The rising sun sent fingers of light through the pale white mists of dawn. A wide plain spread out beneath them, bare and brown, its flatness here and there relieved by long, low hummocks. Ned pointed them out to his king. “The barrows of the First Men.”
東升旭日的金黃指頭探進清晨的朦朧白霧,一片遼闊原野在兩人眼前展開,其中除了長而低緩的零星小丘,盡是片片光禿禿的褐色平地。奈德指給國王看,"這里就是'先民墳冢'."
Robert frowned. “Have we ridden onto a graveyard?”
勞勃皺眉道:"我們騎到墳墓堆里來了嗎?"
“There are barrows everywhere in the north, Your Grace,” Ned told him. “This land is old.”
"陛下,北方遍地都是墳墓啊。"奈德告訴他,"這是塊古老的土地。"
“And cold,” Robert grumbled, pulling his cloak more tightly around himself. The guard had reined up well behind them, at the bottom of the ridge. “Well, I did not bring you out here to talk of graves or bicker about your bastard. There was a rider in the night, from Lord Varys in King’s Landing. Here.” The king pulled a paper from his belt and handed it to Ned.
"也是個冷死人的地方。"勞勃拉緊斗篷埋怨道,隨從在他們后方停韁勒馬,停在山脊上。"也罷,我把你找到這里可不是來討論墳墓和你私生子的。昨晚瓦里斯伯爵差人從君臨送了封信來,喏。"國王從腰帶上抽出一張紙遞給奈德。
Varys the eunuch was the king’s master of whisperers. He served Robert now as he had once served Aerys Targaryen. Ned unrolled the paper with trepidation, thinking of Lysa and her terrible accusation, but the message did not concern Lady Arryn. “What is the source for this information?”
太監瓦里斯是國王的情報總管,從前服侍伊里斯·坦格利安,如今改事勞勃。奈德畏懼地打開卷軸,心里想起萊莎和她那駭人的控訴,所幸內容與艾林夫人無關。"這消息的來源是?"
“Do you remember Ser Jorah Mormont?”
"你還記得喬拉·莫爾蒙爵士嗎?"
“Would that I might forget him,” Ned said bluntly. The Mormonts of Bear Island were an old house, proud and honorable, but their lands were cold and distant and poor. Ser Jorah had tried to swell the family coffers by selling some poachers to a Tyroshi slaver. As the Mormonts were bannermen to the Starks, his crime had dishonored the north. Ned had made the long journey west to Bear Island, only to find when he arrived that Jorah had taken ship beyond the reach of Ice and the king’s justice. Five years had passed since then.
"我一輩子也忘不了那家伙。"奈德脫口便道。熊島的莫爾蒙家族歷史悠久,驕傲而講究榮譽,但他們的領地位置偏遠,酷寒貧瘠。喬拉爵士為增加收入,打算把抓到的盜獵者賣給泰洛西的奴隸販子。由于莫爾蒙是史塔克的封臣,如此一來等于玷污了整個北方的名聲。于是奈德千里迢迢西行前往熊島,卻發現喬拉早已搭船潛逃,逃到"寒冰"和國王的法律制裁之外的番邦異地去了。事發至今一轉眼已經五年。
背景介紹:
《權力的游戲》是一部中世紀史詩奇幻題材的電視連續劇。該劇以美國作家喬治·R·R·馬丁的奇幻巨作《冰與火之歌》七部曲為基礎改編創作,由大衛·貝尼奧夫和丹尼爾·威斯編劇、HBO電視網推出。喬治·雷蒙德·理查德·馬丁是歐美奇幻小說大師。馬丁的作品主要以人物為關注點,描寫細膩豐富,突破了幻想文學界固有的創作模式,多次引領閱讀潮流。由于馬丁的輝煌成就,他被譽為美國的托爾金和新世紀的海明威。從1989年開始,馬丁淡出文學界,轉而投身演藝界發展,1996年他才重返文壇而開始奇幻文學的創作,處女作便是《權力的游戲》,即為《冰與火之歌》的首部曲。《權力的游戲》甫出便拿下了British Fantasy Society、 世界奇幻獎和星云獎年度最佳幻想作品提名,在非官方的不記名奇幻作品投票中,《冰與火之歌》儼然已經可以和《魔戒》平起平坐,作者網站的訪問量也是和斯蒂芬·金、J.K.羅琳等不相上下,其受歡迎的程度可見一斑。喬治馬丁被時代雜志評選為2011年影響世界的一百人之一。