天声震落 Stormbringer

作者：Anthony Reynolds 与Rayla Heide

“瓦尔哈尔！”

“Valhir!”

那位巨熊模样的神灵在睡梦中抽动了一下，但双眼依然紧闭。

The god-bear twitched in his sleep, but his eyes didn’t open.

那是一个古老的名字，已经很没有被人叫起……有多久了？他听到的一定是梦境，或者遥远的回忆。他发出一声鼻鼾，把头埋进雪里更深处，继续他经年的沉睡。

It was an old name, and had not been spoken aloud for… how long? What he heard must have been a dream, or an echo of the past. With a snort, he burrowed his head deeper into the thick snow and continued his slumber of ages.

“瓦尔哈尔，以你的名字，还有这鲜血，我呼唤你！”

“Valhir, with your name, and with this blood, I call upon you!”

半神的双眼猛然睁开。

The demi-god’s eyes flicked open.

那个声音有半片土地那么远，但却非常清楚，似乎就在他耳边。

The voice was half a land away, but sounded as clear as if spoken directly into his ear.

巨熊低吼一声，翻身爬了起来。他巨大的身躯上滑坡雪崩，让大地颤抖。他抖动毛皮，转动沉重的头，眼光扫过地平线，鼻孔喷出热气。

With a low growl, the great bear rose, pushing himself to his feet. An avalanche of snow fell from his titanic form, making the earth rumble. He shook out his fur and turned his heavy head from horizon to horizon, nostrils flaring.

他可以在空气中尝到鲜血贡物的味道，一阵颤抖传遍全身。在某个地方，石块被摆成了象征着他的符文。一个祭品以他的名义被献祭。他感受到祭拜的力量灌注到他的肢体中。

He could taste the blood tribute on the air, and a thrill ran through him. Somewhere, stones had been arranged to form his rune. A sacrifice had been made in his name. He felt the power of worship infusing his limbs.

“瓦尔哈尔！我们呼唤你的怒火！赐予我们力量！每个死亡都是贡品！”

“Valhir! We call on your fury! Give us your strength! Every death is an offering!”

想到可能到来的战斗、杀戮和崇拜，瓦尔哈尔的心开始剧烈跳动，遥远土地上的战鼓带动着他的心跳。他可以听到脚步声、刀剑交锋声，还有垂死的哭喊。

With the promise of battle, slaughter, and worship, Valhir’s heart pounded in time to the war drums he could feel echoing across the land. He could hear the stamping of feet, the clash of blades, the cries of the dying.

它在召唤他降世的皮囊。它在召唤他。

It called to the body he wore. It called to him.

沃利贝尔双足站立，对着天空发出咆哮。声音回荡在冰冷的苔原上，震颤着弗雷尔卓德的每个生灵。

The Volibear reared onto his hind legs and roared to the heavens. The sound reverberated across the icy tundra, touching the soul of every living creature in the Freljord.

几百里以外，在太阳从不升起的地方，一个兽灵行者尖叫着醒来，抓挠着自己的脸。他的手扭曲变形，成为巨大的利爪。

Hundreds of miles away, where the sun never rose, a spirit walker woke screaming, clawing at his face with hands twisted into immense talons.

另一个方向，越过大片浮冰，一群霜齿狼仰天长嗥，呼应着半神的呼号。

Across the ice floes in a different direction, packs of rimefang wolves threw back their heads and howled, echoing the demi-god’s cry.

在另一个很远很远的地方，某个部族的人们围坐在火边，突然沉默，他们的心开始狂跳。

And elsewhere, far, far away, a group of tribesmen sitting around fires fell silent, hearts suddenly thundering. Friends eyed friends with hostile expressions. Blood would be spilled.

沃利贝尔四足着地向前猛冲。巨大的爪子撕开冻结的土壤，盖着冰雪的巨石和树木被他撞碎。随着他不断加速，强风哭号着拂过他的厚毛。

The Volibear dropped to all fours and surged forward, massive claws ripping up the frozen earth. Snow-covered boulders and trees were smashed out of his path, and the wind whistled through his thick fur as he picked up speed.

他停下脚步，捕捉气味，他还有几百里的距离。已经很近了。他的战争狂怒形成风暴乌云，正压在头顶愈发黑暗。

When next he paused, sniffing the air, he was hundreds of miles away. He was getting close. The storm clouds of his war-rage darkened the sky overhead.

“瓦尔哈尔！我们以你的名义杀，以你的名义死！”

“Valhir! We kill and die in your name!”

随着一次石碎地裂的撞击，熊神降临。

With an earth-shattering impact, the god-bear arrived.

在一座冰凌的小丘上，闪电在他乳白色的毛皮周围跳跃，他的凝视扫过战场。

High upon an icy rise, lightning flickering across his ivory fur, he gazed across the battlefield.

两支军队在下方的平原上交战，鲜血浸透了大地。死伤者七零八落，其中一方寡不敌众。他们正在进行一场必输的战斗。

Two armies were engaged upon the blood-soaked plain below. The dead and dying were strewn across the snow. One of the forces was vastly outnumbered. They were fighting a losing battle.

巨熊吭了一声。较大的那支军队的气味不对。那些人类穿着黑铁铠甲，举着一面红色的旗帜。他发出怒吼，因为他认出他们并非来自弗雷尔卓德，而是来自一片不受冰雪统治的土地。他露出牙齿，闪电迸发。一声惊雷落在战场中间。交战双方焦黑的遗骸崩向四面八方。

The giant bear snorted. Something smelled wrong about the larger of the armies. Its humans were clad in black iron, and fought beneath a red banner. He growled as he realized they were not of the Freljord, but weaklings from a land where the snow no longer held sway. He bared his teeth, and lightning flashed. It struck in the midst of the battle with a deafening crash, sending charred corpses from both sides flying.

“瓦尔哈尔！瓦尔哈尔！”

“Valhir! Valhir!”

沃利贝尔将愤怒的目光投向那个喊着他名字的人。一个人类女性，穿着毛皮，正看着他。她的脸上沾满血污，将一对染血的战斧高举到空中致敬，脸上是野蛮的笑容。

The Volibear focused his fury-reddened gaze on the one who shouted his name. A mortal woman, clad in fur, stared up at him, her face splattered with gore. She raised a pair of bloodied axes to the sky in salute, a savage grin on her face.

许多人都停止了打斗，带着敬畏与惊恐看着这位半神，但沃利贝尔的注意力定在这个女人身上。

Many of the other combatants had ceased fighting, staring at the demi-god in awe and horror, but the Volibear’s attention was fixed on the woman.

就是她的心，召唤了风暴。

This was the one whose heart had called the storm.

“瓦尔哈尔！”她喊叫着，再次将双斧举到空中。“我们用这些性命，向你致祭！”

“Valhir!” she screamed, thrusting her bloodied axes into the air once more. “With these deaths, we honor you!”

她最后敬了一次礼，然后带着重新焕发的活力投入敌阵。

With a last deferent salute, the woman turned back to the fight, hurling herself into her enemy with renewed vigor.

沃利贝尔的凝视转向这个女人的对手——那群外来者。敌人。他怒吼一声，开始狂奔。

The Volibear turned his gaze upon those the woman fought—the outsiders. The enemy. With a snarl, he charged.

“Vol kau fera！”他的咆哮让天空也跟着颤抖。

“Vol kau fera!” he roared, making the heavens themselves shake.

他像攻城锤一样撞进敌阵，羸弱的士兵纷纷飞到空中。筋骨断裂。血肉飞溅。哀鸿遍野。

He smashed into the enemy like a living battering ram, sending their frail troops flying. Bones crunched. Blood splashed. Voices wailed.

顷刻间，战斗就结束了。

It was over in moments.

在熊神势不可挡的狂怒面前，敌人的士气崩溃了。第一个人开始转身逃跑。很快就变成大溃败，然后变成了单方面的屠宰。那群弗雷尔卓德人浑身灌注了沃利贝尔的野蛮狂怒，像饿狼一样扑向逃遁的敌人，在雪原上一边追猎一边嗥叫。

In the face of the unstoppable fury of the god-bear, the resolve of the enemy crumbled. The first of them turned to run. It quickly turned into a rout, then to butchery, as the Freljordians—now filled with the savage rage of the Volibear—fell upon the fleeing enemy like wolves, howling as they pursued them across the snow.

沃利贝尔满足地看着这场杀戮，巨口中鲜血淋漓。

The Volibear watched the slaughter in satisfaction, blood dripping from his maw.

那个召唤他的女人对他尊敬地双膝跪地，俯首膜拜。

The woman that had called him dropped to her knees in reverence and bowed her head.

“噢，伟大的瓦尔哈尔！”她喊道，“我是染血之手，战母芮萨。感谢您的干涉，我们的村庄得救了！”

“Oh, great Valhir!” she cried. “I am Warmother Raetha, the Bloodied Hand. By your intervention, our village is saved!”

随着沃利贝尔的战斗渴望逐渐褪去，这时他才看到附近的农舍和石头屋子，他露出凌厉的目光。他的凝视回到那个跪拜的女人身上。

It was only then, as the Volibear’s battle-lust began to abate, that he saw the nearby farmsteads and stone houses, and his eyes narrowed. He turned his gaze back upon the kneeling woman.

他笼罩在她头顶，身高至少是她四倍，而且随着怒意的回归还在越变越大。他雄伟的身躯上交错重叠着旧伤与新疤——那都是他引以为豪的荣誉印记。他巨大的爪子上还挂着血肉。撕扯和破坏的冲动不减分毫。

He loomed over her, easily four times her height, but growing ever larger as his anger returned. His almighty form was crisscrossed with old scars and new battle wounds—all marks he bore proudly. His massive claws dripped with gore. The urge to rip and rend remained strong.

他对着那名战母吼叫。“ Vol t’svaag dakk skolj。”

He snarled down at the warmother. “Vol t’svaag dakk skolj.”

她疑惑地仰视他。显然古代语言已经被彻底遗忘了。

She looked up at him in confusion. It was clear the old tongue had been all but forgotten.

“站起来，”他用她口中那种更年轻、更杂乱的语言说道，“战士从不下跪。”

“Stand,” he rumbled in the younger, bastardized language she spoke. “A warrior kneels to no one.”

他的目光沿着峡谷望向更远方。他体内更深处发出危险的低吼，充满暴力和怒意。芮萨向后撤一步，突然警觉起来。

His gaze settled on something further along the valley. A dangerous growl rose from deep within him, heavy with the promise of violence. The woman, Raetha, took a step back, suddenly wary.

“这个。是。什么？”他怒吼道，随着怒意激增，空气中激荡着闪电。

“What. Is. This?” he bellowed, the air tingling with electricity as his anger grew.

女人回过头，疑惑不安。

The woman glanced over her shoulder, confused and uneasy.

“那个……水坝？”她用疑问作答。

“The… The dam?” she asked.

沃利贝尔露出染血的长牙。这是他的河流，早在人类到来之前就一直自由地奔流。而凡人却敢阻挡它，束缚它的力量，罪大恶极。

The Volibear’s lips curled back, exposing bloodied fangs. This was his river, and it had flowed free and wild since before the coming of humanity. That mortals dared block it, to hold back its power, was an abomination.

他迈着沉重的步伐走过那个女人，每一步都积攒着怒火。等他走到那座拙劣的人造设施旁边，他体内的怒火已经成为无法控制的风暴，他周围的空气在强大的力量中发出闪电火花。战母芮萨和其他人跟在沃利贝尔身后，谨慎地保持着距离。

He stomped past the woman, his anger building with every step. By the time he reached the crude structure, his rage was a barely contained maelstrom, and the air around him crackled with power. Warmother Raetha and a collection of others shadowed him at a wary distance.

熊神踏入水坝下游的浅滩。水面勉强覆盖他的脚面，他的怒意倍增。这条河流，本该奔鸣如滚雷。

The god-bear splashed into the shallows below the dam. The water barely reached past his paws, and his anger redoubled. The river should be thundering.

随着一声咆哮，他撕开石壁，解放了河水。

With a roar, he tore down the stones and freed the waters.

现在河水奔鸣如滚雷，惊涛骇浪向前急涌。河流的力量压到他身上。

Now it thundered, bursting forth in a great churning wave. The power of the river crashed around him.

随着河水冲下平原，他听得到人类的尖叫。熊神心满意足地看着弗雷尔卓德人的房屋被冲垮，柱梁断裂、砖石垮塌。人们抱着幼儿逃窜，河水冲垮了整座村落。

There was screaming as it surged down across the floodplain. The god-bear watched in satisfaction as the first of the Freljordian’s houses was smashed aside, timbers shattering and stonework collapsing. People ran, clutching younglings, as the waters demolished the entire settlement.

当一切文明的痕迹都消失以后，沃利贝尔转身面向那群弗雷尔卓德人。他们震惊得目瞪口呆。

Once all evidence of civilization was gone, the Volibear turned to the Freljordians. They stood aghast, shocked at what he had wrought.

“今天，你们自由了！”

“Today, you are free!”

他能在空气中尝到恐惧，但他也感受到来自这些凡人的敬畏和崇拜。

He could taste fear in the air, but he also felt the awe and reverence of the onlooking mortals.

“活！”他命令道。“生来蛮荒！狩猎！杀戮！遵从古道……古道就会眷顾你们！”

“Live!” he commanded. “Live wild! Hunt! Kill! Honor the old ways… and the old ways will honor you!”

战母芮萨骄傲地站着，缓缓点头。这个人拥有真正的战士精神。在他不朽的心中，他知道大多数人都将追随她。

Warmother Raetha was now standing tall and slowly nodding. This one had the spirit of a true warrior. And in his immortal heart, he knew most of the others would follow her.

沃利贝尔对她点一下头，然后走向天边。

The Volibear gave her a nod, and turned to the horizon.

还有许多事要完成。

There was much to be done.