喧腾之路 A Walk with the Voices

作者：Michael Luo

乌迪尔听到一只猎鹰在遥远的高空中乘风鸣啼。声音嘹亮，自信，但还离得很远，不会侵入他的脑海。能够留住这么多人性，他深感宽慰。

Far above, Udyr heard the cries of an eagle riding the gale. Its voice was strong, confident, but not close enough to get in the way of his own thoughts. It was a relief to feel this human.

那些声音从未消失，但乌迪尔知道自己应该心怀感激。即使安宁只有片刻，也弥足珍贵。

The voices were never silent, but Udyr knew not to be ungrateful. Even a moment’s reprieve was rare.

我能听到自己的呼吸声……哪怕是暂时的。

I can hear myself breathe… for now, at least.

今天，他独自一人。他爬上山坡，一阵冷风如影随形，每股寒气都从他残留的回忆中带走一丝艾欧尼亚的飘渺之美。几个月前，希拉娜的僧侣们送了他一件临别的赠礼——一段谜样的箴言，意在灵力修行之路上指引他前行。

Today, he walked alone. He hiked up the mountain slopes, a chill wind following him, carrying away his lingering memory of Ionia’s ethereal beauty with every gust. The monks at Hirana had offered him a parting gift a few moons past when he left their lands—a riddle intended to guide him on his path to mastering his spiritual powers.

冬峰之下

Below winter’s peak

生灵纯元奔涌

Nature’s pure life essence flows

聚化结晶

Now transformed to glass

用他们的语言说出来会更美，但他并没花很久就悟出了其中的道理。在与盲僧旅行了数月以后，乌迪尔已经学会如何参透艾欧尼亚语背后的意义。

It read more beautifully in their tongue than his own, but it had not taken him long to solve. After spending months traveling with the blind monk, Udyr had learned to decipher the meaning behind Ionian speech.

乌迪尔抵达了险峻的冬刺山东面。他停下脚步，俯瞰着湖水。湖面银装素裹，壮美依然。岸边躺着一些骸骨和尸首，其中有野兽，也有死去的萨满和祭司，他们都是在数月、数年、数次生命以前来到这里的。

Reaching the precipitous eastern slopes of Winterspike, Udyr paused to gaze out at the lake before him, frozen in all its majesty. At the edges of the lake laid the bones and corpses of wild beasts, as well as those of dead shamans and priests who had come to this place, months, years, and lifetimes before him.

乌迪尔站在原地一动不动，他袒胸赤膊，双目闭合，抵挡着清晨的凛冽。

Udyr stood still, his chest bare, eyes closed, bracing against the brisk morning air.

这片土地曾是我的故乡……

This land was my home…

他低头看到自己在冰面上的倒影。一张凡人的脸，风尘仆仆，衣衫褴褛。

He looked down at his reflection on the ice. It showed the face of a man, ragged and worn from his travels.

我的安宁结束了。我听到他们正在前来。

My rest ends. I hear them coming.

冰面开始蠢动。起初只是一条裂缝，然后乌迪尔看到自己的倒影裂成了支离的碎片。紧接着，大块的冰面脱落，漂离原位。乌迪尔等待着，满怀敬意。

The ice stirred. A crack at first, as Udyr saw his image splinter into disparate pieces. Soon, entire slabs broke off, drifting apart. Udyr waited, respectfully.

冰水中浮出气泡。起初很慢，遽然密集。水面腾起蒸汽，化作热浪。

The frigid water bubbled. Slowly to begin with, and then rapidly all at once. Steam rose from the surface, filling the air with heat.

乌迪尔静静深吸一口气，肩膀耸起。他已做好准备。

Udyr took in a quiet breath, his shoulders rising, to ready himself.

水雾之中跃出一只冰晶身体的巨兽。这片土地的魔法造就了它，这座湖孕育了它。它向着乌迪尔迈出一步，如雷霆震颤着大地。

Out of the mist leapt an ice-formed beast, carved by the land’s magic and birthed from the lake. The ground trembled as it took a thundering step toward Udyr.

乌迪尔抬起头，看着面前耸立的狂野兽灵，它的身高足有他的三倍。

Udyr looked up at the wild spirit towering above him, three times his height.

呢喃的低语开始响起，低沉、轻柔——就像枯叶落在积雪上。但这声音迅速增强。

The murmurs started low, soft—leaves falling on fresh snow. Yet quickly, they grew.

苦涩。不休。

Bitter. Restless.

来了。

There they are.

低吼变成怒嚎，吱啾变成叫嚷，一声高过一声。这些声音里的怒火死死咬住他的心神，击碎了他的全部思绪。起初，这些声音之间相互争抢——厄纽克、居瓦斯克和其他声音。乌迪尔曾在脑海中无数次听到过这些声音。很快，它们融合成一体，变成了他最害怕的形态。

Grunts turned into snarls, mutters into barks, one swallowing another. Their rage seized his mind, shattering his every thought. At first, the voices competed for dominance—elnüks, drüvasks, and others. Udyr had heard these voices within himself many times. Soon, they joined together, into the shape he had most feared.

饿虎。

The ravenous tiger.

“兽灵行者。上前一步。”它咆哮着说。“大声说，告诉我们你为何回来。”

“Spirit walker. Step closer,” it growled. “Raise your voice and show us why you have returned.”

乌迪尔竭力抑制住自己的喘息。他的双膝被头脑内的噪音压弯。他将双手插进土地稳住自己的身体。乌迪尔艰难地抬起头，望向前方的野兽，却不愿回答。

Udyr only just mustered the strength to stifle a gasp. His knees buckled under the weight of the noise in his head. His hands shot toward the soil to steady his body. Straining his neck, he glared up at the savage creature, not willing to answer.

看到乌迪尔不为所动，那些声音变得愈发喧嚷，其中虎啸声盖过一切。

The voices rose at the sight of Udyr’s inaction, with the tiger roaring above the rest.

“你不配称弗雷尔卓德为家园。你太软弱。”

“You do not deserve to call the Freljord home. You are weak.”

乌迪尔绷紧了身体。灵兽一头撞来，身体的冰棱割破了他的皮肤。乌迪尔横飞出去一大段距离，摔在了硬石面上。

Udyr braced himself as the spirit rammed its head into him, shards of its icy body cutting into his skin. Tumbling far across the ground, Udyr landed against hard rock.

我决不能认输。

I must not give in.

他重新稳住身子，从脸上抹掉鲜血，死命将双手握成拳头。他的指节重重打进霜冻的地里，双臂的剧痛将他淹没，手臂到肩膀一路青筋暴突。乌迪尔重新站了起来，准备挡开下一次攻击。

Regaining his balance, he wiped the blood off his face and forced his hands into fists. He punched his knuckles into the frosty ground, and the throbbing in his arms overtook him. Veins pulsated from his hands to his shoulders. Getting back to his feet, Udyr readied himself to deflect another blow.

兽灵再次咆哮。“强者会战斗。而你，你压抑了自己的声音，躲在远处！”

The spirit roared once more. “The strong fight! Instead, you stifle your voice and cower!”

兽灵径直冲来。乌迪尔试图向侧面躲开，但他的对手更迅速也更强壮。他向一旁翻滚的同时，猛虎用利爪扫过了他的腿。鲜血泼洒在霜冻的地面上。

The spirit charged headfirst. Udyr tried dodging out of the way, but his foe was quicker and stronger. As he rolled to the side, the tiger swiped his leg with its claws, spraying the spirit walker’s blood across the frosted ground.

乌迪尔痛苦地单膝跪地。他感到自己的愤怒在蓄积，但他依旧压抑着。

Udyr knelt on one knee in pain. He felt his own anger building, but still he held back.

我决不能认输。

I must not give in.

兽灵缓缓走近，发出一声凶猛的嚎叫后扑向乌迪尔。他知道自己来不及躲闪，于是将双臂交叉挡在前方，握紧双拳。魔法的能量围绕着他，阻挡了虎灵的致命一击。

The spirit loomed closer, letting out a feral cry before pouncing toward Udyr. Realizing he could not dodge in time, he crossed his arms before him and clenched his fists. Magical energy surrounded him, blocking the tiger spirit’s lethal blow.

兽灵打滑后撤。重新站稳后露出了满嘴尖牙。它冰晶的身躯散发着恶念，它脚下那些曾经的猎物的骸骨被纷纷压碎。死亡就是这里的一切。

The spirit slid backward. After regaining its footing, it grinned through its fangs. Its icy body crackled with vicious energy, splintering the bones of its past victims beneath its feet. Death was all this place knew.

乌迪尔现在已经双膝跪地，低垂着头，每一下心跳都向全身泵着剧痛，而兽灵正在他身边踱步。他能透过大地的震颤感受到它的每一步。

Udyr knelt on both knees now, his head down, his body pounding with pain while the spirit paced around him. He felt the ground shake with its every step.

不应该是这样。

This is not the way.

他咬紧牙关，犬齿的尖端将嘴唇咬出了血，此刻他再次感受到了地面的震颤。

He gritted his teeth, their points drawing blood from his lips as he felt the ground tremble once more.

那个声音轰鸣着说。“弱者……就是猎物！”

The voices boomed. “The weak… are prey!”

乌迪尔抬起头，看到兽灵正向自己冲过来，眼神渴望着鲜血——他甚至能从那双瞪圆的瞳孔中看到自己的倒影，而在他自己的眼中，也同样透着对暴力的渴望。

Udyr looked up, seeing the spirit charge toward him, its eyes lusting for blood—so wide he could see himself staring back, with the same lust for violence.

我必须拥抱真正的自己。

I must embrace who I am.

金色的烈焰像野火一般从乌迪尔的体表喷薄而出。他身体里奔流着的愤怒在对抗虎灵的怒火。

Golden flames erupted from Udyr’s skin like wildfire, the anger coursing through his body matching the fury of the tiger spirit before him.

“终于，猎物决定要搏斗了。”

“Finally, the prey has decided to fight!”

乌迪尔大吼一声，径直冲向虎灵。他跳上了兽灵的腿，在它崎岖的冰躯上攀爬，用流着血的双手摸索着每一处可以抓住的凸起，拽着自己的身躯不断向上。兽灵剧烈摇摆，尖锐的冰晶划破了行者的皮肤。乌迪尔厉声大吼，沉浸在自己的力量之中。他的怒火终于找到了对手，双方沉醉于凶残暴行的狂欢。

Udyr roared as he rushed straight at the tiger spirit. Vaulting onto the beast’s leg, he climbed its craggy surface, smashing his bleeding hands into whatever piece of ice he could to pull himself upward. The creature shook, the sharp edges of its body piercing the spirit walker’s skin. Udyr screamed, relishing in his might. At last, his wrath matched the fire in his foe, as the two reveled in their savage violence.

乌迪尔挤出一股蛮力，登上了兽灵的后背。一条条鲜血形成的小径沿着他身侧滴落。兽灵的能量在他体内激荡，这股强大的力量足以掩盖一切疼痛。野兽的声音在他脑海中放肆地吵闹——那些被虎灵吃掉的哀怨哭嚎，还有他自己放纵的愤怒——融合成了一个声音。

With a brutal lunge, he reached the spirit’s back, trails of his blood dripping down its sides. Spirit energy surged through him, a force strong enough to drown out any pain. The voices of wild beasts clamored unchecked in his mind—the bitter cries of those consumed by the tiger, and his own unbridled anger—merging as one.

“我不是猎物！”

“I am no prey!”

乌迪尔挥起双拳，化作爆裂的疾风骤雨砸下，在兽灵身上刻下一张裂痕的网。他狂乱地抓挠、捶打，一点点撕扯着对手。突然，他仰天长啸，啸声中满溢着极致的怒火，一副尖牙深深咬住了兽灵的脖子。

Udyr brought his fists down in a flurry of explosive blows, creating a web of cracks running down the creature’s body. He clawed and slashed with abandon, tearing away at his foe. Howling in pure rage, he threw back his head and sank his fangs deep into the spirit’s neck.

他原以为兽灵会翻倒，身体崩塌，大块的冰晶消散成尘埃。

He expected the spirit to tumble over, its body to break apart, giant lumps of ice disappearing to dust.

但兽灵已经消失了，它的声音也是。它们尖叫过吗？嚎哭过吗？

But it was already gone, along with its voices. Had they shrieked? Had they cried?

遥远的高空，他听见那只猎鹰的召唤。

High above, he heard the eagle call.

专注。冷静。

Focus. Calm.

乌迪尔踉跄着倒在硬实的地面上。他喘着粗气，顺势在湖边躺下，看着敌人最后的痕迹渐渐消失。突然，他又听到一阵轰鸣声，便蹒跚着站起来。这座湖似乎是在庆祝他的胜利，开始解冻。一块接着一块，湖面的冰层开始融化，水面也开始上升，涌上这片冰冷、贫瘠的土地。

Udyr fell and staggered onto solid ground. Breathing heavily, he lay next to the lake, and watched the last of his enemy vanish. Suddenly, he heard another rumbling and stumbled to his feet. The lake, as if celebrating his victory, began to thaw. Piece by piece, the remaining ice melted, raising the water level to wash over the cold, hard land.

乌迪尔想起了在希拉娜重复过无数次的仪式。他一瘸一拐地向前走去，捧起双手，舀起一把冷水浇过头顶、肩膀和后背，洗净自己的伤口。然后，他轻轻饮下一口。

Remembering the ritual he had repeated countless times at Hirana, Udyr limped forth. Cupping his hands, he splashed cool water across his head, shoulders, and back, rinsing his wounds clean. Then, gently, he took a drink.

他盯着自己的倒影，是一个凡人。受了伤，经受了考验，活了下来。

He stared at his reflection, seeing a man looking back. Wounded, tested, alive.

我就是我。

I am who I am.

乌迪尔只听得到流水的声音——然而，他并没有微笑。

Udyr heard only the sound of flowing water—and yet, he did not smile.

但这场战斗还远没有结束。

But this fight is far from over.