诺提勒斯 Nautilus

深海泰坦 the Titan of the Depths

台词

“被无边的黑暗吞噬时，除了向前，别无他法。”

''When consumed by utter darkness, there is nothing left but forward.''

传记

早在比尔吉沃特立起第一座码头的时候，就有一个孤独的传说。身着铁甲的巨人诺提勒斯在蓝焰岛附近的黑暗水域中徘徊。他心里记恨着一桩不可原谅的背叛，毫无预警地出手。他甩动巨大的船锚，拯救落难的可怜虫，或是将贪婪的人拖进末日。据说，没有缴“比尔吉沃特什一税”的人就是他的目标。他会带着他们和自己一起沉入波涛——相当于一个铁板钉钉的提醒，没人能逃脱深海的制裁。

A lonely legend as old as the first piers sunk in Bilgewater, the armored goliath known as Nautilus roams the dark waters off the coast of the Blue Flame Isles. Driven by a forgotten betrayal, he strikes without warning, swinging his enormous anchor to save the wretched, and drag the greedy to their doom. It is said he comes for those who forget to pay the “Bilgewater tithe”, pulling them down beneath the waves with him—an iron-clad reminder that none can escape the depths.

想要搞明白诺提勒斯的传说，就必须首先了解这个人——哪怕是在最夸张的酒馆奇谈中，他也确实是一个人类。

To understand the legend of Nautilus, one must first know the man—for even the tallest of tavern tales agree, he was indeed a man.

虽然潮水已经早已带走了他的本名，但很多人都记得诺提勒斯从前不单单是个水手，还是一个打捞人。在蓝焰岛最南边的海域有一片船墓，据说这支船队是为了寻找一座福光庇佑的岛屿，用财富换取永生的秘密，却最终沉没于此。晴朗的天气里，人们能够从水面上看到船墓里闪烁的光亮。很多船队都在找人打捞这些遗失的宝藏，但没有谁的潜水技术能够与肌肉健硕的诺提勒斯相提并论。

Though the waves have washed away the name he was born with, most remember Nautilus as no mere sailor, but as a salvage diver. Just beyond the southernmost reach of the Blue Flame Isles lies a graveyard of ships, rumored lost while searching for a blessed land, looking to trade wealth for immortality. On a fair day, their glittering holds beckon from beneath the surface. Many crews sought divers to collect the lost fortune, and none could match the skill of the quick-sinking hulk of solid muscle that was Nautilus.

诺提勒斯吸一口气就足够让一艘大帆船失去风力，所以他更喜欢自由潜水。虽然他总能从水底给船员们带回可观的金子和珠宝，但他却并不要求什么特别的奖赏——只是要求船长在每次出航前一定要将一枚硬币扔进海里，算是给广阔的大海献上的贡品。这当然是水手的迷信，但许多远航的船队都会如此进贡，求的就是平安的归航。

With lungs that could steal the air from a galleon’s sails, Nautilus preferred to freedive. Always bringing up plenty of gold or jewels for the crew, the man demanded no special wages—he asked only that the captain toss a coin overboard as they set out, honoring and appeasing the vast ocean. A sailor’s superstition to be sure, but many a sea-fearing crew made such offerings to ensure a safe return.

经过数年的打捞，这笔来得轻巧的财富逐渐见底，每次下水的收成越来越少。直到有一天，大家发现整个船队已经连人带船都被转手给了下家。

Years of salvage depleted the easy treasure, each haul becoming less and less, until one day Nautilus’s crew learned that their ship and working papers had been bought out from under them.

新来的船长登船那天，黎明猩红如血。他出身自某个外地的港口，带来了一件硕大的用黄铜和精铁铸成的潜水装。他盯上了诺提勒斯——实际上，他买这条船也就是为了诺提勒斯。这个船长显然是看中了一处特别的沉船，即使是在晴天时也笼罩在一片黑暗里。潜水装可以比任何人类更加长时间地承受海床的压力，足够捞干净那片诡异的阴翳。

The dawn was scarlet the morning the new captain came aboard. Hailing from a foreign port, he brought with him a giant suit of brass and iron. He zeroed in on Nautilus; indeed, he had purchased the command because of Nautilus. It was clear the captain was obsessed with a specific wreck, one shrouded in darkness even on a fair day. The diving armor could withstand the pressures of the ocean floor far longer than any man, long enough to collect what was hidden in the abnormal murk.

船员们都觉得有活儿干总比挨饿强，所以诺提勒斯就被塞进了潜水装里，压得木头甲板都发出了呻吟。这时他意识到，船员们并没有钱缴纳什一税。恐慌扼住了他的喉头。外来的船长大笑着，看着诺提勒斯被放进水里。他跟船员们保证，无论胡子女士藏着的秘密是什么，都会让他们一夜暴富。那点儿愚蠢的税贡等到诺提勒斯上来以后再缴就是了。

The crew agreed working was better than starving, and Nautilus found himself being bolted into the suit, the wooden deck groaning under the load. Panic rose in his throat when he realized that they had nothing to pay the tithe. The foreign captain laughed as Nautilus was lowered into the water. He assured the crew that whatever the Bearded Lady was protecting would make them all rich beyond their wildest dreams. When Nautilus returned to the surface, they would make their silly sacrifice.

诺提勒斯沉进海里，上方的光渐渐暗淡，一切寂静，只剩下他的呼吸声回荡在铁制的潜水装里。然后，有什么东西从深处探了出来，拉着他往下拖。诺提勒斯头一次感觉到恐惧像溶液一样浆住了心脏。这下面不是什么船长渴望的宝藏，而是某种沉睡中的可怕力量。

As Nautilus sank, the light above dimmed, and all grew quiet, the man’s own breath the only sound echoing in the iron suit. Then something reached out from the depths. He was being pulled down, and for the first time Nautilus felt liquid fear wrap itself around his heart. It was not treasure his captain sought, but some slumbering, eldritch power.

诺提勒斯抓住船锚的铁链——这是他和人间的唯一联系，拼命地往上爬，同时海底的东西仍在拉扯着他。可是重量太大了。他硕大的手指头差一点儿就要露出水面时，铁链断了。可没人能听得到诺提勒斯在潜水装里的惨叫。他绝望地抱紧怀里的铁锚，翻滚着跌进了漆黑如墨的漩涡。黑暗的触角缠住他的身躯，他只能看到船身隐约的轮廓逐渐淡去。再然后，一切落入黑暗。

Nautilus grabbed the anchor chain, his last connection to the world above, and hauled himself up even as the thing below sought to drag him down. But the weight was too much. Just as his giant metal fingers were about to breach the surface, the chain snapped. Nautilus screamed within the suit, but none could hear him. He tumbled back into the inky maelstrom, clutching the sinking anchor in desperation. Dark tendrils enveloped him, and he could only watch as the dimming outline of his ship faded away. Then everything went black.

等到诺提勒斯在海床上醒来时，他已经变得……不一样了。黑暗已经不再让他感到疼痛。巨大的潜水装已经和他融为一体变成了外壳，掩藏起他被原生的力量所侵蚀的灵魂。他被困在了暗无天日的海底，只剩下一个记忆——新来的船长食言了。

When Nautilus awoke on the ocean floor, he was something… different. The darkness could no longer hurt him. The great metal suit had become a seamless shell around him, concealing the bond that the primordial power had made with his spirit. Trapped in the sunless depths, he could remember only one thing—the new captain’s broken promise.

诺提勒斯当下发誓，所有人都要向大海缴税。他会亲自监督。

Nautilus vowed, there and then, that all would pay the ocean’s tithe. He would see to it himself.

诺提勒斯被这个念头驱使着，朝海岸跋涉而去。但等他来到了比尔吉沃特，已经过去了好些年，船长和船员早已无处可寻。他既没有办法重生，也没有办法报仇。他没有回到海底，而是将怒火发泄到那些贪婪的人身上，用手中伟岸的铁锚砸烂他们的舰船。

Driven ever forward by this thought, he trudged toward the shore. But by the time he reached Bilgewater, years had passed, and he could find no traces of his captain or crew. There was no life to which he could return, no revenge he could take. Instead he returned to the sea, allowing his anger to surface on the greedy, gutting their ships with his mighty anchor.

有时候，在起伏的波涛间，遥远的记忆会自行浮现……但身为诺提勒斯的他却总是潜伏在水面之下。

Sometimes, in the tumble of waves, distant memories of who he was push up above the waterline… but always the man who is Nautilus stays drowned just below the surface.