摇头，“太多了。回去告诉他们，就说我死了。这并不全是谎言，你们所认识的锐雯已经死了。我已经换了一个人，一个残破的人，要为这片土地负责的人。”
“It is your life here that is the lie, Riven,” said Teneff. “You cannot run away from this, not anymore. Be the Noxian we once knew, our sister. Return with us to the empire, stand tall and finally face justice. If you truly see yourself as broken, home is where you will find the last piece to make you whole again.”
“胡说，”阿蕾尔厉声说，“你要为我们负责。”
Marit gave a crooked grin. “They may not even execute you.”
“你在这里的生活是一场谎言，锐雯，”提涅芙说，“你是逃不掉的，别再逃了。成为我们认识的那个诺克萨斯人，成为我们的姐妹。和我们一起回到帝国，顶天立地，接受审判。如果你真觉得自己残破，那是因为你缺失的部分只有回家才能找到。”
“Much has changed,” Arrel said. “But the soul of Noxus has not. Join us, and put a knee to the ground. Or stand against us, and we’ll put you underneath it.”
马莉特露出扭曲的笑容，“他们甚至有可能饶你不死。”
Teneff shot her comrades an angry look, before turning back to Riven. “Embrace the new Noxus, devote yourself to the empire and be reaffirmed in its eyes, and they will value your strength. I know it’s still within you, Riven. It is not too late for you.”
“许多事都变了，”阿蕾尔说，“但诺克萨斯的灵魂没变。跟我们走吧，只要你肯单膝跪地。不然就与我们兵戎相见，我们会把你置于死地。”
Riven looked away. She hesitated, hearing a truth in their words she did not want to acknowledge. What if Noxus was different? After everything that had happened, was there still a life for her there? And now that the empire had found her, would they ever stop?
提涅芙怒视另外两个战友，然后回过头看着锐雯，“拥抱新的诺克萨斯，将你的身心贡献给帝国，在它的注视下再次获得肯定，他们一定会看重你的实力。我知道你依然蕴藏着实力，锐雯。现在回头还不晚。”
Riven looked at each of her sisters, adamant in their mission. What would she have to do to stop them? And if they failed in their task, Noxus would just send more. How many innocent lives would be lost before they finally tore her away from this place?
锐雯避开目光。她在犹豫，在她们的话语中，她听到了自己不愿得知的真相。如果诺克萨斯真的变了呢？经过这么多事，她真的还能在那里生活下去吗？而且如今帝国已经找到了她，接下来又怎会善罢甘休？
Submission loomed heavy in her heart. Go with them, it said. Let no more Ionian blood be shed because of you. No more people dying before their time for the sake of your soul.
锐雯看了看每一位姐妹，她们个个坚决固执，恪守使命。她要怎么做才可能阻止她们？如果她们任务失败，诺克萨斯只会派来更多人。当他们最终把她从这里强横地拽走，还要死去多少无辜的生命？
People like Asa. Your fair.
她心中笼罩着沉重的顺从。它在说，跟她们走吧，不要再让艾欧尼亚人因你而流血。不要再让人因你的灵魂而提前结束生命。
“Riven! Come out, now!”
比如亚撒。你的因呗。
The four women jolted at the voice from outside the farmhouse. Riven stood, and the huntresses followed suit, their postures growing taut.
“锐雯！出来！”
“What is this?” she asked.
屋外的声音让四个姐妹心头一惊。锐雯站起来，几名女猎手也随着站起来，每个人都绷紧了弦。
Teneff glanced at Arrel and Marit, then back at Riven. “Let’s go find out.”Erath watched Riven appear from inside the farmhouse, flanked by the huntresses. They stepped into the daylight, finding him and Tifalenji standing there, their weapons drawn, with the Ionian man Erath had discovered kneeling between them.
“什么事？”她问。
“Dyeda,” gasped Asa.
提涅芙侧眼看看阿蕾尔和马莉特，然后望向锐雯，“那咱就出去看看吧。”
“Fair!” Riven started toward him, stopping short as Tifalenji rested her rune blade against the man’s throat. “Release him,” she demanded. “He has no part in this!”
“Your deception has made him a part.” Tifalenji’s face was hard, her eyes cold. “Now we can dispense with the tears of reunion and get to the true matter at hand.”
俄拉斯看到锐雯从农舍里走出来，身边跟着几名女猎手。她们走到阳光下，发现他和蒂法莲芝站在面前，武器出鞘，俄拉斯发现的那个艾欧尼亚老人跪在中间。
Erath looked to Tifalenji. Riven’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“黛达。”亚撒有气无力地说。
“I have someone you want,” said the runesmith, indicating Asa. “And you have something I need.” She showed Riven the broken fragments in her other hand. “Bring it to me.”
“因呗！”锐雯对他开口，但蒂法莲芝将符文长剑架在他脖子上，锐雯立刻用命令的语气说，“放了他，这事与他无关！”
Riven hesitated, her eyes flashing between Tifalenji and Asa.
“既然你撒了谎，那他就有关了。”蒂法莲芝表情坚决，眼神冷峻，“现在，久别重逢的泪水要擦一擦了，我们谈谈正事。”
“I grow weary of these games,” snarled Tifalenji, pressing her blade hard enough for Erath to see a trickle of blood from Asa’s throat. “I am not asking, and you know of what I speak. Bring it to me, now… or there will be another death shrine, here.”
俄拉斯看看蒂法莲芝，锐雯的眼神也透出怀疑，“什么正事？”
The moment stretched as Riven looked to Asa. Erath maintained his calm, carefully studying Riven. He watched her push a breath out between her teeth, and slowly turn back to the farmhouse.
“我手上有你想要的人，”符文工匠示意了一下亚撒，“而你手上有我要的东西。”她向锐雯亮出了另一只手里的断剑碎片。“交出来吧。”
“Ensure she does not flee,” commanded Tifalenji. Arrel gestured to First, and the drakehound loped around behind the farmhouse, while the other two guarded the front corners of the structure.
锐雯犹豫了，她的目光在蒂法莲芝和亚撒之间来回跳跃。
“What is this, runesmith?” said Teneff. She looked at Erath. “Who is this man?”
“我跟你玩够了，”蒂法莲芝怒吼着，将剑刃用力按下去，俄拉斯甚至可以看到亚撒的喉咙上开始淌血。“我可不是在求你，你知道我说的是什么。拿来，赶紧……不然这里就要再添一座灵龛了。”
“I found him in the—”
这一刻僵持着，锐雯看着亚撒。俄拉斯保持着冷静，仔细看着锐雯的动作。他看到锐雯缓缓呼出一口气，然后慢慢回头走进农舍。
“Be silent,” snapped Tifalenji. “This is my business.”
“别让她跑了。”蒂法莲芝命令道。阿蕾尔对老一摆了个手势，那头亚龙猎犬绕到了农舍后方，另两只把守正门两侧。
Riven reappeared, stepping out into the field carrying something wrapped in a blanket. All eyes were fixed upon it, especially Tifalenji’s.
“你这是搞什么，符文工匠？”提涅芙说，看了看俄拉斯，“这老头是谁？”
“Show me,” the runesmith ordered. “Now.”
“我把他从——”
Her face tight, Riven slowly unwound the blanket, letting it fall to reveal the hilt and crossguard of an enormous broadsword. A jagged portion of the blade was still attached to it, like a chipped tooth, inscribed with the same runic script Erath had seen on the fragments they had collected.
“住口，”蒂法莲芝狠狠地说，“这是我的事。”
“Damn you,” Tifalenji breathed, her voice shaking at the sight of it. Her fingers tightened around the blade fragments. “Do you have any idea what you have done?”
锐雯出来了，手里拿着一个被布裹起来的东西。所有目光都投在它上面，尤其是蒂法莲芝。
“This sword was entrusted to me,” said Riven, her slender fingers slowly closing around its leather-bound grip. “It is my responsibility, and no other’s. Let him go.”
“亮出来，”符文工匠命令道，“赶紧。”
“It should have never gone to you,” hissed Tifalenji. “Too long has that mistake gone uncorrected, but no longer. Surrender it now.”
锐雯表情紧绷，缓缓打开布包，露出剑柄和护挡，看上去曾是一把巨大的阔剑。剑柄之上依然残留着一部分崎岖不平的剑刃，就像断掉的牙，而剑身上铭刻的符文与俄拉斯在那些碎片上看到的非常相近。
Holding the sword, even broken, Riven seemed stronger. Erath could see the defiance growing within her.
“你这个混蛋。”蒂法莲芝声音微弱，气息颤抖。她的手指紧紧握住断剑的碎片，“你知道自己做了什么吗？”
“You cannot have it,” said Riven. “This weapon will never return to those who forged it. I will not allow that to come to pass.”
“这把剑是托付给我的，”锐雯说，她纤细的手指慢慢环住绑着皮带的握柄。“它的事由我来管，跟其他人无关。放他走。”
“Then he will die,” said Tifalenji simply. “And so will you. Even desecrated as it is, the blade is what is important. You are nothing but a parasite, clutching for its radiance to give meaning to a broken, worthless existence.”
“根本就不应该把它交给你，”蒂法莲芝狠狠地说，“这个错误已经延续了太久，但到此为止了。交出你的武器。”
“So, this was never about me.” Riven shot an accusing glare at the huntresses. “Was it?”
虽然是断剑，但手握武器的锐雯看上去更强壮了。俄拉斯可以看出她内心的抗拒。
Erath stared at Tifalenji. Were they really only here for a blade?
“不会让你拿到它的，”锐雯说，“这把武器永远都不会回到铸造它的地方。我不允许。”
“Your life was forfeit the moment you turned against my masters, and the blade ceased to be wielded to their purpose,” Tifalenji seethed. “You died in that moment of betrayal, Riven. I am merely here to take back what is ours.”
“那你就是让他死，”蒂法莲芝平静地说，“然后死的会是你。即便它已被玷污，但这把剑才是最重要的。你只是个寄生虫，依附在它的光辉之下，让残破、卑贱的自己找到存在的意义。”
“You mean to kill her?” Teneff stepped forward, the chains of her hook rattling. “This was not what we agreed upon, runesmith.”
“这么说，你们要找的根本不是我。”锐雯向几名女猎手投去责问的目光。“而是剑。”
Arrel gestured, and her trio of hounds rushed around her, snarling.
俄拉斯望着蒂法莲芝。他们这一趟真的只是为了一把剑？
“You’ll defy me now?” Tifalenji scoffed. “You have deserted, soldiers. Return to Noxus without my protection and you will be executed—or do as I say, and live. There is no alternative.”
“从你背叛主人们的那一刻开始，你的命就已经被收缴了，而那把剑则是被你盗用，”蒂法莲芝激动地说，“你的背叛就等同于死亡，锐雯。我只是来拿回属于我们的东西。”
“She’s right.”
“你想杀了她？”提涅芙向前走一步，流星索的铁链哗啦啦地响。“我们当初可不是这么说的，符文工匠。”
Teneff and Arrel turned, watching Marit as she walked to the door of the farmhouse and retrieved her glaive. Riven watched as she passed her by, going to stand at Tifalenji’s side.
阿蕾尔摆出一个手势，三只猎犬立刻冲到她身边，发出狠毒的低吠。
“Rune-witch,” said Marit. “You promised me a blade when all this was done. But I am feeling impatient, I think I’ll just have Riven’s instead.”
“你们现在要违抗我的命令了？”蒂法莲芝轻蔑地说，“你们现在都是逃兵。没有我的保护，只要回去就是处决。遵照我的命令，你们就能活。你们只有这一条路。”
“Prove your worth, then,” said Tifalenji. “Strike her down and take it from her, and it shall be yours.”
“她说得对。”
“Marit, listen to me,” Teneff pleaded. “We cannot do this. We all agreed, she must return to Noxus to face justice.”
提涅芙和阿蕾尔回过头，看着马莉特走到农舍门边，拿回了她的剑戟。锐雯看着她从自己身边经过，站到了蒂法莲芝一边。
“I’ll be Noxus’ justice!” Marit snapped, leveling her glaive at Riven. “That sword always should have been mine, you never possessed the strength to do what needed to be done with it. With the blade reforged, and wielded by my hands, I will rise—my name and lineage will not die forgotten in the darkness. All that was stolen from me will be restored, won back by the edge of that blade!”
“符文巫婆，”马莉特说，“你曾向我承诺回去以后为我打造一把兵器。但我等不及了，我现在就要锐雯这把。”
Erath studied the two women, watching the sunlight play across the gleaming edge of Marit’s glaive.
“那就证明你的资格把，”蒂法莲芝说，“击败她，把剑抢到手，剑就是你的。”
“马莉特，你听我说，”提涅芙恳求道，“我们不能这么做。我们都说好了的，她必须回到诺克萨斯接受公正审判。”
“我就是诺克萨斯的公正！”马莉特厉声说道，将剑戟对准锐雯，“那把剑本来就该是我的，你从来都不具备使用它的决心和实力。断剑重铸后，拿在我的手里，我将崭露头角，我的名誉和家族血统将不会消失在黑暗中。所有从我这偷走的东西，都将加倍奉还，那一切都将是我用那把剑的利刃争回来的！”
俄拉斯仔细端详那两名女子，阳光照在马莉特的剑戟锋刃上，寒芒毕露。
“瞧瞧你，”马莉特朝锐雯前方的地上啐了一口，“一把断剑，配一个落魄的女人。你还举得动吗？”
“Look at you.” Marit spat on the ground before Riven. “A broken sword, for a shell of a woman. Could you have even lifted it now?”
蒂法莲芝大叫一声，断剑的碎片突然从她手里飞了出去，划出几道血口子。碎刃切开空气，向锐雯飞去，每一片都带着翠绿的荧光。断剑的碎刃在她头顶回旋交织，随后拼凑到一起，符文能量散发着霹雳，将所有碎片固定到一起，组成了尺寸巨大、带着裂纹的整体。
Tifalenji cried out as the shards whipped from her hand, leaving it bloody. The fragments sliced through the air toward Riven, shimmering with emerald light. Weaving above her, the broken segments came together, bound by crackling runic energy into an immense, fractured union.
“举的动吗？”锐雯操弄巨剑飞旋了一圈，腾起地面的尘土和碎石。“别担心，姐妹。我还举得动。”
“Lift it?” Riven spun the massive blade once, kicking up dust and bits of gravel into the air. “Oh, yes, my sister. I can still lift it.”
马莉特的可怕面容扭曲成微笑，微微屈膝，进入战斗姿态。“我的全部人生都被夺走，而你却把自己的人生遗弃。来吧！我们为了找你流了那么多血……你欠我一次决斗！雯子。”
Marit’s gruesome visage twisted in a smile as she sank into a fighting stance. “My whole life was taken from me, you threw yours away. Come on, then! The blood we spilled to find you… You owe me this, Riv!”
提涅芙向蒂法莲芝迈进一步，阿蕾尔也和她一起。“别插手，”符文工匠恶狠狠地说，同时举起了剑。她瞪了一眼俄拉斯，指指那个老人。“按住他。”
Teneff took a step toward Tifalenji, with Arrel at her side. “Do not interfere,” the runesmith hissed, raising her sword. She shot a glance at Erath, and gestured to the old man. “Hold him.”
俄拉斯一只手放在那个艾欧尼亚老者的肩膀上，另一只手中握着弯刀。他想一心二用，一边确保不让老人逃跑，一边看着提涅芙、阿蕾尔和蒂法莲芝之间出现的裂痕。
Erath laid a hand on the Ionian’s shoulder, his falchion in his other fist. He tried to split his attention between ensuring the man didn’t run, and the alarming division forming between Teneff, Arrel, and Tifalenji.
如果他必须选边站该怎么办？
What if he had to choose a side?
俄拉斯的头脑飞速旋转。他要站哪边？马莉特对背叛的报复？提涅芙对帝国的恪忠？还是服从蒂法莲芝的权威，容忍她的隐瞒并接受她的安全保证？
Erath’s mind raced at the prospect. What would he choose? Marit’s vindication against betrayal? Teneff’s steadfast duty to the empire? Or the safety of Tifalenji’s authority, despite her secrets?
那些站在他对立面的人会动手杀他吗？他有能力杀她们吗？
Would the ones he rejected try to kill him? Could he kill them?
在他思来想去的同时，他面前的争斗即将开始，俄拉斯的双眼无法离开锐雯手中不可思议的巨剑。
All this while the conflict was poised to begin in front of him, and Erath was unable to take his eyes off Riven’s incredible blade.
“马莉特，我的姐妹，不要这样，”锐雯咬牙切齿地说，“不要逼我杀你。”
“Marit, sister, do not do this,” Riven said through gritted teeth. “Don’t make me kill you.”
马莉特将剑戟飞旋一圈，“别担心，锐雯。你没那本事。”
Marit spun her glaive. “Don’t worry, Riven. You won’t.”
二人开始互相绕行，俄拉斯注意到她们的架势，马莉特灵活激进，锐雯则克制内敛。她们之间的距离刚好是武器攻击范围，双方的剑刃翻转回旋，但始终没有交锋……
The two began to circle. Erath took note of their postures, Marit fluid and aggressive, Riven stoic and reserved. Their weapons occupied the space between them, the edges flicking and making tiny circles but never touching…
……直到最后，马莉特出手了。
…until, finally, Marit struck.
这位女骑手觉察到了空档，向前一跃，剑戟化作一道闪钢。锐雯迅速后撤，利用剑身的长度和宽度弹开疾骤的攻击，飞溅出金属的火花和翠绿的符文能量。马莉特横跳一步，将剑戟的长柄向前猛投，将锐雯的巨剑敲到一旁，然后向前一步封她的咽喉。
Sensing an opening, the rider leapt forward, her glaive a whirling blur of steel. Riven backpedaled, using the hulking length and width of her sword’s blade to deflect the flurry of blows in showers of sparks and emerald runic energy. Marit sidestepped, throwing out the haft of her glaive against Riven’s sword to knock it aside, and lunged for her throat.
锐雯大喝一声，挥动巨剑一记横扫，发出一道强风，像鞭子一样抽打马莉特，将她推开。马莉特在地上打滑，向后退出一段距离，没有持剑的手插进泥土里给自己减速。
Crying out, Riven swept her blade in an arc, sending a gale of lashing wind at Marit and hurling her away. Marit skidded back, her free hand digging into the earth to slow herself.
“真可爱。”她咧嘴笑着说，然后站起身，开始一轮新的进攻。
“Cute,” she said with a grin. She rose, and began her attack anew.
随着战斗的进行，俄拉斯注意到锐雯的防守伪装开始动摇。她体内某种东西觉醒了，某种使她跻身诺克萨斯最强士兵行列的战斗意志。纵劈横扫、格挡反击，她已经不再被动接招。俄拉斯看到她的姿态和表情出现改变，不再平静。
As they progressed, Erath noticed Riven’s defensive guise begin to slip. Something was awakening within her, the warrior spirit that had made her one of the deadliest soldiers in Noxus. Slash by slash, strike after parry, she ceased to be on the back foot. Erath began to see something overtake her features, replacing calm.
他看到了怒火。
He saw rage.
锐雯开始了进攻。她的符文巨剑发出沸腾的奏鸣，一下下敲打、切削马莉特的防守。马莉特遍布疤痕的面容扭成一团，她高超的作战技巧正在专心化解锐雯的袭击——但每次反击都被扫开，每次想绕进锐雯的防守圈都被看破。
Riven started attacking. Her runeblade made a sizzling thrum as it chopped and slashed against Marit’s defenses. Marit’s scarred features twisted in concentration as she used every bit of her incredible skill to ward off Riven’s assault—but every counter was swept aside, every attempt to spin inside Riven’s guard rebuffed.
到这时，俄拉斯开始真正觉得马莉特有可能输。在一棵巨大的树下，如血的红叶窸窸窣窣，锐雯正在占据上风。
For the first time, Erath considered that Marit could lose. In the shade of a massive tree, its leaves red as blood, Riven was winning.
二人都已满身汗水。马莉特的动作已不再那么优雅，可以看出明显的疲态，还有一丝绝望。相较于马莉特的颓势，锐雯战意勃发，她的双眼藏着火，攻击的力量越来越强。马莉特被一击打退到树下，后背紧贴着树干，于是锐雯将巨剑举过头顶，准备全力一击。马莉特横端握柄，锐雯的剑将铁杆拦腰斩断。
The two were sheened in sweat. Marit’s movements had lost their grace as exhaustion set in, with an edge of desperation. Where Marit was fading, Riven surged, her eyes smoldering as she delivered increasingly powerful blows. Throwing Marit back against the tree, Riven raised her sword for an overhead strike. Marit brought up the haft of her glaive, and Riven’s blade cleaved it in half.
“你永远都逃不掉残破的宿命，锐雯，”马莉特冷笑着，扔掉断柄的下半截。“你走到哪，宿命就跟你到哪。”
“You’ll never escape what makes you broken, Riven,” Marit smiled coldly, throwing away the lower half of her weapon. “No matter where you go, it will always be with you.”
马莉特握着残破的剑戟冲上去。锐雯大吼一声，举起剑向前突刺。鲜血在剑身周围喷溅，沾在符文表面的血迹沸腾蒸发，她的巨剑刺穿了马莉特，把她钉在了树上。
Marit lunged with her broken glaive. Roaring, Riven drove her own blade forward. Blood burst around it, snapping and burning to a mist against the runes as she ran Marit through, pinning her to the tree.
一瞬间，锐雯惊恐地瞪大双眼。她收回剑，马莉特缓缓滑坐到地上，紧紧捂住自己的前胸，但却无法阻止鲜血从指缝间流走。
In an instant, Riven’s eyes widened. She tore the blade back and Marit slowly slid to the ground, clutching her chest but unable to stem the flow of blood spilling over her fingers.
锐雯脸上的怒火消失了，她看着马莉特，握剑的手也松了下来。“姐妹，原谅我。”
The rage vanished from Riven’s face as she beheld Marit. Her grip on her sword slackened. “Sister, forgive me.”
马莉特抬头等着锐雯，嘴角流出一行血。她越来越虚弱了，马莉特用最后一丝力气抓住锐雯的衣服，把她拽到自己眼前，与她四目相对。
Marit stared up at Riven, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. Her strength fading, Marit used the last of it to seize the collar of Riven’s shirt, hauling her down close to look her in the eye.
“我不。”马莉特声音嘶哑，语气中的鄙夷耗费了她仅存的生命，随后她便躺倒在尘土之中。
“No,” Marit hissed, the contempt in the word costing her what life she had remaining to her as she slumped into the dirt.
寂静降临。所有在场的人都停滞在惊讶中，尤其是俄拉斯。在他眼里马莉特始终都是无敌的，能在炼金武器的袭击中以毁容的代价活下来；能在一路上的每场战斗中凯旋得胜。他无法相信自己刚刚看到她的陨落。
Silence descended. The shock radiated through all present, especially Erath. Marit had always seemed invincible to him, surviving the chemical attack that had disfigured her, triumphing in every battle across their journey. He could not fathom that he had just watched her fall.
她的死又是为了什么？他心想，我们究竟在做什么？
And for what? he thought. What are we really doing here?
“很遗憾，”蒂法莲芝说，“但也是意料之中。”
“Regrettable,” said Tifalenji, “but not unexpected.”
锐雯向后踉跄半步，她的兵器从疲惫的手中挣脱，引她转过身，看到巨剑落到了符文工匠手里，现在她两只手上各有一把符文剑。
Riven recoiled as her blade was torn from her exhausted grasp, whirling her around to see the runesmith now holding it, wielding a runeblade in each hand.
“这一路上，我真的曾经纠结过，等我拿回属于我们的东西以后，是否可以留你活命。但见过你的……”她用力握紧锐雯的巨剑，“……卑鄙亵渎以后，我绝不容你再继续喘气。”
“Through all of this, on the path here, I truly debated whether to let you live after I had taken back what is ours. But after this…” She tightened her grip on Riven’s blade. “…sacrilege, I cannot leave here while your heart still beats.”
“够了！”提涅芙喊道，她和阿蕾尔一起迎向蒂法莲芝。亚撒见状吭出一声，挣扎着想要摆脱俄拉斯的手。
“Enough!” cried Teneff, and she and Arrel advanced on Tifalenji. Asa whimpered at the sight, struggling to be free of Erath’s grip.
符文工匠将两把剑刃交叉，然后用力一挥，一道能量的风暴将两名女猎手击飞到空中。阿蕾尔的猎犬吠叫起来，冲过来保护主人。蒂法莲芝念出一句咒语，三条猎犬飘浮到了空中，被封进了符文能量构成的荚囊里。俄拉斯看着这一幕渐渐展开，他的心跳到了嗓子眼，手中的弯刀开始变得难以握紧。
The runesmith crossed her blades and swung them out, punching the huntresses from their feet in a storm of energy. Arrel’s hounds bayed, charging to their master’s defense. Tifalenji uttered a verse and the three were suspended in mid-air, sealed inside capsules of runic energy. Erath watched the scene play out, his heart climbing into his throat, the grip of his falchion growing slick in his hand.
“你们以为能阻止的了吗？”蒂法莲芝咆哮道，“谁都无法阻止！我将把你们全都杀光，然后今晚安然入睡，因为我是正义的，而你们都——”
“You think you can stop this now?” Tifalenji roared. “Nothing will stop it! I will kill every single one of you and sleep peacefully tonight, for I am righteous, and you all are—”
蒂法莲芝喘不上气，一把刀尖从她的胸膛穿出。符文工匠在短暂的瞬间里摇曳了一下，就像是失去了重量，随后她开始倒下。两把符文剑从无力的手指中落下，染血的弯刀支撑了她一秒钟，然后被抽出，握着弯刀的是一直在她身后的俄拉斯。
The air was driven from Tifalenji’s lungs as the tip of a blade emerged from her chest. For an instant the runesmith sagged, as though weightless, before she began to fall. The twin runeblades tumbled from lifeless fingers, and the bloodied falchion held her up for a second before it was pulled free, revealing Erath holding it behind her.
亚龙猎犬纷纷落到地下，头晕目眩但并未受伤。阿蕾尔和提涅芙从地上爬起来，惊讶地看着俄拉斯，就像第一次认识这个人。
The drakehounds dropped to the ground, dazed but unharmed. Arrel and Teneff hauled themselves to their feet, staring at Erath in surprise, as though looking at him for the first time.
“不要再背叛，”俄拉斯轻声说道，“不要再隐瞒。我们一起经历了这么多，质疑了一切，扭曲了一切，唯一不变的是荣誉。是诺克萨斯赋予我们的使命。”
“No more betrayal,” whispered Erath. “No more secrets. After everything we’ve been through, everything questioned and twisted, all that is constant is honor. Our duty to Noxus.”
提涅芙走上前去。锐雯看到她弯下腰，捡起了两把符文剑。锐雯的剑再次支离破碎，大大小小的碎片散落在地上。阿蕾尔收起了碎刃，两名女猎手站到锐雯面前。
Teneff stepped forward. Riven watched her stoop down, and retrieve both runeblades. Riven’s had fallen apart once more, the pieces scattered over the ground. Arrel collected them, before the two huntresses stood over Riven.
“他说得对，”提涅芙说，她看锐雯的眼神中没有复仇、没有憎恨，只有冷酷的坚决。“荣誉是我们仅存的一切。我曾向诺克萨斯发誓，要让你接受审判，姐妹。我要将这誓言履行到底。”
“He’s right,” said Teneff. She eyed Riven not with vengeance or hate, but grim resolve. “Honor is all that we have. I gave my oath to Noxus that you would see justice, sister. I will see that carried out.”
“请放过我们吧，”亚撒声音沙哑，老泪纵横，“你们没必要带她回去。”
“Just leave us be,” Asa croaked, tears streaming down his face. “You do not have to take her.”
俄拉斯看了看两位女猎手，又看看锐雯。今天还需要流更多鲜血吗？
Erath looked to the huntresses, to Riven. Would there be further bloodshed before this was done?
“我跟你走。”
“I will go.”
“黛达，别……”亚撒恳求道，听到锐雯说出这样的话令他震惊。
“Dyeda, no…” Asa pleaded, shocked to hear those words coming from Riven’s mouth.
锐雯颤抖着长吁一口气，“到此为止了，因呗——由我带来的痛苦到此为止。我们自己做事自己当，自己的选择由心而生。”她看着他说，“这是我的选择。”
Riven released a shuddering breath. “No more, fair—no more will suffer here because of me. Our responsibility rests upon our own actions, the choices made by our hearts.” She looked at him. “This is my choice.”
亚撒张开嘴，然后又合上。他喘了口气，颤抖着站起身。“无论你走到哪里，无论你做什么，你永远都是我的黛达。永远。”
Asa’s mouth opened, then closed. He breathed, shakily, and stood tall. “Wherever you go, whatever you do, you will always be my dyeda. Always.”
“你永远都会在这里，因呗。”锐雯一只手捂住心口窝。她抬头看向提涅芙，“请还他清静，我会跟你走的。”
“You will always be here, fair.” Riven’s hand fell to her heart. She looked up at Teneff. “Leave him in peace, and I will go with you.”
提涅芙停了片刻，然后微微低头，“我对你发誓。”她朝俄拉斯点点头，剑僮立刻放开了亚撒。
Teneff was still for a moment, before dipping her head a fraction. “I swear it.” She nodded to Erath, and the blade squire immediately released Asa.
这位艾欧尼亚老者颤抖地站着，锐雯的一个眼神让他垂头丧气，蹒跚地走向农舍。亚撒靠在门口蹲下，轻声啜泣着看着提涅芙给锐雯戴上镣铐。
The Ionian stood shakily, a look from Riven leaving him to hang his head as he stumbled toward the farmhouse. Asa slid down against the doorway, racked with sobs as he watched Teneff put Riven in chains.
俄拉斯突然回想起那两头异兽。他转过身，安心地看到塔尔兹依然还拴在原地，悠然自在地吃草，不在乎世界怎么样。
Erath’s mind suddenly went to the beasts. He whirled around, relieved to see Talz still hitched in place, eating grass without a care in the world.
但亨丽埃塔小姐自己钻出了缰绳。
But Lady Henrietta had slipped her reins.
俄拉斯满心惶恐，直到他看到她并没走远。她在那棵树下找到了这头爬虫坐骑，她正用鼻尖轻推马莉特，想要唤醒她。俄拉斯动作缓慢、小心翼翼地缩短与她们的距离。
Panic surged in Erath’s chest, until he saw she hadn’t gone far. He found the reptilian steed in the shade of the tree, trying to awaken Marit with gentle nudges from her snout. Slowly, carefully, he closed the distance to them.
亨丽埃塔朝俄拉斯发出威胁的嘶吼，露出尖牙，挡在马莉特的尸体前，而俄拉斯则伸出一只手。
Henrietta hissed at Erath, baring her fangs and putting herself between him and Marit’s body as he reached out.
“我知道。”俄拉斯轻轻说着，用手拂过亨丽埃塔的脖子，“我知道。”
“I know,” Erath whispered, gently running a hand down Henrietta’s neck. “I know.”
亨丽埃塔又发出嘶吼，但这次轻了一些。俄拉斯抓过她的缰绳，这头异兽并没有反抗和拉扯。
Henrietta hissed again, softer this time. Erath reached for her reins, and the beast did not pull away.
最后是阿蕾尔问出了所有人脑海中的那个问题。“这一切要如何结束？符文工匠死了，她的军令对我们来说已经无效了。”
Arrel finally gave voice to the question in all their heads. “How will this end? The runesmith is dead, her mandate does nothing for us now.”
“她死在了这场远征探险的路上。”提涅芙盯着蒂法莲芝的尸体说，“死在了为帝国效力的行动中。以她的名义，我们继续走了下来，完成了她的使命，将逃犯带回来接受审判。”
“She died on the route of her expedition.” Teneff stared at Tifalenji’s body. “In service to the empire. In her name we continued on, and succeeded in her task, bringing a fugitive to justice.”
“这就是你用来交差的故事？”阿蕾尔问。
“That is what you will tell them?” asked Arrel.
提涅芙不为所动，“这就是事实。”
Teneff was unmoving. “That is the truth.”
“好吧，”阿蕾尔说，“看样子你和剑僮就绰绰有余了。”
“Well, then,” said Arrel. “You and the blade squire seem to have everything in order.”
俄拉斯看着那名追猎手，意识到了什么，“你不打算和我们一起走。”
Erath looked at the tracker, realization dawning. “You aren’t coming with us.”
“这件事很重要，”阿蕾尔摇摇头，将锐雯断剑的碎片交给提涅芙，“但这件事已经完成了，而我独自一人能更好地为诺克萨斯效力。”
“This was important.” Arrel shook her head, handing Teneff the shards of Riven’s blade. “But it is done, and I serve Noxus better on my own.”
提涅芙缓缓伸出一只手，“下次再见，姐妹。”
Teneff slowly extended a hand. “Until we meet again, sister.”
阿蕾尔看着她的手停了片刻，然后握了上去，彼此握住手腕。“下次见。”她摆了个手势，几条猎犬跳到她身边，开始沿着那条土路离开这座农场。
Arrel looked at it for a moment, before grasping it, wrist to wrist. “Until then.” She gestured and her hounds padded to her side, as they began to walk the dirt road away from the farm.
“那，就剩咱俩了。”俄拉斯望着阿蕾尔渐渐消失的背影说。
“Just the two of us, then,” said Erath, watching Arrel disappear.
“你也不用跟来。”提涅芙说。
“You aren’t coming either,” said Teneff.
俄拉斯望着她，望着锐雯，不知所措。
Erath stared at her, at Riven, confused.
“现在这个职责只属于我自己了，”她说，“我的追寻已经结束——但你还没有。”她向亨丽埃塔小姐努努嘴，“去吧。去找到你的背叛者。”
“This duty is mine alone now,” she said. “My search is over—but not yours.” She nodded to Lady Henrietta. “Now go. Find your betrayer.”
起初，俄拉斯哑口无言。看过锐雯的力量以后，他不想让提涅芙自己看管锐雯，但他心里知道这是正确的做法。而且她说的没错，他在这片土地上还有未竟之事。
At first, Erath said nothing. After witnessing Riven’s power he didn’t want to leave Teneff alone with her, but he knew in his heart that it was the right choice. And she was right, there was something left that he had to do here.
俄拉斯立正站好，骄傲地一拳打在自己胸前，“为了诺克萨斯。”
Erath straightened, hammering a fist proudly against his chest. “For Noxus.”
提涅芙回了军礼，“为了诺克萨斯。”
Teneff returned the salute. “For Noxus.”
俄拉斯帮提涅芙用马莉特的家族旗帜为她裹尸，再把她装到塔尔兹背上，最后拿上他所需的物资。“长大个，养肥膘，塔尔兹，”他拍了拍塔尔兹的侧脸，“一路照顾好提姐。”
Erath helped Teneff drape Marit’s body in her family’s standard, and load it onto Talz before retrieving his own things. “Grow big and strong, Talz,” he patted Talz’s flank. “Keep Ten out of trouble.”
龙蜥开心地摇头晃脑，差点把俄拉斯撞倒。他微笑着，感到眼里进了沙子。他转过头，用拇指抹掉一滴泪，然后转向亨丽埃塔小姐。
The basilisk swung his head playfully, nearly knocking Erath off his feet. He smiled, feeling his eyes sting. He turned away, wiping away a tear with his thumb, and turned to Lady Henrietta.
他一点点挪到她身边，回忆着被亨丽埃塔小姐杀死的每个人、每一声爬虫的啼叫、每一次猎物临死的悲鸣、每一次他为她清理珠宝首饰。他轻轻哼唱着，渐渐靠近，伸出手，温柔滴抚摸她的外皮。她抽动了一下，但并没有躲。俄拉斯见状，尝试抓她的缰绳，片刻过后，俄拉斯跨上了亨丽埃塔小姐背后的鞍座。
Inching toward her, Erath pictured every person he had witnessed Lady Henrietta kill. Every shriek of reptilian fury, every strangled cry ripped from the throats of her prey. Every time he had cleaned the gore from her jewelry. Softly humming he approached, reached out, and gently ran a hand over her scaly hide. She twitched, but did not recoil from him. Encouraged, he tested her reins, and after a moment Erath climbed into the saddle on Lady Henrietta’s back.
她接受了他。
She accepted him.Riven and Teneff watched Erath ride away down the road. Riven’s manacles clinked, and she realized this was the second time she had been dragged from the farm in chains. She remembered how she had felt then—the fear and the panic, allowing it to wash over her and ebb away. It would not be the same as it was before. This time was different, but so was she.
Teneff turned to Riven. “You are my captive, but you are also my sister. I will treat you with respect due. Are you ready?”
锐雯和提涅芙看着俄拉斯骑行离开，消失在路的尽头。锐雯的镣铐哗啦啦地响，她意识到这已经是她第二次被铁链拴着离开这座农场了。她还记得上一次的感觉——恐惧、惊慌，她让这感觉涌上来再褪下去。这次和上次不一样了。这次来的人不同，这次的她也不同。
Riven exhaled, sparing one last look at Asa and the home she would never see again, and gave a nod. “Yes.”
提涅芙面向瑞文，“你是我的囚犯，但你也是我的姐妹，我会给你应有的尊重。你准备好了吗？”
“Good.” Teneff helped Riven onto Talz’s back, looking out at the long road ahead of them. “To Noxus.”Erath rode through the night. After the hardships of the journey to find Riven on foot, the speed of covering ground with Lady Henrietta was exhilarating. Were his purpose different, he would have allowed the joy of riding to overwhelm him. But his heart was heavy, like a stone sitting in his chest, as the distance to his destination whittled away to nothing.
锐雯长舒一口气，最后看了一样亚撒和她再也无法回到的这个家，点了点头，“好了。”
The natural stockade did not open for him. Erath drew his falchion, clashing it against his armor.
“好的。”提涅芙扶着锐雯骑到塔尔兹的背上，望向前方漫长的路。“向诺克萨斯出发。”
“I am Jobin’s son!” Erath bellowed. “Let him show himself, or stand aside so that I might face him.”
After a few moments’ silence, the barrier peeled apart wide enough to admit him. He trotted into the village, feeling the frightened eyes of Ionians and wayward Noxians upon him.
俄拉斯彻夜骑行。为了寻找锐雯，他徒步蹚过了重重险阻，而乘着亨丽埃塔小姐飞驰的感觉令他大喜过望。如果此行的目标是别处，他一定会彻底沉浸于骑行的乐趣。但他的心情沉重，就像胸口压着一块石头，距离目的地越来越近，眨眼间就到了。
“Jobin!” Erath called. “Father, face me!”
那道自然形成的壁障并没有为他敞开。俄拉斯抽出弯刀，用侧面敲打自己的铠甲。
“Peace!” An elder emerged from the crowd. Erath recognized him as the old man who had watched over the site of the chemical attack. “Be at peace, my child. I will take you to him.”
“我是乔宾之子！”俄拉斯喊道，“让他出来，或者给我让路，让我进去找他。”
Exhaling, Erath sheathed his falchion, and dismounted Lady Henrietta. The elder led Erath to Jobin’s hut, and the two entered. Ionians gathered a distance from Henrietta, singing calming melodies. Henrietta spat at them.
经过一阵寂静的等待，屏障向两侧拉开，让出一条足够他骑行进入的道路。他骑行步入村落，感受到艾欧尼亚人惧怕的目光和诺克萨斯人的不屑。
The hut was dark. The Ionian lit a few candles, granting enough illumination for Erath to see the shape at the center of the room, draped in a shroud.
“乔宾！”俄拉斯大喊，“父亲，出来！”
“Your father,” said the elder.
“稍安勿躁！”一位老者从人群中出现。俄拉斯认出了他，他就是在炼金武器战场旁边的守路人，“稍安勿躁，我的孩子。我带你去见他。”
Erath drew a breath. He knelt, trying to keep his hands from shaking as he drew back the shroud, revealing the pale, cold face of his father. It was scarred, bruised, and discolored.
俄拉斯呼出一口气，收刀入鞘，从亨丽埃塔小姐身上下来。那位老者领着俄拉斯来到乔宾的小屋，然后二人走了进去。艾欧尼亚村民们围在亨丽埃塔身边，保持一段距离，吟唱着安抚的旋律。亨丽埃塔朝他们吐口水。
“Why did you return?” asked the Ionian.
小屋内一片漆黑，艾欧尼亚人点了几盏蜡烛，光亮足够让俄拉斯看清屋子中央被布盖着的人。
“I came,” Erath’s voice shook, “to hear why he betrayed me and my companions to the Brotherhood.”
“你的父亲。”那位老者说。
“Betray?” Sadness flooded the elder’s features. “My child, he did not.”
俄拉斯抽了一口凉气。他跪倒在地，想要努力控制住颤抖的双手，掀开布单，露出来的是他父亲苍白、冰冷的脸庞。他的脸上添了伤口、淤青，已经没了血色。
Erath’s eyes fell over the wounds, taking in every bruise, tracing every laceration.
“你为什么回来？”艾欧尼亚老者问他。
“The Brotherhood came not long after you departed,” said the Ionian. “They demanded we reveal your path. He defied them, and for his defiance he endured torture. They took his life.”
“我回来，”俄拉斯的声音颤抖，“是为了让他告诉我，为什么把我和我的同伴们出卖给兄弟会。”
Erath barely heard the words. His breath caught in his throat. Emotions collided over him. His journey. Denied from fighting for his tribe, enduring the hardships to find his place in another. Discovering their own broken family. Seeing it torn apart and pieced back together.
“出卖？”老者的脸上泛起悲伤，“我的孩子，他没有出卖你。”
He touched his father’s face. A tear fell, striking Jobin’s cheek. The weight in Erath’s chest vanished, the stone melting away beneath warmth.
俄拉斯的目光落在那些伤口上，仔细看清每一处淤斑和裂口。
“You could stay,” the elder ventured. “We would welcome Jobin’s son here. Wait for the blossom festival to come once more.”
“你们离开没多久，兄弟会的人就来了，”艾欧尼亚老人说，“他们要求我们说出你们的去向。他拒绝了他们，而因为他的抵抗，他遭受了折磨。他们夺走了他的性命。”
“No,” Erath shook his head. “His spirit is at peace with me.”
俄拉斯几乎没听他说了什么。他感到咽喉哽咽，不同的情绪在碰撞。他这趟旅程，先是不让他为自己的部族而战，又历尽艰辛在陌生人之中找到自己的位置，与她们一起发现她们破碎的亲情，看她们被撕裂，又重新弥合。
The Ionian stepped back, dipping his head in understanding.
他用手触碰父亲的脸。一滴泪水落下，打在乔宾的脸颊上。俄拉斯胸口的重压消失了，那块巨石被一股暖流化开。
“Help me wrap him,” said Erath, taking hold of the shawl. “He’s coming with me.”
“你可以留下，”老人试探地说，“我们这里欢迎乔宾的儿子。你可以等待下一次绽灵节的来临。”
“Where will you take him?” asked the elder.
“不，”俄拉斯摇了摇头，“他的灵魂已对我无牵无挂。”
Erath looked at the Ionian, and smiled. “Home.”
艾欧尼亚老人后退一步，若有所悟地低下头。
“请帮我把他裹起来，”俄拉斯抓起布单，“我带他走。”
“你要带他去哪？”老人问道。
俄拉斯看了看这位艾欧尼亚人，笑着说，“回家。”
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