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All the world knew that a maester forged his silver link when he learned the art of healing—but the world preferred to forget that men who knew how to heal also knew how to kill.
大家都知道學士鎖鏈中的銀片代表醫療之法——然而大家卻往往假裝忘記，懂得醫療之法的人，也同樣懂得殺人之術。
Cressen no longer recalled the name the Asshai'i gave the leaf, or the Lysene poisoners the crystal. In the Citadel, it was simply called the strangler. Dissolved in wine, it would make the muscles of a man's throat clench tighter than any fist, shutting off his windpipe. They said a victim's face turned as purple as the little crystal seed from which his death was grown, but so too did a man choking on a morsel of food. And this very night Lord Stannis would feast his bannermen, his lady wife... and the red woman, Melisandre of Asshai.
克禮森已不記得亞夏人如何稱呼這種葉子，也不記得里斯毒劑師給這種結晶取的名字，他只知道它在學城里被命名為“扼死者”，將它放進酒里溶化后，會使飲者喉部肌肉劇烈縮緊，使其氣管阻塞，據說受害者面部往往呈現出與結晶相同的紫色，與噎死的癥狀如出一轍。而就在今天晚上，史坦尼斯公爵將宴請諸侯和他的夫人……以及亞夏的紅袍女梅麗珊卓。
I must rest, Maester Cressen told himself. I must have all my strength come dark. My hands must not shake, nor my courage flag. It is a dreadful thing I do, yet it must be done. If there are gods, surely they will forgive me. He had slept so poorly of late. A nap would refresh him for the ordeal ahead. Wearily, he tottered off to his bed. Yet when he closed his eyes, he could still see the light of the comet, red and fiery and vividly alive amidst the darkness of his dreams.
我必須先休息，克禮森學士對自己說，天黑之后，我必須精力充沛，手不能顫抖，勇氣不能衰退。此事雖然可怕，卻是逼不得已。假如天上真有諸神，想必他們會原諒我的。近來他的睡眠狀況很差，午睡片刻應該有助于他回復體力，面對即將來臨的磨難。他虛弱地走到床邊，然而當他閉上雙眼，卻依舊見到彗星的熾烈紅光，栩栩如生地在他的黑暗夢境中閃亮。
