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shiningdracon · [翻譯][太陽朋克]《羣陽引航之翼》

《重生之翼：太陽朋克龍主題選集》中的一篇：“Wings of the Guiding Suns”

羣陽引航之翼

西塔裸露的肌膚——沒有鱗片，沒有羽毛或毛皮，也沒有任何保護性分泌物——懷念着自她孵化那日起便爲她帶來溫暖的太陽光球。儘管寒意緊緊攫住了她，卻無法麻木她被召喚去見母親的激動。她渴望站在母親面前，最希望的便是能令母親驕傲。

西塔深入星艦，沿着一條長達1.5公里的走廊前行，忽略了兩側通往發光房間的門。她無需在艦體透明部分照鏡子，也知道自己與母親並不相像。自六個月前破殼而出以來，她便明白這一點。她確實長高了一些，卻仍不足一米七。褐色的肌膚與垂至腰際的深色長髮，是她全部的外貌。她缺少那一對潔白壯麗的翅膀、角、尾巴、利爪，以及龍族完整的心靈感應能力。然而，她生來肩負崇高使命——拯救一個即將從存在中被抹去的種族。

粉白色的劍蘭在她穿行花園時叮咚作響，音符激盪着鐫刻在艦體舷窗上的旋舞線條。花紋被染成綠色、藍色與金色，柔和的色澤之中，羣星召喚着她，將她託舉在她這具身體無法完全感知的海洋裏。她的母親可以品嚐到太陽之弦的節律，那些充滿絕望的悲歌引來了母親，也促成了西塔的孵化。

花園盡頭是達利格之室，一間由水晶與光構成的巨大空間。中央是一隻心形的玻璃容器，雕刻的翅膀垂覆兩側，內部散發出紅光。其上方，構成大廳支撐結構的，是母親的雕像——一條端坐的巨龍，四足雄健，雙翼如屋宇般寬廣，優雅的頭顱比西塔整個人還大。盤繞的雙角與有力的下頜賦予她睿智的氣息，尾巴與翼尖點綴着絨毛。整個雕像由雪白的石材刻成，正是達利格——西塔母親的真實寫照。

西塔合上因震撼而張開的嘴，走近那發光的容器，將額頭貼在光滑的玻璃上。“你的光輝令人歎服。”她低聲說道。

“你的亦然。”母親的聲音宛若狂想曲，低沉的低音與高昂的女高音交織。

“我一點也不像你。”

“你的外貌與你被創造去引導的那些存在一致，而在真正重要的地方，你與我一模一樣，女兒。”

“我一點也不像龍。”

“我已被重塑爲一艘飛船。我的樣貌也不再是真正的龍。”

“可你擁有龍的一切能力，艦體也是龍形。”西塔的手撫過盛裝母親精髓的玻璃心室，“你爲何選擇轉生爲一艘船？”

“擁抱我，我就給你看。”

西塔緊緊抱住紅色玻璃心室，將臉頰貼在母親的心臟上。母親一生的影像湧入她的腦海，漸漸排列成序，西塔彷彿親歷了達利格最早的歲月。

母親最初並非龍，也非艦船，而是爲拯救一個瀕臨滅絕的種族而被生物工程製造的存在。“就像我一樣。”西塔輕聲呢喃。

更多往事在她腦中展開。母親的第一具身體形似於龍——帶爪的革質雙翼，修長的喙，以及鋸齒般的利齒，眼中閃耀着危險的光芒。母親飛翔在參天古木與沼澤之上，濃煙遮天蔽日，灰燼如雨墜落，地平線上烈焰翻湧，逼近最後的避難所。爬行類的生靈聚集着，向蒼穹哀嚎祈求救贖。

“他們是誰？”西塔喉中湧起悲慟，“後來怎樣了？”

“我們下方的這顆行星曾屬於他們。數千年前遭小行星撞擊，生命幾乎滅絕。”

瀕死者的嘶吼充斥着西塔的耳朵。她掩住雙耳，強迫自己抵禦那彷彿置身灼熱烈焰中的劇痛。“你已經救了他們。爲何如今還需要拯救？”

“他們不需要了。如今是另一羣存在在呼救。被我引導的那些演化成了尤凱亞斯族。我希望你知道，引導尚未準備好擁抱“協約”的存在，是可能的。”

協約，是龍族建立的多世界和諧共同體，強調和平、仁慈、尊重行星與無私。有些種族可以適應，有些則不能。母親避免回應那些唱出徹底失調之聲的呼喚。

幾類尤凱亞斯族協助着星艦的運作。他們花了數千年才建立協約。他們對母親的虔敬變得更加清晰。若非達利格，他們早已被宇宙遺忘。

“這是我珍視的教誨。謝謝你，我不那麼害怕了。”西塔看着自己褐色的手臂，“我沒有鱗片或角，也不是尤凱亞斯。”

“尤凱亞斯早已隨我離開。這個時代的主導物種稱自己爲‘人類’。”

西塔望向透明艦體外。一顆撫慰靈魂的藍色行星在艦外旋轉。蒸汽般的霧氣從旋渦中擴散，覆蓋大片凍土與冰海。 “你確定還有生命存在嗎？”

“嗯。他們的呼聲在太陽之弦中迴響。我們的心靈鏈接會讓你聽見人類所唱的絲絃之歌，而尤凱亞斯族會給你直接與我對話的方法。”

“好。”可西塔仍不確定，自己是否真能完成“拯救整個人類族羣”這樣龐大的任務。也許如果能在更溫和的季節與人類相遇，她成功的機會會更大些。“這顆星球一直都這麼冷嗎？”

“下方的世界正經歷一場永遠無法復原的冰河時代。直到他們的恆星核心坍縮，外層膨脹成紅巨星。到那時，這個世界會被汽化。很快。”

一想到毀滅與黑暗，西塔不由打了個寒顫。“人類是什麼樣的？”

“你穿衣時我再告訴你。”地面亮起一條光路，從達利格之室蜿蜒伸出，通向更深處的艦體。西塔沿着它走去。

就在大廳外，星艦的巨大太陽翼在艦體兩側壯麗地展開。它們不是白色，而是泛着金光的藍色，隨太陽風鼓盪起伏。太陽翼與艦體一同吸收星輝，使飛船得以鉤連太陽之弦，在銀河中航行。整艘飛船的系統由富含氫的恆星與行星提供能量；空氣與生物物質被循環再生。母親能在星雲與衛星之間永遠飛行。

“多數人類發出的節律之弦會歡迎你，但並非所有。”母親用歌一般的語調伴着西塔的每一步，“我只感知到一個穴居城——最後的文明中心。他們之中有夢想者，也無法想象比現有生活更好的未來的野蠻者。他們的音符彼此交織、混雜。”

“那些野蠻者是我的挑戰？” 西塔走進一處銅壁龕室。金屬導熱，一陣嗡鳴從腳底傳上來。那能量像撓癢似的，她咯咯笑着，輕快地踩到一塊睡蓮葉形狀的小地毯上。

“挑戰在於：判斷誰會接受你的引導，以及該如何對待那些不會接受的人。”

“我如何判斷？如果我選錯了呢？”

“你內核裏是龍。只要讓心與星歌同頻，我們的心就不會失誤。”

“我會盡力的，母親。”

“你並不孤單。尤凱亞斯和我都會幫你。等你成功，你會重生爲真正的龍，在母星加入我們的族羣。”

西塔再無所求。若被困在下方寒冷的世界，與那裏的居民同赴命運，她的心會碎。龍註定要翱翔。

三名尤凱亞斯從遠側門口進來，爬行類的手臂上搭着衣物。和西塔一樣，他們有兩臂兩腿。一個長着三截短角，臉周圍圍着堅韌的皮質褶邊；另一個頭頂中央拖着一列骨板；第三個鼻樑上頂着圓弧形的冠脊。

琥珀色的眼睛在近似龍族的面孔上眨動，白得像冰封星球的鱗片覆蓋全身，灰色的陰影在棱角處沉積。沒有喙，也沒有裸露的雙翼，但他們的形態暗示着他們確實源自母親很久以前救下的那些獸類。

尤凱亞斯穿的深色制服閃着來自遙遠恆星的能量。飛船內部的導管爲制服供能，而制服又將他們與達利格相連。他們無需吩咐就知道該做什麼。

尤凱亞斯遞給西塔一條褲子。絲滑的材質貼上皮膚便自行滑落到位，溫暖程度不亞於育嬰室的太陽燈。褲腿在膝下鼓起，腳踝處收束。隨後是一件同色的上衣——鋼藍色。靴子、手筒和帽子都鑲了毛邊。那件深紫水晶色的披風令西塔屏息——金色刺繡的羣星在其上閃耀，脈動着星輝，但尤凱亞斯還未將它披到她肩上。

他們對着走廊呼喚、吹哨。兩隻幼龍飛來，將自己纏繞在西塔的雙臂上，如同袖子一般，彷彿一件“龍毛衣”，把頭擱在她肩上，朝她的頸側噴出熱乎乎的氣息。

“幼龍會增強你與達利格的心靈鏈接，讓你能直接與她、以及我們交談。只要把鼻尖輕觸其中一隻的鼻尖。”較高的尤凱亞斯說道。

那件華美的披風披到她肩上，正好蓋住兩隻小龍。它們貼緊蜷好，把翅膀收起。西塔扣好紐扣。幼龍與披風科技迸發出的能量讓她信心大增，讓她有勇氣離開這間房。

尤凱亞斯護送她來到艙門。透過菱形觀察窗，上方的太陽翼移動變形，替母親擋住再入大氣層的熾熱衝擊。星艦如花瓣隨風般輕輕地降落在山谷。

“披風裏的傳感器會帶你去穴居城，那裏能找到人類。它會供養你、防止你凍傷，並讓你向人類展示他們的新家。當你把披風兩側像翅膀一樣抬起時，它會連接到飛船的數據系統。”

艙門上滑開啓，刺骨的寒風與暴雪猛地灌入。有那麼一瞬，西塔的腳懸在門檻上方。她呼吸急促，幾乎咽不下口水。

尤凱亞斯輕輕一推，將她送出。隨後是一聲輕微的“咔噠”，艙門關閉。西塔抓住銅色入口的門框，目光沿着艦體線條向上追去，透明與銅色的船殼巨大得令人窒息。她覺得自己如此渺小。艦首三十層樓高的地方，是她誕生的所在；而她站着的這道艙門，不過是這艘巨龍之船的一根腳趾。

尤凱亞斯從門旁的窗內向她揮手。她不想走，卻不能讓母親失望，也確實渴望那重生爲龍的機會。她把手塞進溫暖的手筒裏，面向地平線，出發了。

空氣又尖又溼，帶着冷冽的味道。被恆久狂風刻出棱脊的冰原一直延伸到陰森的峭壁。她必須爬上那些懸崖，才能找到人類的穴居城。一路打滑踉蹌，她幾乎用盡全部注意力，才爬上頂峯，並在那裏過夜。

一處淺洞遮擋了風，卻擋不住她的憂慮。要是人類不願被引導去安全之處呢？要是他們根本無法達到協約呢？

她努力去感知人類的太陽之弦，卻失敗了。“我哪裏做錯了？”幼龍把鼻尖貼上她的鼻尖，將她與達利格連結。

“等你離他們的穴居城更近，就能品嚐到人類之歌。安靜，睡吧，女兒。你需要體力。”

“謝謝你，母親。”

西塔盡力遵從，但睡得很少，翻來覆去。天未亮她便起身，從另一側下山。站在彷彿永無盡頭的冰蓋上，她屏息傾聽，想捕捉一個音符，卻只聽見風與飄雪。腳步越來越沉。

披風與幼龍把她輕輕推向東方。西塔踏過荒涼的冰川地帶。若她偏離方向，幼龍就會緊夾她的手臂，而披風某一處會“噗”地爆出一團能量。她試了幾次才明白，那意味着不能走那邊。“謝謝。”她對小龍們低語。他們溫熱的呼氣提振了她的精神。他們相信她。

她小心越過一道冰裂隙，找到一條小徑。終於，她聽見了嗡鳴，一首悲傷之歌。某些音符升騰成苦甜交織的希望，另一些則如鐘鳴般憤怒而認命。引導人類，絕不會輕鬆。

小徑通向一道巍峨的雪壁。西塔看不見第一處轉彎之後的路。她踏上去，專注於靴子在危險落腳處的每一次落點。歌聲之弦越來越響。她衝過第一道彎，想迎接他們，卻迎面撞上矛尖。她驚得一跌，摔倒在地。

一個龐然大物俯身逼近，像一座可怖的高塔。毛皮與冰雪同色，把他（或她）的身體嚴嚴實實裹住。兜帽上只留一條狹縫，一隻怒目掃視着西塔脆弱的身形。“你是誰？”聲音低沉、野性、粗礪，與靈魂深處震顫的詠歎調形成矛盾。

“西塔。我來自——”

“沒有別的城市。你不是這裏的人。我從未見過你。” 長矛戳向她的披風，“你怎麼可能來自‘無處’？”

“我來自——”

“宗議會會聽你的謊言，因爲你嘴裏只能吐出這些。它們和你的斗篷一樣藍。你爲什麼還活着？”

“我——”

“留着到議會再說。”一隻包着毛皮的手把她拽起，人類把她推到前面，“沿着小路走。”

她照做，閉緊嘴，將顫抖的神經藏在披風下。若人類都如此野蠻，她的使命必敗。她怎麼可能對抗如此暴烈的天性？

彷彿過了一個永恆，她攀爬陡坡，向上、向上、再向上。雕刻出的路徑兩側高起的邊緣替她擋住狂風。她感激這份庇護，更感激通道盡頭出現了一扇門：它散發着金色光芒，承諾溫暖。其上仍是峭壁，而峭壁之上，是一座玻璃穹頂。

人類用矛尖戳進門側一個小凹槽，入口打開。更多金光與一處鑿在冰中的前廳迎接西塔。起伏的波紋輪廓勾勒出類似母親線條的藝術造型。西塔因驚喜而微笑，側身讓那人走在前面。

他掀掉兜帽，露出長長的深色頭髮、青銅色的皮膚，以及被深色鬍鬚與八字鬍框住的冷峻面孔。他的鬍鬚修剪得整齊，不像頭髮那般狂亂。高聳的顴骨凸顯出他眼中閃動的活力。帶着不耐的手勢，他把她領到一面牆前，重重一拳砸下，露出另一道像雪一樣白的門——她根本沒注意到那裏還有門。門吱呀打開，通向一座由玻璃與光構成的輝煌空間。

西塔倒抽一口氣：上方玻璃板上竟有樹木與花園的圖案，她沐浴在它們送來的熱力裏，凍透的骨頭逐漸回暖。男人坐到長椅上，脫下外套與護腿。

悅耳的太陽之弦夾雜着更多的失調。音符彼此衝撞、墜落，又持續數分鐘嘶鳴。西塔站着不動，試圖分辨主旋律，卻失敗了。人類的歌聲酸與甜並存，既振奮又絕望。

“你的東西可以放這裏。沒人會拿。”他說。他周圍縈繞着振奮的音調——那正是當初把母親引來的調子。怎麼會有人既野蠻又溫柔？

西塔點頭，露出怯生生的微笑。她想讓他信任她。“你有名字嗎？”她把帽子和手筒掛到外套旁的掛鉤上，解開披風釦子，卻仍讓它披在肩頭，藏好幼龍。

他身形高挑、略顯精瘦，聳肩時肌肉微跳，臉頰泛起粉紅。“塞羅。”

她的指尖在玻璃穹頂傾瀉下來的色彩中游走。她聞到土壤的暖意與繁盛植物的清新——這些是和諧的氣味。“你們學會了駕馭太陽的力量。你讓我喫驚，塞羅。”

他嘴角微微上揚，招手示意她跟上。“所以你是爲技術而來？議會會很高興聽到還有另一處文明倖存。除非你打算攻擊？”他眯起眼，“不。”他抬手阻止她開口，“留到集會再說。”他停在通往城市的旋轉階梯前，拿起一支由光滑上漆木材雕成的號角。聲音在穹頂內轟鳴迴盪：“召集議會，開始議事！”

欄杆像一棵活樹的延伸，沿着宛如睡蓮葉的臺階盤旋而下。下方水聲潺潺，潮溼的溫暖驅散了外頭的冰寒景象。人類駕馭太陽能與地熱能的能力與他們在之弦中唱出的酸澀音符相矛盾。他們怎會既野蠻又文明？

“我有麻煩了。”她只對自己說，伸手摸了摸一隻幼龍的尾巴。小龍發出呼嚕聲，她想起母親的教誨：“我們的心不會失誤。”西塔緊抓這句話，也緊抓另一個事實：人類不會無緣無故想死。正是他們在太陽之弦裏編織的求救聲引來了母親。母親從不出錯——“從不。”西塔加快腳步，追上塞羅。

七層城市的牆壁都種滿植物，花園五彩豐饒。鳥鳴與蝴蝶在作物與花朵間穿梭。人類穿着陶土紅與象牙白的衣裳照料它們，那些布料被巧妙縫合，模仿藤蔓與花朵的曲線，與樓梯的弧度相互呼應。西塔估算人口約兩千。

“我來是爲了實現你們的願望。”她鼓起勇氣對塞羅說，手掌順着上了清漆的木扶手滑過，“一個不再被你們瀕死的恆星所決定的未來。”

他猛地停下，轉身打量着她，從腳到頭頂。“我的恆星？你是說太陽？那不也是你的太陽嗎？”他的話裏摻進一絲希望，卻像未成形的願望一樣轉瞬即逝。他又抬手示意她別說。“留到——”

“留到議會。我明白。議會是什麼？”他語氣中那一點點微弱的光芒或許能帶來成功，她必須讓他繼續說。

“由公民組成的評議團，爲我們所有人的生存做決策。他們制定規則，配給食物，分配住所與資源。”

“我很高興你們能協作。我的族羣也是如此，並且因此成就許多奇蹟。”

他把手指放到脣前：“等其他人。”

在穹頂底部，他推開一扇通往玻璃會議室的門。每一塊玻璃都做成粉藍色鬱金香的形狀，與達利格的窗格相呼應。畫架上擺着人類瀕死太陽的圖像，以及它毀滅行星的示意圖。西塔對他們揹負的命運皺起眉頭。

塞羅指了指半月形長桌中央的一隻凳子。長桌對面有一把華麗的椅子，正對着西塔。桌子兩側延伸出長凳，供議會成員入座——共有十七人。

一位年長的女人坐上那把雕花繁複的椅子。她的鼻樑與膚色與塞羅相同。塞羅坐在她右側。她整個人線條修長瘦削，頭髮垂至腰際，黑得與西塔的相仿。她的眼睛閃着金色光澤。她清了清嗓子：“我是尼提婭，新奇戈波利斯議會的首席。你是誰？你從哪裏來？”她緊繃着下頜，皺紋裏刻着艱辛與智慧。

城市裏潛伏的酸澀音符愈發響亮，讓西塔好一陣說不出話。但她不可能靠沉默把人類引向協約。她站起身，潤了潤脣：“我受我的族羣之命，前來引導你們走向救贖。我們邀請——”

“別用那些花裏胡哨的詞。”尼提婭伸指在西塔鼻尖前搖了搖，“回答我的問題，除此之外一句也別多說。你的族羣是誰？”

西塔縮了縮身子。肩上的披風沉得像壓了石頭，小龍溫熱的呼吸也沒能鼓起她的膽量。“龍族。我們是這片銀河象限的守望者？我們來回應你們的求救。你們不必隨着你們的恆星一起死去。”她的聲音發抖，尾音拔高，像連自己都不確信。

“你是在問我嗎？”尼提婭挺直肩背，“我們不需要歇斯底里，也不需要童話故事。”

幾名議會成員爆發出短促而響亮的笑聲。

一個身形比塞羅更矮壯的男人咧嘴笑道：“你是說你來自外太空？”他指着空中，哈哈大笑。

酸澀的音符灌滿西塔的口與耳，淚水湧上眼眶。她眨掉淚意，不讓它落下，目光轉向塞羅。塞羅並未加入嘲弄。他的之弦帶着悲慟，夾雜着渴望活下去的旋律。他悲傷地笑了笑，西塔聽見了他的鼓勵。

她終於找到繼續說下去的力量：“龍族向你們提供生命。你們知道終局將至。我看見牆上描繪着你們恆星毀滅的圖像。”

尼提婭把雙手交疊放在桌面上：“你要怎麼救我們？用魔法嗎？”

西塔痛苦地皺起臉，恨不得自己從未離開達利格的庇護。小龍在她手臂上收緊，提醒她的責任，可她的胃仍在發顫。“不。我們有一艘船可以帶走你們。我們能把你們所有人，一起送往新的家園。”

“你在撒謊。根本無處可去。整個太陽系都會被抹除。”

撒謊？西塔攥住一隻小龍的尾巴，讓他的輕聲咕噥安撫自己。人類也許無法融入龍族曾拯救的其他族羣，但母親絕不會允許她放棄。“母親和我可以把你們帶離這顆星球——”

“不！”尼提婭一掌拍在桌面上，猛地站起，“去你們的世界，在你們的規矩下生活？”

西塔後退一步，跌坐回凳子裏。她緩緩吸氣，試圖捕捉當初引來母親的那支星歌，卻只品嚐到最深的哀傷。

“禮貌，”塞羅說道，“至少給她一個機會，讓她說完。”

西塔抬眼，與他陰鬱的目光相遇。塞羅與像他那樣的人，也許能帶領人類走向協約。眼前這座城市的建造本身，就證明人類可以遵循龍族的標準生活。

“我必須救你們。”她的聲音低得連小龍都幾乎聽不見。小龍扇動翅膀，把披風從西塔肩上抬起，並把她推到站立的姿勢。

人類驚愕地瞪大雙眼，在座位上騷動，許多人對她指指點點。

西塔將聽覺的注意力從人類身上移到小龍身上。她提高聲音：“龍族的太陽溫和。我們依循慈悲與共情的協約而活。”她抓住斗篷兩端，將它像翅膀一樣在身側展開。小龍向布料噴出熱息，一幅母親的影像顯現出來——母親在由兄弟姐妹守護的世界間翱翔。城市與人羣熙攘，笑容燦爛，喜悅而繁盛。

“天堂。”塞羅低聲說，“而且沒有雪。”他的旋律輕快起來，幾乎回到了先前那段詠歎的高度。

西塔心裏亮起一抹笑意：“如果你們願意，也有更涼爽的世界。”斗篷上的景象切換成覆雪的穹頂城市，內部卻充滿綠意，像人類如今居住的這座城。之弦中的和聲攀升至高潮。

“代價是什麼？”尼提婭說，“要是有人忘了規矩呢？”

西塔把鼻尖貼上小龍的鼻尖，加強與母親的溝通。她在心中詢問尼提婭的問題，再複述母親的回答：“從來沒有發生過。”

“從來沒有？因爲你們殺了他們？”尼提婭握拳威脅。

“因爲他們不會加入協約。”

“對。你們把他們丟下去等死。”

西塔知道不能回答“是”。她抓住桌沿，穩住發軟的雙膝。她使命的一部分，就是篩除會腐蝕協約的人。她心跳紊亂，又試了一次：“我是爲你們而造，也被派來在遷徙期間照料你們。”

“照你說的規矩活，受你們族羣監管。”尼提婭厲聲道，“蛇！我們早被警告過你們這類東西。”

“什麼？”一陣寒意穿透西塔的骨頭。之弦猛然敲響，隨後歸於死寂，“你根本不知道自己在說什麼。”

塞羅悲傷地笑了笑：“不幸的是，我母親確實知道。代代相傳的故事裏，龍是嗜殺的，蛇是狡詐的。我們很愛那些故事。”他的手指在桌面描摹着花紋，之弦的甜味退去，變得更淡、更苦，“正因爲那些故事，許多市民不會願意跟着龍進入羣星。他們寧願按我們的方式死在這裏。”

西塔最大的希望像石頭一樣沉進胃裏。塞羅站在尼提婭那一邊，和那些緊抓恐懼之弦的人站在一起。她揉着胸口的痠痛，幾乎只能低聲請求：“在決定前，聽我把話說完。求你。”

他慢慢眨眼：“說吧。”

“你們與你們的歷史都能活下去。”她描述人類將如何在銀河裏與溫和的族羣共處、繁榮與成長。“——就像如果你們的星球沒有走向毀壞，你們本該演化成的那樣。”每說一句，她都感覺協約的旋律更強了一分。

“我們會私下討論你慷慨的提議。我會告訴你我們的決定。”塞羅起身，向她行禮，“我們很榮幸你來到這裏。”

她的心隨着他話語裏隱約的希望而怦然跳動，西塔離開了議事廳。她在一條潺潺流淌的小溪旁找到一張長椅。魚兒在水中游弋，寧靜安詳，在完全的協約中咕嚕作響，用細微的水聲將西塔包裹其中。三個小時後，她的片刻安寧被打破。

塞羅從議會廳走出來，眉頭深鎖，整個人彷彿嘆息着。他來到溪邊，坐到她身旁。

西塔垂下肩膀：“你們的討論……不順利嗎？”

“我母親不會離開。”他說，“我們會以人類的身份，在人類的法律下生存與死去。這比給出虛假的希望要好。如果我們達不到你們的標準，你們會把我們遺棄在同樣的命運裏。我們已經接受了自己會死的事實，玩弄所有人的情感太殘酷了。”

失敗的痛楚沉入西塔的內心，塞羅哀傷的音符浸透她的感官。西塔抱緊自己：“我能做些什麼來說服尼提婭？”她問。

“什麼也做不了。你可以休息到天亮，”他說，“然後你必須回到你來時的地方。”他撫過自己的額頭，將頭髮梳理好紮成馬尾。“我會帶你沿路下山，穿過冰川。”

西塔品嚐到了他的好奇心。“你可以和我一起離開，”她雙手交疊放在膝上說，“你和那些與你想法相同的人。”

他緩慢地搖頭，在她身旁坐下：“若不是爲了我母親，我會毫不猶豫答應。你給出的選擇令人難以置信，西塔。”他大膽地把手覆在她的手上。

她感覺到他的脈搏在加速，他的悲傷也更加清晰可觸。“我不想讓你死。人類擁有如此多的潛力。我在你們的城市和技術中看到了這一點。你們與龍族有很多共通之處，你們不會覺得適應起來困難。”

“我不會拋下我的家人。”他握了握她的手指，隨即放開，“明天早上我會來找你。”他離開了，只留下溪水與魚兒陪伴她。

她將鼻尖貼上小龍，與母親建立直接溝通：“我需要你。我失敗了，徹底失敗了。”她的聲音哽咽，眼中盈滿淚水。小龍用翅膀輕撫她的背。

“只有放棄，纔算失敗。記住我與尤凱亞斯的例子。”母親的嗡鳴聲與魚兒一樣安寧。

“你成功了。”一滴淚從西塔的臉頰滑落，接着又一滴，“但人類拒絕加入協約。”

“尤凱亞斯曾經比人類更糟。勝利的方式不止一種，不一定要引導他們來到我們的世界。閉上眼睛，我給你看。”

達利格的往昔再次在西塔腦中展開。她感受到母親當年無法與尤凱亞斯的祖先建立協約時的心碎，也體會到母親萌生新想法時的激動。達利格回到飛船，請求把尤凱亞斯帶往一個只屬於他們的新家園，在那裏，母親將引導他們，直到他們準備好加入協約。

“正是在那時，我重生爲這艘星艦。數千年後，我獲得了成功。”母親說道。

“我也可以這樣做。”西塔低聲說。

“是的。”

西塔在前往母親那裏的路上，將新的希望告訴了塞羅。他想接受。

“沒有其他人的同意，我不能這麼做。”他說，“我們人數太少了。”他的呼吸在兜帽上凝結成厚厚的霜。

“這個提議消除了你母親反對的一切理由。”她把下巴縮進斗篷的衣領裏，小龍急促地呼氣以抵禦刺骨寒冷。

“是的，但是——”

“但我們仍然是龍？”她凝視着他的眼睛，那是她唯一能看見的臉部。“你們的新家園上不會有任何龍。只有這艘船。你們可以把它隱藏起來。”

他發出一聲低沉悅耳的笑：“不是這個問題。我想他們會同意的，但由我替他們發言是不對的。”

他們登上山巔，俯瞰達利格。陽光在她的窗上折射出彩虹，銅色的部分閃耀生輝。她像一顆星辰般燦爛。看到母親的模樣，西塔感到溫暖。

“母親是不是很美？”

塞羅倒吸一口氣：“真正的龍。嗯，一艘龍形飛船。她會噴火嗎？”

“龍吞食星輝，以太陽之弦爲食。那是我們旅行的方式。或許這啓發了人們關於龍噴火的傳說。”

“也許吧。你們會去哪裏？”

“任何需要拯救者的地方。”

“高尚。”

“我的族人非常高尚。”西塔開始下山，“來見見母親和尤凱亞斯吧。尤凱亞斯很想見見來自他們起源世界的人類。”

“什麼？他們來自這顆星球？”

“嗯。他們和你們一樣接受了母親的提議並繁榮發展。他們已經達成協約。”

尤凱亞斯在艙門口迎接西塔與塞羅。他們向塞羅講述了離開地球的往事。“數千萬年前，”較高的那位說，“你們稱我們爲恐龍。我們如今比在地球時更宏偉。人類也可以擁有同樣光明的未來。讓西塔引導你們吧。”

塞羅回到族人那裏，他們接受了新方案。西塔帶着喜訊奔向達利格之室，去告訴母親。

“成了。”西塔說道。

“那麼，是時候讓你重塑了。”母親的玻璃之心閃耀出比往常更明亮的紅光。

尤凱亞斯護送西塔進入達利格之室的另一隻玻璃容器。在那裏，她被重塑爲一艘龍形星艦。她終於能完全品嚐太陽之弦與人類之歌。她不再擁有嘴巴，卻在每一種方式上微笑着：她的艦體閃耀如七顆恆星，她小小的雙翼向蒼穹舒展。

數月過去，西塔在母親身旁成熟、成長，吸收太陽的能量。她的艦體擴展，直到能夠容納人類。由塞羅領隊，人類列隊進入山谷。停下片刻以示敬意，塞羅向她深深鞠躬。其他人也隨之行禮，有些人在西塔腳下留下禮物。全部登艦後，尤凱亞斯把禮物帶入艦內，擺放在盛放西塔心智與靈魂的容器四周。

“前往協約吧，女兒。”達利格說道，“你準備好飛翔了嗎？”

“當然準備好了！”勝利的甘甜湧入西塔的心。塞羅與人類將在她的船體之內生活、規劃未來。沒有什麼能比這更美好。

母親的機械利爪抓住西塔，將她託舉升空，送入軌道。“習慣你的雙翼，積蓄力量，然後完成你的使命。在我創造的所有引導者中，你讓我最爲驕傲。”她展開太陽之翼，沿着她吞噬的星弦疾馳而去。

西塔展開她藍金色的雙翼，向着瀕死的太陽飛去。她用星輝滋養自己的生物與機械系統，挑選通往人類新家園的太陽之弦。在那裏，她將引導塞羅與他的族人。終有一日，他們將達成協約，與龍族並肩而立——就像尤凱亞斯一樣。西塔毫不懷疑。龍之心，從不失誤。

日烛之翼 · [尤希拉里斯]森脈巨龍的設定

Lunamis午月 · 【長期工程】中國龍傳說收集整理

鱗目的百科對中國，尤其是漢文化的龍傳說似乎有缺口，遂開此帖，分享所知的同時希望能有龍可以貢獻些力量。
中國的龍傳說雖不少但非常零散，隨便拿一個出來都有很多人知道卻愣是沒有合訂本。同時，【中國龍是帝王的象徵】【中國龍都是祥瑞】之類說法仍然猖獗，文化科普尚需加大力度。

鑑於此龍接下來一陣都不會有什麼空閒時間，目前先把頂樓當做to-do list和目錄，暫且留個線頭等日後再抽出。
1、相柳
2、巴蛇
3、日月潭雙龍
4、二郎斬蛟注：大部分說法是李二郎（與李冰父子有關，而李冰父子也有類似的傳說）和趙二郎
5、周處除三害
6、巫山神女滅十二惡龍（瑤姬斬孽龍）
7、驪龍（似乎龍百科中已經有“龍珠”的條目是關於驪龍的了？）
8、重慶天生三橋
9、禿尾巴老李
10、哪吒鬧海
11、禹王鎖蛟、鎖龍井
12、許遜誅蜃龍
13、劉邦斬白蛇
-待補充

羽落 · 一種不違背科學的龍息方案

又意識到一件事：肉食動物主要攝入的是富含易於被宿主自身酶消化的蛋白質和脂肪的食物，且食物大部分在小腸被吸收，進入大腸（結腸）的殘留物主要是未被吸收的蛋白質、脂肪和少量其他物質。結腸微生物發酵這些物質，主要產生支鏈脂肪酸、胺類、酚類、硫化氫等，而氫氣、乙酸等產甲烷底物的產量相對少得多。
另外大腸中利用氫氣的微生物不只是產甲烷古菌，還有硫酸鹽還原菌。在富含蛋白質殘渣的環境中，硫酸鹽還原菌具有巨大優勢，因爲它們可以利用蛋白質降解產生的硫化物作爲電子受體，與產甲烷古菌競爭氫氣，且能量產出更高，通常會抑制產甲烷菌。
以及：肉食動物的腸道內容物通過速度較快，產甲烷古菌生長緩慢，來不及定植和有效繁殖。
所以說如果用這種方式噴火的龍可能得在噴火之後喫大量的自身難以消化的碳水化合物來補充氫氣，腸道結構也得改一下，不能按嚴格肉食動物的來。

shiningdracon · 重生之翼：太陽朋克龍主題選集

這是一本以龍爲主題的太陽朋克（Solarpunk）短篇小說集。
（可以將太陽朋克簡單理解爲賽博朋克的對立面）

Wings of Renewal - A Solarpunk Dragon Anthology

前言

希望

貫穿這本選集的每一步，我們始終回到同一個詞：希望。
我們誰也未曾嘗試過這樣的項目，也不知道前路會如何展開。於是，我們選擇了希望。
我們希望它能獲批，希望能收到優秀的故事，希望它能打動太陽朋克社羣，併爲其吸引新的讀者。
而當我們行至終點，最清晰呈現的卻是：希望不僅是推動這本選集前行的力量——它正是它的心臟。

從一開始，我們就被太陽朋克在其設想中所蘊含的那種倔強的希望所吸引。
這一類型拒絕“強者恆強、弱者恆弱”的宿命論。
相反，它凝視現實中已存在的技術——從彩色玻璃太陽能板到 3D 打印，從垂直農業到永續農業——並將它們投射進一個人類戰勝生態災難、超級企業與反烏托邦政權的世界。

太陽朋克的故事，講述的是攜手同行、拆解壓迫結構、無人被遺棄的世界。
它們描繪的是我們已然成功的未來：氣候變化不再威脅星球，今日的大多數不平等被抹平，人們學會了分享與彼此扶持。

那麼，當你把龍加入其中，會發生什麼？

首先，你會得到作爲自然化身的龍——它們從太陽中汲取力量，賦予智慧與指引。
無論它們與人類共居，還是作爲自然羣落的一部分存在，這些龍不僅屬於自然，它們本身就是自然的具象。

但並非所有的龍都由血肉構成——當太陽朋克介入時，更是如此。
有時它們是微小的自動機械，有時是血肉與線路交織而成的巨大賽博巨龍；
還有時，它們是活着的宇宙飛船，在外太空爲人類撐起庇護。
這些龍存在於人類創造力與工程技藝的極限之上。

這些故事橫跨無數世界：
從潮溼的雨林到冰封的荒原，從乾旱的沙漠到繁盛的城市；
它們交織古老王國與外層空間，讓懷舊的終章與嶄新的開端並置。
但貫穿其中的，始終是太陽朋克之心裏的那份希望。

而這，正是我們最終希望帶給你的。
我們希望你能相信這個更好的未來——一個充滿活力的社羣、團結與可持續的世界——
哪怕，遺憾的是，龍終究只能停留在我們的想象之中。

1.  **Iuan** -> **伊安** (睿卡的女兒)
    *   *推薦理由：* 避開了 b, p, f 聲母，符合龍語發音邏輯。
2.  **Koulaa** -> **庫拉** (伊安的丈夫)
    *   *推薦理由：* 發音貼近原名，且不含雙脣音/脣齒音。
3.  **Haiade** -> **海亞德** (幼龍，伊安之子)
    *   *推薦理由：* 譯名響亮，符合龍族設定，聲母均爲非限制音。
4.  **Kiele** -> **凱勒** (幼龍，伊安之子)
    *   *推薦理由：* 簡潔易讀，符合設定。
5.  **Teonaa** -> **提歐納** (幼龍，伊安之子)
    *   *推薦理由：* 韻律感強，且完全避開了限制音。

**注：** 原文中出現的 **Kaal** 顯然是 **Kao (卡奧)** 的龍語變體或強調讀法，翻譯時我將統一對應爲 **卡奧**。

請確認以上翻譯是否準確。一旦確認，我將立即爲您開始本章節的正式翻譯。

wwl

CHAPTER 21: A FAMILY AND A HOME第 21 章：家人與家園

Caleb honestly couldn’t remember how he had managed to get to Rikaa’s daughter’s cave. He had flown after Rikaa, following as closely as he could, and then his hearing had started to go fuzzy along with his vision. He remembered seeing two dragons join them in the air and seeing one on either side of him—and honestly, after that, his body had completely given in to exhaustion.凱勒布誠實地講，他已經記不清自己是如何掙扎着到達睿卡女兒的山洞了。他緊緊跟在睿卡身後飛行，隨後他的聽覺和視覺便開始變得模糊。他記得看到兩條龍在空中加入了他們，一左一右護在他身邊——說實話，在那之後，他的身體就徹底因精疲力竭而垮掉了。

He didn’t know how long he had slept, but this time, Rikaa’s gentle nudging wasn’t what woke him. No, this time, he could smell something that had his mouth watering before he was even fully conscious, and he opened his eyes to see that someone had left an entire goat in front of him.他不知道自己睡了多久，但這一次，喚醒他的並不是睿卡溫柔的輕推。不，這一次，在他還沒完全清醒之前，某種氣味就讓他垂涎欲滴了。他睜開眼，發現有人在他面前留下了一整隻山羊。

He glanced around, but no one seemed to be anywhere near the goat. So it must have been left for him.他環顧四周，但山羊附近似乎空無一人。所以，這一定是留給他的。

Gratefully, Caleb gobbled up the animal, practically in one bite, and then closed his eyes again, reveling in the feeling of a full stomach. Even though he had been hungry before, he was surprised by how easily he had gotten used to the feeling of being full often enough not to care about every single meal.凱勒布心懷感激地狼吞虎嚥，幾乎一口就吞掉了那隻動物，然後再次閉上眼睛，沉浸在飽腹的滿足感中。儘管他以前經常捱餓，但他驚訝於自己竟然如此輕易地就習慣了這種經常能喫飽、不必再爲每一頓飯發愁的感覺。

When he opened his eyes again, this time, instead of focusing on the food and whether it was his for the taking, he looked around the cave itself. Unlike Rikaa’s home, this one had more outcroppings of rock and openings in the walls that must have led to other rooms or chambers—and yet it still had that same lived-in feeling, right down to the fire burning up a tree not far from where Caleb lay.當他再次睜開眼時，這一次他不再關注食物以及是否可以食用，而是打量起山洞本身。與睿卡的家不同，這裏的岩石露頭更多，牆壁上的開口想必通向其他的房間或洞室——然而這裏依然有着同樣充滿生活氣息的感覺，甚至連離凱勒布躺臥處不遠的一棵正在燃燒的樹也是如此。

Caleb smiled when he saw it. He knew that Rikaa had probably set the tree ablaze—or asked for a fire to be set up—knowing how cold Caleb was. Judging by the slightly damp earth underneath Caleb, he could tell that he had been there long enough to melt the ice on his wings and scales but not long enough that even the wet earth had been heated and dried by the fire.凱勒布看到這一幕露出了微笑。他知道睿卡很可能點燃了這棵樹——或者要求生火——因爲他知道凱勒布有多冷。從身下微溼的泥土來看，他能感覺到自己待在這裏的時間已經足夠融化翅膀和鱗片上的冰霜，但還不足以讓火堆烤乾這片潮溼的地面。

“Kaal,” Rikaa’s voice rang out, and Caleb couldn’t help but smile as he picked his head up to see Rikaa making his way over. Rikaa looked much better than he had before, cleaner and less obviously worn, and that sight somehow helped ease Caleb’s own sense of exhaustion. “It’s good to see you awake. We were starting to worry.”“卡奧，”睿卡的聲音響起，凱勒布不由自主地露出了微笑，他抬起頭，看到睿卡正朝這邊走來。睿卡看起來比之前好多了，更乾淨，疲態也沒那麼明顯了，這一景象在某種程度上緩解了凱勒布自己的疲憊感。“看到你醒來真好。我們剛纔還在擔心。”

“Just needed a nap,” Caleb said, trying for a smirk to reassure his friend. “It’s good to see you too.”“只是需要打個盹，”凱勒布說，努力擠出一絲壞笑來安慰他的朋友。“看到你也很高興。”

“When you have your wits about you,” Rikaa said as he came to Caleb’s side and nuzzled him tenderly, rubbing his nose against Caleb’s, “you should really meet my family. I haven’t told them more than the simple fact that we were attacked by humans. It’s not my story to tell, not without you—and not without knowing that you were going to make it.”“等你清醒些，”睿卡走到凱勒布身邊，溫柔地用鼻子蹭了蹭他的臉，“你真該見見我的家人們。除了我們遭到人類襲擊這個簡單事實外，我沒告訴他們更多。這故事我無權講述，若無你參與我絕難開口——而且在確定你能挺過來之前，我也絕難開口。”

“You were that worried?”“你那時那麼擔心？”

“You were that injured,” Rikaa replied. “Not to mention frozen and starved.”“你那時傷得那麼重，”睿卡回答道，“更何況還凍僵了，又餓得要命。”

Caleb nodded as he got to his feet. “Thank you. For the goat.”凱勒布站起身，點了點頭。“謝謝。謝謝那隻山羊。”

“Thank my daughter—Iuan. She and her sons helped me get you out of the snow and into the cave, and she’s a fast hunter.” He looked farther down the cave, and Caleb could see the light from a distance that must have been the exit. “She went to find something for her boys; they need to eat as often as you do.”“謝我的女兒——伊安吧。她和她的兒子們協助我將你從雪地裏挪進山洞，而且她是個迅捷的獵手。”他看向山洞深處，凱勒布能看到遠處傳來的光亮，那一定是出口。“她去給她的孩子們找喫的了；他們需要像你一樣經常進食。”

Caleb frowned; he didn’t want to think that he had taken food from someone who needed it. “Are they—”凱勒布皺起眉頭；他不想認爲自己搶了那些有需要的人的食物。“他們是——”

Rikaa shook his head quickly. “No, don’t worry yourself,” he promised. “The boys have eaten recently enough that they were only starting to feel hungry—a starving, injured little one takes far more precedence than impatience adolescents.”睿卡迅速搖了搖頭。“莫要憂慮，”他承諾道，“那些孩子剛喫過沒多久，只是剛開始覺得餓——比起焦躁的青少年，一個飢餓且受傷的小傢伙更該優先照顧。”

Caleb shook his head. “You really don’t have to—”凱勒布搖了搖頭。“你真的沒必要——”

“When are you going to realize, Kaal, that I mean what I tell you?” Rikaa looked as imperious as he possibly could when he was also still recovering from the long journey and from his injuries. “I promised to stand by you and to protect you from harm, and my family has promised to stand by me and my decisions as well. We work together—that is how you and I defeated the humans who attacked us, and that is how we will approach this new life of yours.”“卡奧，你何時才能意識到，我言出必行？”睿卡儘管仍在從長途跋涉和傷痛中恢復，但此刻看起來儘可能地威嚴。“我承諾過會守在你身邊，守護你免受傷害，我的家人也承諾過會支持我和我的決定。我們齊心協力——這就是你我如何戰勝那些襲擊我們的人類的，而這也是我們開啓你新生活的途徑。”

Rikaa was so forceful in laying out exactly what he thought that he left Caleb blinking for a long time, unable to come up with any words that would sound like an argument. Then, finally, Caleb nodded. “I wasn’t trying to belittle everything you’ve done for me,” he promised. “It means a lot to me. More than I can explain. But I don’t want your family to suffer for having me around, even if the suffering is as small as missing a meal.”睿卡如此強有力地闡述着他的想法，讓凱勒布愣神了好一會兒，想不出任何反駁的話。最後，凱勒布終於點了點頭。“我並不是想貶低你爲我所做的一切，”他承諾道，“這對我很重要。其意義遠超我的言表。但我不想讓你的家人因爲我的存在而受苦，哪怕只是少喫一頓飯這種小事。”

“Even in families without the threat of a crazed wizard coming after them, we make sacrifices for each other. Has it been so long since you were with yours that you have forgotten that?” Rikaa’s tone was gentle and understanding, but his words left Caleb feeling hot; if he had been human, his cheeks would have been bright red with the flush of embarrassment.“即便在沒有瘋狂巫師威脅的家庭裏，我們也會爲彼此做出犧牲。你離開家人已經久到忘記這些了嗎？”睿卡的語氣溫柔而體諒，但他的話讓凱勒布感到臉上一陣燥熱；如果他現在是人類，他的雙頰一定會因爲尷尬而變得通紅。

He didn’t know why he felt so abashed. There was no shame in the fact that he had been alone for so long that he had slipped out of a familial mindset and into one more attuned to survival at all costs. But sitting there in that cave that was so obviously well-lived-in by the family members that Rikaa had talked about with such honest joy and affection, everything he had been missing for so long came rushing back, leaving him breathless.他不知道自己爲什麼會感到如此羞愧。他獨自生活了太久，以至於脫離了家庭思維，轉而進入了一種不惜代價求生的模式，這本沒什麼可恥的。但坐在這樣一個顯然被睿卡滿懷喜悅與深情談論着的家人長期居住的山洞裏，他缺失已久的一切都湧上心頭，讓他幾乎窒息。

Caleb didn’t know if Rikaa knew the full reason he had gone silent, but all the same, he was grateful when Rikaa paused and then leaned forward to nudge Caleb with the end of his snout. “I’m sorry,” Rikaa said gently. “I know that is still a painful topic for you.”凱勒布不知道睿卡是否清楚他陷入沉默的全部原因，但即便如此，當睿卡停頓片刻並湊近用鼻尖輕推他時，他依然心存感激。“我深感愧疚，”睿卡溫柔地說，“我知道這仍是你心中的痛處。”

“No, you’re right,” Caleb said, and then he tried for a more convincing smile. “Besides, I would like to meet your family.”“不，你是對的，”凱勒布說，然後努力露出一個更有說服力的微笑。“此外，我也想見見你的家人。”

Rikaa smiled more genuinely and gestured for Caleb to follow him as the two of them made their way toward the entrance of the cave. They were just in time to catch the show as a magnificent, vibrant-blue dragon swooped in through the opening to the cave, carrying a horse in either of her two front claws.睿卡露出了更真誠的微笑，示意凱勒布跟着他，兩人一起走向洞口。他們正好趕上了一場“表演”：一隻瑰麗奪目的亮藍色巨龍從洞口俯衝而入，兩隻前爪各抓着一匹馬。

She landed next to another adult blue dragon—a more robin’s egg blue than the vibrant color of his mate. Their three children, all of them slightly smaller than Caleb, were somewhere between their parents when it came to color. All three of the young dragons grinned when they saw their mother arrive—though they didn’t stop wrestling with each other, practicing their growls and nipping at each other but never breaking through their scales. They did stop when the vibrant blue dragon let out a rumbling warning noise and gave them all a chiding look that instantly reminded Caleb of Rikaa.她降落在另一隻成年藍龍身邊——那隻龍的顏色比他伴侶的亮藍色更接近知更鳥蛋的青藍色。他們的三個孩子都比凱勒布稍小一些，顏色介於父母之間。三隻幼龍看到母親歸來都露出了笑容——儘管他們並沒有停止互相摔跤，練習着咆哮並互相啃咬，但從未咬破過鱗片。當那隻亮藍色的巨龍發出一聲低沉的警告聲，並投去一個責備的眼神時，他們才停了下來，那眼神瞬間讓凱勒布想起了睿卡。

“Oh good. You’re awake,” said the vibrant blue dragon—who had to be Iuan, based on Rikaa’s description of what his daughter had been up to—as she turned her attention from her children to Caleb. “If you hadn’t been on your feet when I got home, I thought I might have to take drastic action.”“噢，太好了。你醒了，”那隻亮藍色的巨龍說道——根據睿卡對女兒近況的描述，她一定是伊安——她將注意力從孩子們身上轉到了凱勒布身上。“如果你在我回來時還沒站起來，我想我可能得采取些過激舉動了。”

Caleb smiled. He could absolutely see the family resemblance between Rikaa and Iuan: they were both straight to the point and self-assured. “I didn’t mean to worry anyone,” Caleb told her.凱勒布笑了。他完全能看出睿卡和伊安之間的家族相似性：他們都直截了當且自信滿滿。“我沒想讓大家擔心，”凱勒佈告訴她。

“Nonsense. It’s not your fault you were attacked,” Iuan said. “Come and join us for dinner. My father is being unusually quiet about his latest adventures, and I have a feeling we won’t hear the best details unless we get you involved.”“胡說。這怪不得你，”伊安說，“來和我們一起用晚餐吧。家父對他最近的冒險經歷異常沉默，我覺得除非讓你參與進來，否則我們聽不到最精彩的細節。”

“Iuan, really,” Rikaa said, shaking his head with an ill-hidden smile. “You make it sound like I am starving you for attention!”“伊安，真是的，”睿卡搖着頭，帶着一絲難以掩飾的微笑說道，“你聽起來就像我在剋扣你的關注度一樣！”

“I haven’t seen you for some time, and you show up with a white dragon this far north, starved and injured from battle, and you expect me not to tease you?” Iuan shot back, though her almost-hidden smile was practically identical to her father’s. Caleb knew watching the two of them how deeply they loved each other, and he was surprised to find that he felt jealous.“我好久沒見到你了，結果你帶着一隻皚龍出現在這麼北邊的地方，還因爲戰鬥又餓又傷，你居然指望我莫要取笑你？”伊安反駁道，儘管她那若隱若現的微笑幾乎與她父親一模一樣。凱勒布看着他們兩人，深知他們對彼此的愛有多深，他驚訝地發現自己竟然感到了嫉妒。

Iuan and Rikaa had the same smile. The same laugh. They even looked alike, with the same pattern of scales and the same curve to their horns. And Caleb was an interloping, human-made white dragon.伊安和睿卡有着同樣的微笑，同樣的笑聲。他們甚至長得很像，有着相同的鱗片紋路和相同的角彎。而凱勒布只是一個闖入這裏的、由人類製造的皚龍。

But he pushed that thought aside and focused instead on introducing himself. “I don’t know what Rikaa has told you, but my name is Kaal,” he said, dipping his head in a slight bow—something he had picked up from watching Rikaa interact with other dragons at the council’s island.但他拋開了這個念頭，轉而專注於自我介紹。“我不知道睿卡告訴了你們什麼，但我的名字叫卡奧，”他說着，微微低頭行禮——這是他從觀察睿卡在議會島嶼上與其他龍互動時學到的。

“Yes, he told us that much,” Iuan said, returning the slight bow with a warm smile. “My name is Iuan. This is my husband, Koulaa—and our three sons, Haiade, Kiele, and Teonaa.” As she spoke, each of the three young dragons dipped their heads—showing Caleb which son was which in the process.“是的，他告訴過我們這些，”伊安帶着溫暖的微笑回禮道，“我叫伊安。這是我的伴侶庫拉——還有我們的三個兒子，海亞德、凱勒和提歐納。”說話間，三隻幼龍各自低了低頭——順便向凱勒布展示了誰是誰。

“Thank you,” Caleb said, “for the goat. I was starving.”“謝謝你們，”凱勒布說，“謝謝那隻山羊。我當時餓壞了。”

“I know,” Iuan said, then frowned at Rikaa. “Though it’s still a mystery to me how that happened. My father is usually much better about taking hunting breaks—and eating before any trip.”“我知道，”伊安說，然後皺眉看向睿卡，“雖然我仍覺得奇怪，這事兒怎麼會產生。家父通常很擅長在狩獵間隙休息——而且在任何旅程前都會進食。”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Caleb promised; he didn’t want Rikaa in trouble with his family members, even if they were teasing. “We ran into a lot more trouble than we meant to, so we didn’t have much time for hunting. We didn’t have any time to waste, actually.”“這怪不得他，”凱勒布保證道；他不想讓睿卡被家人責難，哪怕只是開玩笑。“我們遇到的麻煩比預想的多得多，所以沒多少時間狩獵。實際上，我們根本沒時間浪費。”

All of Rikaa’s family members looked more interested. “You can’t just leave the story there!” one of the boys—Caleb had already forgotten which was which—piped up. His words were heavily accented, since the human tongue was not his first language. Caleb wondered what Rikaa had told his family to get them to speak in
a language Caleb understood.睿卡所有的家人看起來都更感興趣了。“你莫要把故事停在那兒！”其中一個男孩喊道——凱勒布已經忘了誰是誰了。他的話帶着濃重的口音，因爲人類語言並不是他的母語。凱勒布好奇睿卡到底對他的家人說了什麼，才讓他們願意用凱勒布能聽懂的語言交流。

Caleb glanced toward Rikaa, saw the tiny nod his friend gave him, and remembered what Rikaa had told him about wanting Caleb to be part of the storytelling. He took a deep breath and held it … but since he knew the truth would come out sooner or later, he decided he should get it over with. He didn’t know how Rikaa’s family would react, but he supposed he would rather know now whether they would want him out of their home or whether they would, as Rikaa hoped, side with him.凱勒布看向睿卡，看到他的朋友朝他微微點頭，並想起睿卡曾說過希望凱勒布能親自參與講述。他深吸一口氣，屏住呼吸……但既然他知道真相遲早會大白，他決定還是直接說出來。他不知道睿卡的家人會作何反應，但他想，他寧願現在就知道他們是想把他趕出家門，還是會如睿卡所願站在他這一邊。

“It’s a long story,” he admitted, watching all three of Rikaa’s grandsons lean forward. Their tails swayed in near-unison, and their smiles were full of teeth and laughter. “But I suppose the first thing you should know is that I’m a human-made dragon.”“這故事很長，”他承認道，看着睿卡的所有孫子都湊了過來。他們的尾巴近乎同步地擺動着，笑容中充滿了利齒與歡快。“但我想你們首先該知道的是，我是一隻由人類製造出的龍。”

Every one of Rikaa’s family members—even the adults—froze, wearing expressions that ranged from horror to disgust to pity and everything in between. The oldest of the hatchlings in particular looked like he was trying to decide if he should step in front of his brothers to protect them from the human in their midst. Caleb couldn’t be offended—he knew Rikaa was protective of those he loved. Of course his family would react the same way.睿卡的每一個家人——甚至是成年龍——都凍住了，臉上的表情從驚恐、厭惡到憐憫不等。尤其是那隻最大的幼龍，看起來正在糾結是否該擋在弟弟們面前，保護他們免受這隻混跡在他們中間的人類的傷害。凱勒布並不覺得被冒犯——他知道睿卡對所愛之人極具保護欲。他的家人自然也會有同樣的反應。

Iuan found her voice first of Rikaa’s family members, shaking her head as she whispered, “That does explain a few things.”伊安在睿卡的家人中第一個找回了聲音，她搖着頭低聲說：“這確實解釋了一些事情。”

“Rikaa has been teaching me how to be a dragon,” Caleb said, not wanting to slow down in his explanation when he knew that, if he left them with gaps in the story that they could only fill with their imaginations, they might get the wrong idea. After all, the dragon council had assumed he was somehow complicit in the war all around them—and Rikaa himself had talked about how much he hated the humans and their wars before he knew Caleb. He knew that he had centuries of bias to overcome just to be believed, let alone to win their trust. “I didn’t ask for anyone to do this to me, but now that I’ve been changed, I want to learn how to fly, hunt—I want to be a dragon, speak your language, learn your stories.” He was surprised by how many words were dripping off his tongue, like he had been waiting to give himself permission to say them all. “I hated my life as a human. I hope that I can find a better life as a dragon.”“睿卡一直在教我如何做一隻龍，”凱勒布說道，他不想放慢解釋的速度，因爲他知道，如果他在故事中留下空白，讓他們只能靠想象去填補，他們可能會產生誤解。畢竟，龍族議會曾認爲他與周圍的戰爭有某種牽連——而睿卡自己在認識凱勒布之前，也曾談到他有多麼憎恨人類及其戰爭。他知道，僅僅爲了獲得信任，他就必須克服長達幾個世紀的偏見，更不用說贏得他們的信任了。“我沒請求任何人對我做這種事，但既然我已經轉化了，我想學習如何翱翔、狩獵——我想成爲一隻龍，說你們的語言，聽你們的故事。”他驚訝於自己竟然能如此滔滔不絕，彷彿他一直在等待給自己一個機會把這些話全部說出來。“我討厭作爲人類的生活。我希望作爲一隻龍，我能找到更好的生活。”

After a long silence descended again over the cave, Rikaa ventured into that silence, gently nudging Caleb with his snout. “I think,” he said, “that they should hear the whole story.”當漫長的沉默再次籠罩山洞時，睿卡打破了這份寂靜，用鼻子輕輕推了推凱勒布。“我覺得，”他說，“他們應該聽聽完整的故事。”

Caleb could feel that same hot, blushing sensation he’d felt when Rikaa chided him about not understanding families bubbling inside him. But he knew Rikaa was right. If Rikaa’s family members were going to get involved, the least Caleb could do would be to make sure they knew what they were getting involved in. So he let out a long sigh that carried plenty of smoke with it from the heat burning in his stomach and simply, quietly, started to tell his story.凱勒布能感覺到，當睿卡責備他不瞭解家庭時，那種燥熱、臉紅的感覺再次在他體內翻騰。但他知道睿卡是對的。如果睿卡的家人要捲入其中，凱勒布至少應該確保他們知道自己捲入的是什麼。於是，他長長地嘆了一口氣，腹中燃燒的熱氣隨之帶出了大量的煙霧，然後他便開始平靜地講述他的故事。

He was surprised by what a willing audience Rikaa’s family was. They didn’t interrupt him—but then again, they weren’t asking any questions either. Their expressions plainly revealed that they were all shocked, but when Caleb could also see the flicker of anger in some of their gazes, he wasn’t sure where that anger was directed. He had to admit that he was nervous by the time he finished his story, especially when the cave descended for the third time into a sticky silence.他驚訝於睿卡的家人是如此專注的聽衆。他們沒有打斷他——但話又說回來，他們也沒有提出任何問題。他們的表情清楚地顯示出他們都很震驚，但當凱勒布在某些目光中看到憤怒的閃現時，他不確定那憤怒是針對誰的。他不得不承認，當他講完故事時，他感到很緊張，尤其是當山洞第三次陷入那種令人窒息的沉默時。

Rikaa stepped toward Caleb, though his gaze was on his family. “I can’t abandon him,” Rikaa explained. “Nothing that happened was Kaal’s fault.”睿卡走向凱勒布，目光卻盯着他的家人。“我無法丟下他，”睿卡解釋道，“卡奧沒做錯任何事。”

“But what can we do?” one of the boys asked, looking between them with wide eyes.“但我們能做什麼呢？”其中一個男孩問道，睜大眼睛在他們之間看來看去。

It was strange, Caleb reflected, to see the innocence and trust of youth in that young dragon’s expression and to know that Caleb was probably younger than he was. And yet, Caleb felt older, carrying the weight of not only a war and loss but torture and manipulation that had forced him to grow up too fast.凱勒布心想，在那隻幼龍的表情中看到青春的純真與信任，而自己可能比他還要年輕，這感覺真的很奇怪。然而，凱勒布覺得自己更蒼老，他不僅揹負着戰爭和失去的重擔，還揹負着迫使他過快成長的折磨與操縱。

I wonder if I would have been following Tris around with that same look if the war hadn’t happened, Caleb thought, but he pushed that aside. He didn’t want to think about his old life, not now. Maybe later, when he was comfortable and well-fed and curled up by the fire. Maybe he would even relax enough to become human again.“我不知道如果戰爭沒有發生，我是不是也會帶着同樣的表情跟在特里斯身後，”凱勒布心想，但他把這個念頭拋到了腦後。他不想去想過去的生活，至少現在不想。也許以後，當他感到舒適、喫飽喝足並蜷縮在火堆旁時，他甚至會放鬆到變回人類。

But for now, he needed to be present, to actually participate in the discussions of his future—for the first time in a long time.但現在，他需要待在這裏，真正參與到關於他未來的討論中——這是很久以來的第一次。

“Well,” Iuan said slowly, “we cannot turn away anyone who needs our help.” She smiled softly at Caleb. “At the very least, we can make sure you feel welcome here. You may not have a place in your world, but you can have a place here if you’re amenable.”“嗯，”伊安緩緩說道，“我們絕難拒絕任何需要協助的人。”她對凱勒布溫柔地笑了笑。“至少，我們可以確保你在這裏感到受歡迎。你在你的世界或許沒有容身之處，但如果你願意，這裏可以有你的位置。”

“I don’t want to bring down any trouble on your family,” Caleb said, but he knew as soon as he said it that Iuan wouldn’t let him walk away from their kindness. He could see the same determination in her eyes that Rikaa always had when he made a decision.“我不想給你們家帶來任何麻煩，”凱勒布說，但他一開口就知道伊安不會讓他拒絕這份善意。他在她的眼中看到了和睿卡做決定時一模一樣的堅定。

Rikaa had clearly taught his family well. Caleb thought of all the lessons Rikaa had given him about the responsibility the dragons had from the gods to watch over the world and knew Rikaa’s children and grandchildren must have heard the same stories far more often—and more strenuously. He was lucky—of all the dragon families to find, he had managed to stumble into one of the few that took the gods’ edicts seriously enough to give him shelter and kindness.睿卡顯然把家人教得很好。凱勒布想到睿卡教給他的關於龍族肩負衆神使命守護世界的那些道理，深知睿卡的孩子和孫子們一定更頻繁、更深刻地聽過同樣的故事。他是幸運的——在所有的龍族家庭中，他竟然偶遇了爲數不多的幾個將衆神的旨意看得如此之重、願意爲他提供庇護與善意的家庭之一。

“As long as you tell us if this wizard contacts you again, I think we should be fine,” Iuan promised. “Besides, you will be in trouble no matter who you stay with. And I can’t in good conscience ask you to face that trouble with no one else to stand beside you, especially since my father has made it clear that he intends to help you.”“只要那個巫師再次聯繫你時你告訴我們就行，我想我們會沒事的，”伊安承諾道，“此外，無論你和誰待在一起都會有禍事。我良心上絕難讓你獨自面對那些禍事而無人守在你身邊，尤其是家父已經明確說明他打算協助你。”

Caleb glanced toward Rikaa, who looked as resolute as always, and broke into a smile. “Your father is amazing,” he told Iuan.凱勒布看向睿卡，他看起來一如既往地堅決，於是凱勒布露出了笑容。“你父親太棒了，”他告訴伊安。

“Yes, I know,” Iuan said, smiling to match Caleb.“是的，我知道，”伊安也對着凱勒布笑了笑。

Rikaa chuckled and shook his head at both of them. “This is not a discussion about my good points,” he said, then paused and let out a rumbling laugh that echoed through the cave. “Still, I have many, many good points.”睿卡輕笑一聲，對着他們倆搖了搖頭。“這可不是在討論我的優點，”他說，然後停頓了一下，發出一陣在山洞裏迴盪的低沉笑聲。“不過，我的確有很多、很多優點。”

Iuan laughed out loud and shook her head. “Of course, Father.”伊安大笑起來，搖了搖頭。“當然了，父親。”

Caleb couldn’t hide his smile as he watched the interaction, but he also didn’t join in the laughter. He felt oddly removed, like he wasn’t sure what his place was in this new dynamic. When he had been alone with Rikaa, he knew where he stood. Now, he was caught between knowing he needed help and not wanting to interfere in this loving, peaceful family environment.凱勒布看着他們的互動，無法掩飾笑意，但他並沒有加入笑聲。他感到一種奇怪的疏離感，彷彿他不確定自己在這個新的動態中處於什麼位置。當他單獨和睿卡在一起時，他很清楚自己的立場。現在，他陷入了既需要幫助又不想幹擾這個充滿愛與寧靜的家庭氛圍的矛盾之中。

But then Rikaa nudged Caleb again with the tip of his nose. “Come on; I will show you where you can sleep. We’ll make sure to keep you warm through the winter.”但隨後睿卡又用鼻尖推了推凱勒布。“來吧；我帶你去睡覺的地方。我們會確保你暖和地度過這個冬天。”

Iuan nodded along enthusiastically. “I’m sure you have to be freezing. This is really no place for a white dragon.”伊安也熱情地跟着點頭。“我敢肯定你一定凍壞了。這裏真不是皚龍待的地方。”

“I did like being inside the mountain where the council meets,” Caleb admitted. “Even if I didn’t like the council.”“我確實挺喜歡議會集會的那座大山內部，”凱勒布承認道，“即便我不喜歡那個議會。”

Iuan smiled. “Well, my sons love the beach. If you ever find that you need to leave again, we might come with you—and not just for safety in numbers。”伊安笑了。“嗯，我的兒子們很喜歡海灘。如果你以後發現需要再次離開，我們或許會和你一起去——不僅僅是爲了人多安全。”

“Oh, can we?” one of the boys asked, perking up instantly.“噢，我們可以嗎？”其中一個男孩問道，瞬間來了精神。

“When the winter is past, maybe,” she said.“等冬天過去，或許可以，”她說。

The boys cheered, bounding around their mother until their father, laughing at their antics, snagged the youngest by the tail with his teeth and dragged him backwards. Instantly, the boys shifted focus from the promise of a trip to the beach to a game of wrestling with their father.男孩們歡呼雀躍，圍着母親蹦蹦跳跳，直到他們的父親笑着看他們胡鬧，用牙齒咬住最小那個的尾巴，把他往後拽。瞬間，男孩們就把注意力從去海灘的承諾轉移到了和父親摔跤的遊戲上。

Caleb had absolutely no idea how to react to such easy joy. For a long time now, he had been far removed from teasing and whimsy, and he found himself struggling to accept it.凱勒布完全不知道該如何應對這種簡單的快樂。很久以來，他一直遠離戲謔和奇思妙想，他發現自己很難接受這一切。

“Now, come on,” Iuan said, catching Caleb’s attention, in a tone that told him she would accept absolutely no arguments. “You need food and rest. Let us take care of you for a little while. I’m sure my sons would love to hear stories from a real human, if you need something to pass the time.”“好了，來吧，”伊安對凱勒布說，語氣中帶着一種不容置辯的意味。“你需要食物和休息。讓我們照顧你一段時間。我敢肯定，如果你需要打發時間，我的兒子們會很喜歡聽一個真正的人類講故事。”

Caleb took slightly too long to respond, still not sure how to react to … anything that had happened since he awoke in Iuan’s home. “Yes,” he said at last. “I can definitely do that.”凱勒布過了好一會兒纔回應，他仍然不確定該如何應對……自他在伊安家醒來後所發生的一切。“好，”他最後說道，“我肯定能做到。”

Iuan smiled gently at him. “Kaal, it’s alright,” she said. “You’re not in enemy territory here. No one is going to attack you or force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”伊安對他溫柔地笑了笑。“卡奧，沒事的，”她說，“你在這裏不是在敵人的領地。沒人會襲擊你，也沒人會強令你做任何你不想做的事。”

Caleb nodded, though he still hadn’t relaxed. “I know.”凱勒布點了點頭，儘管他依然沒有放鬆。“我知道。”

Rikaa nudged his daughter. “Give it time,” he said quietly. “A lot has happened. You remember how hard it was for me after I lost your mother.”睿卡推了推女兒。“多給點時間，”他輕聲說，“經歷了很多事。你記得我失去你母親後有多難熬。”

Iuan’s smile fell, and then she moved so that she and her father could rest their heads against each other, leaning into the touch for some time before they finally broke apart and Iuan gestured with her head for Caleb to follow her. “I hope you will feel safe sooner rather than later,” she told him as they walked. “I think you could fit nicely into our family.”伊安的笑容消失了，她走過去，和父親頭靠着頭，互相依偎了一會兒，最後才分開。伊安示意凱勒布跟着她。“我希望你能早日感到安全，”他們走着的時候她告訴他，“我覺得你能很好地融入我們的家。”

Caleb felt the words wash over him, but they hadn’t fully sunk in, rolling off of his skin like the wind when he flew through the clouds. He didn’t know if he was ready to think beyond his own survival—and theirs—but Iuan seemed so genuine that Caleb nodded all the same. “Yes, I’m sure,” he said distantly.凱勒布感覺到這些話語掠過心頭，但還沒有完全沉澱下來，就像他穿過雲層飛行時的風一樣從皮膚上滑過。他不知道自己是否準備好去考慮生存——他自己的和他們的——以外的事情，但伊安看起來是如此真誠，以至於凱勒布還是點了點頭。“嗯，我確定，”他心不在焉地答道。

Still, Caleb could feel himself slowing down, a new kind of exhaustion settling over him, the kind of tiredness that came from knowing there was no immediate danger, the kind that followed fear and anger as his body slowly caught up to his mind in accepting that he was safe.儘管如此，凱勒布能感覺到自己的節奏慢了下來，一種全新的疲憊感襲上心頭。這種疲倦源於得知目前沒有危險，源於恐懼和憤怒消散後，身體逐漸跟上大腦的節奏，開始接受自己已經安全的事實。

Yes, safe.是的，安全了。

Maybe he couldn’t yet believe that he belonged. Maybe he was still worried that Alan would find him again. Maybe he still felt like an outsider and an intruder. But he was safe in that moment.也許他還沒法相信自己屬於這裏。也許他仍然擔心阿蘭會再次找到他。也許他仍然覺得自己是個局外人和闖入者。但在那一刻，他是安全的。

And that, at the very least, would get him through to the next day. And then the next. And the next.而這，至少能支撐他度過明天。然後是後天。以及未來的每一天。

wwl

Chapter 20: A Narrow Escape 第 20 章：九死一生
When Caleb saw the entrance to Rikaa’s home, he could have melted in relief.當凱勒布看到睿卡家園的入口時，他幾乎要在寬慰中融化了。

He was tired and cold and sore, but he only had to make it that last little bit, and then he could curl himself around a fire and sleep until he came out of hibernation. If dragons hibernated, that is.他疲憊、寒冷且渾身痠痛，但他只需要撐過最後這一小段路，然後就能蜷縮在火堆旁，一直睡到冬眠結束——如果龍類真的會冬眠的話。

He could see the same relief in the set of Rikaa’s shoulders and wings—so it was that much more frustrating when he heard movement in the trees around them an instant before a volley of arrows rose up out of the forest.他能從睿卡緊繃的肩膀和翅膀中看到同樣的寬慰——正因如此，當他聽到周圍樹林中傳來動靜，緊接着一波箭雨從森林中激射而出時，那種挫敗感才愈發強烈。

Caleb stopped as quickly as he could, but not before several of the arrows hit his hide. Most of them bounced off, but a few of them were able to find the chinks in his armor of scales, at his joints especially. After all, these soldiers had trained against dragons ever since they joined the army—they knew where to fire.凱勒布儘可能快地停下腳步，但還是有幾支箭射中了他的皮層。大多數箭矢都被彈開了，但仍有幾支射中了龍鱗甲冑的縫隙，尤其是關節處。畢竟，這些士兵從入伍起就接受過針對巨龍的訓練——他們知道該往哪兒射。

Caleb let out a roar of anger, pain, and frustration all at once—and that roar was echoed farther away by Rikaa, who was similarly under attack. But unlike Caleb, Rikaa was faster to lash out, roasting the group of soldiers below him even as he drifted closer to the ground, worn out from their journey and hurting from the arrows.凱勒布同時發出了憤怒、痛苦和挫敗的咆哮——遠處的睿卡也發出了同樣的迴響，他正遭受着類似的攻擊。但與凱勒布不同，睿卡的還擊更爲迅速，儘管旅途勞頓且被箭矢所傷，他依然在降落的過程中噴吐火焰，將下方的士兵燒成了焦炭。

Caleb could feel himself falling as well, no matter how he tried to force himself to stay airborne. He could feel blood trickling down his legs, and the arrows near the base of his wings made every wingbeat painful—until he had to give up entirely and came crashing down to the ground.凱勒布也感覺到自己在下墜，無論他如何強迫自己留在空中。他能感覺到鮮血順着腿部流下，翅膀根部的箭矢讓每一次扇動都痛苦不堪——直到他徹底放棄，重重地摔落在地。

As soon as he hit the earth, he was surrounded by soldiers with ropes and chains working quickly and efficiently to get him restrained. Their most immediate concern was that they didn’t want to die in a fireball or between his teeth. So, several of them had thrown lassos around Caleb’s mouth, effectively muzzling him as they pulled the ropes taut.他一落地，就被帶着繩索和鎖鏈的士兵包圍了，他們動作迅速且高效地對他進行束縛。他們最緊迫的顧慮是不想死在火球下或龍齒間。因此，幾個人將套索甩向凱勒布的嘴部，隨着繩索拉緊，有效地封住了他的嘴。

Caleb tried to pull himself free, but he was already so tired that he could barely put up much of a fight. The more the soldiers were able to restrain him, the more he could feel the panic rising up in his throat until it took physical form in the snarling growl that escaped him. While that growl had more than a few soldiers nervous, it didn’t stop them from continuing their work—not like the honest roar that Rikaa put up when the soldiers finally managed to topple him. Several of them tried to muzzle Rikaa the same way they had muzzled Caleb, though half a dozen of them were swallowed up for their trouble.凱勒布試圖掙脫，但他已經精疲力竭，幾乎無法反抗。士兵們束縛得越緊，他就越能感覺到恐慌在喉嚨裏翻湧，最終化作一聲低沉的嘶吼。雖然這聲嘶吼讓不少士兵感到緊張，但並沒有阻止他們的行動——這不像睿卡在最終被士兵合力拉倒時發出的那聲真正的怒吼。幾名士兵試圖用封住凱勒布的方式來封住睿卡的嘴，結果卻有六個人爲此丟了性命，被吞入腹中。

Caleb’s eyes were wide and reflected the light of the flames Rikaa sent after the soldiers when they tried to regroup and once more contain him. Caleb couldn’t stop growling, though the sound was shifting into something higher-pitched, almost like a whine or a whimper, the longer the fight dragged on.凱勒布瞪大了眼睛，眼中映照着睿卡噴出的火光，那是爲了阻擊試圖重新集結並再次圍困他的士兵。凱勒布無法停止低吼，儘管隨着戰鬥的持續，那聲音變得越來越尖銳，聽起來幾乎像是哀鳴或嗚咽。

He couldn’t go back to being a captive. He couldn’t go back to suffering under Alan’s direction. And most of all, he couldn’t stand by and let them do the same to Rikaa.他不能再次淪爲囚徒。他不能再次回到阿蘭的魔掌下受苦。最重要的是，他不能眼睜睜地看着他們對睿卡做同樣的事。

In fact, captivity would be worse for Rikaa. They would have to break him down to get him to do what they wanted. Caleb knew that Alan would be more than willing to do whatever it took to get Rikaa under his command, especially if it meant he would have an older, more experienced dragon as part of his forces.事實上，囚禁對睿卡來說會更糟。他們必須摧毀他的意志，才能讓他聽命。凱勒布知道，阿蘭會不擇手段地將睿卡納入麾下，尤其是如果這意味着他能擁有一條更年長、更有經驗的巨龍作爲戰力的話。

Or part of his experiment, Caleb realized with a sudden finality that left his ears ringing. If Alan had access to a naturally-born dragon, Rikaa could help him to train up the human-made dragons and teach them to fly and fight much more efficiently than any human could hope to do.或者成爲他實驗的一部分，凱勒布意識到這一點時，耳邊嗡鳴作響。如果阿蘭能掌控一條天生的巨龍，睿卡就能幫他訓練那些人造龍，教它們飛行和戰鬥，效率遠非人類所能及。

Caleb could feel the heat trapped in his throat as his anger, fear, and helplessness bubbled into fire. Smoke billowed out of the sides of his mouth, making some of the soldiers nervous enough to take a few steps back. But he couldn’t open his mouth to let the fire escape, so it could only roll around his tongue.凱勒布能感覺到喉嚨裏積聚的熱量，他的憤怒、恐懼和無助正沸騰成火焰。濃煙從他的嘴角溢出，讓一些士兵緊張得後退了幾步。但他無法張嘴讓火焰噴湧而出，火苗只能在他的舌尖翻滾。

He couldn’t remember ever being this terrified, even when he had been so close to the dragon council and worried that they could lock him up. This was different, a kind of bone-deep dread that left him hardly able to breathe, with that same whimpering noise getting louder no matter what Caleb did to keep it down.他不記得自己曾如此恐懼過，即使是當初面對龍族議會、擔心被囚禁時也不曾這樣。這次不同，這是一種深入骨髓的恐懼，讓他幾乎無法呼吸，無論他如何努力壓抑，那嗚咽聲都變得越來越響。

He didn’t even know what he was most afraid of: being captured, being captured with Rikaa, or being captured without Rikaa.他甚至不知道自己最害怕什麼：是被俘，是與睿卡一同被俘，還是在失去睿卡的情況下被俘。

Part of him wanted to shout for Rikaa and tell him to get out of there—fast. He didn’t want his friend to be subjected to the horrors that he knew were waiting for them under Alan’s control. And yet another part of him thought that maybe, just maybe, he might be able to survive whatever happened as long as he had Rikaa there with him.他的一部分靈魂想要對睿卡大喊，讓他快點離開這裏。他不希望他的朋友遭受那些他深知的、在阿蘭掌控下的恐怖折磨。然而另一部分靈魂卻在想，也許，僅僅是也許，只要有睿卡在身邊，無論發生什麼他都能挺過去。

It was such a selfish thought that it surprised Caleb with its intensity. But it was there all the same, and Caleb could do absolutely nothing to change the fact that losing Rikaa seemed to be as terrifying as losing his freedom again.這是一個如此自私的念頭，其強烈程度連凱勒布自己都感到驚訝。但這個念頭揮之不去，凱勒布無法改變這樣一個事實：失去睿卡似乎和再次失去自由一樣可怕。

Caleb’s ears were ringing with the sound of his own whimpering fear, and that seemed to give Rikaa renewed fire as he redoubled his efforts to fight back. Another fireball cascaded over the soldiers, this time pointed Caleb’s way.凱勒布的耳中迴盪着自己因恐懼而發出的嗚咽，這似乎給了睿卡新的動力，讓他加倍努力反擊。又一個火球在士兵中炸裂，這一次是朝着凱勒布的方向。

Caleb closed his eyes as the fire reached him and washed over his snout. He could hear Rikaa’s roar slipping to a more muffled growl, and his eyes snapped open in time to see that one of the soldiers had managed to lasso a rope around Rikaa’s mouth and was now dangling from that same rope, clinging on tight as Rikaa shook his head hard from side to side, threatening to send the offending man flying into what would absolutely be a deadly fall.當火焰席捲而來、掠過他的口鼻時，凱勒布閉上了眼睛。他聽到睿卡的怒吼變成了沉悶的低吼，猛地睜開眼，正看到一名士兵成功用套索封住了睿卡的嘴，此刻正死死拽着繩索懸在半空，而睿卡正劇烈地左右甩頭，隨時可能將那個冒犯者甩飛，墜入必死無疑的深淵。

Caleb growled when he saw that Rikaa had been muzzled, unconsciously baring his teeth, smoke still pouring out of his mouth—but this time, he could feel the ropes on his snout starting to fail after Rikaa’s fireball had reached him. Caleb blinked and then tried to force his mind to focus on more than blind panic and anger, growling and grunting and stretching his jaws until, finally, the vast amount of taut ropes started to give.看到睿卡被封口，凱勒布發出了低吼，下意識地露出獠牙，濃煙仍不斷從口中湧出——但這一次，他感覺到在睿卡的火球掠過之後，束縛他口鼻的繩索開始鬆動了。凱勒布眨了眨眼，努力讓大腦從盲目的恐慌和憤怒中冷靜下來，他低吼着、掙扎着，不斷撐開下頜，終於，那些緊繃的繩索開始崩斷。

He didn’t get much space to work with, but he got his mouth open just enough to spew the fireball that had been rolling around his tongue that whole time. The soldiers simply hadn’t been prepared for an attack from behind, since they had assumed Caleb was no threat with his makeshift muzzle in place. And so none of them had the time or the reflexes to get their shields up to block the fire that consumed dozens of them at once as Caleb breathed his fury over the army—and then sent fire Rikaa’s way so the rope around his mouth burned away.雖然活動空間不大，但他張開的縫隙已足夠讓他噴出那團一直在舌尖翻滾的火球。士兵們根本沒料到會遭到來自後方的攻擊，因爲他們以爲凱勒布被封住嘴後就毫無威脅了。因此，沒人來得及反應或舉起盾牌，凱勒布將怒火傾瀉在軍隊身上，瞬間吞噬了數十人——接着他將火焰引向睿卡，燒斷了封住他嘴部的繩索。

Now, the soldiers were starting to scramble. They’d had the element of surprise as well as overwhelming numbers on their side when they first attacked—not to mention the sheer exhaustion plaguing both Caleb and Rikaa. But now, the two dragons were both bolstered by their anger and fear, and they had managed to kill enough soldiers that the remaining assailants were starting to retreat.現在，士兵們開始潰散了。最初進攻時，他們佔據了出其不意的優勢和壓倒性的人數——更不用說凱勒布和睿卡當時已精疲力竭。但現在，兩條龍都在憤怒和恐懼的驅使下爆發了力量，他們殺死了足夠多的士兵，剩下的襲擊者開始撤退。

But neither Rikaa nor Caleb could relax until they were both out of danger. With a mighty roar, Rikaa let loose another wall of fire that drove back the soldiers and then, without looking Caleb’s way, shouted, “Take to the air! I will meet you there!”但在兩人徹底脫離危險之前，睿卡和凱勒布都無法放鬆。睿卡發出一聲巨吼，再次釋放出一道火牆逼退士兵，然後頭也不回地對凱勒布喊道：“升空！我會與你匯合！”

Caleb hesitated. “What about you?”凱勒布猶豫了一下。“那你呢？”

“I said I would meet you there.”“我說過我會與你匯合。”

Caleb glanced around—at the soldiers in retreat, at the flames starting to spread through the trees. It felt too familiar. He could still remember choking on smoke as he ran away from home, could still hear the leathery beat of wings over his head and the screaming… .凱勒布環顧四周——撤退的士兵，開始在樹林間蔓延的火焰。這一切感覺太熟悉了。他仍記得逃離家園時被濃煙嗆到的感覺，仍能聽到頭頂上方皮革般的振翅聲和尖叫聲……

“Kaal!” Rikaa bellowed his name with such ferocity that it shocked Caleb into unfurling his wings. When he saw the look on Rikaa’s face, one of barely restrained fear, he knew the best thing he could do for his friend was to obey him.“卡奧！”睿卡怒吼着他的名字，那聲音如此狂暴，驚得凱勒布立刻展開了翅膀。當他看到睿卡臉上那幾乎無法抑制的恐懼神情時，他知道爲朋友做的最好的事就是聽從他的命令。

And yet as soon as he took off, he started to whine. He couldn’t stop it. The arrows were still lodged in his joints, even if some of the wooden shafts had burned up in Rikaa’s fireball. And they hurt. Every time he beat his wings, he was in agony, but with the soldiers too close below him, he didn’t dare risk doing anything but pushing through the pain to fly away—even if his high-pitched whimper was still echoing around him, increasing in volume every time he jostled an arrowhead.然而他一升空，就開始發出哀鳴。他無法控制。箭矢仍嵌在他的關節裏，即使有些木質箭桿已在睿卡的火球中燒燬。它們真的很疼。每一次扇動翅膀都是一種折磨，但由於士兵就在下方不遠處，他不敢冒險，只能強忍劇痛飛離——儘管那尖銳的嗚咽聲仍在他周圍迴盪，每當觸動箭頭，聲音就會變得更響。

He didn’t know what direction to choose, so he kept going up, beyond the reach of the soldiers’ bows. If he had been human, he would have been curled up in a ball and crying, but the loud whimper seemed to express that sensation just as well.他不知道該往哪兒飛，只能不斷拔高，直到超出士兵弓箭的射程。如果他還是人類，此刻一定會蜷縮成一團大哭，而那響亮的嗚咽聲似乎同樣表達了這種情感。

Finally, Rikaa caught up to him and even nudged him slightly with his own bloody snout, a display of not only affection but solidarity. “Can you become a human again?”終於，睿卡追上了他，甚至用血跡斑斑的口鼻輕輕碰了碰他，這不僅是關愛，更是團結的表示。“你能迴歸人類形態嗎？”

Caleb’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”凱勒布驚訝地瞪大了眼睛。“什麼？”

“Do you think you could choose to be human? Right now?”“你覺得你能選擇做回人類嗎？現在？”

Caleb shook his head. “I’m too stressed.”凱勒布搖了搖頭。“我太緊張了。”

“I know,” Rikaa said. “But you’re also badly hurt, and I could carry you more easily if you were smaller.”“我知道，”睿卡說。“但你也受了重傷，如果你更小，我更容易帶你走。”

Caleb was panting, his tongue lolling out of his mouth with the exertion of keeping himself airborne, not to mention the pain involved. “I can try,” he said. “But in the meantime, we need to keep moving.”凱勒布喘着粗氣，爲了維持飛行，他的舌頭因勞累而伸出口外，更不用說那鑽心的疼痛了。“我會努力，”他說。“但在此期間，我們需要繼續趕路。”

Rikaa nodded once, sharply. “Yes. Follow me. And scream if you manage to shift your form while we fly. I promise to catch you.”睿卡乾脆地應了一聲。“好。跟我來。如果你在翱翔時成功轉化，就喊出來。我承諾接住你。”

“I will,” Caleb promised, though he was entirely sure Rikaa wouldn’t need to catch him—not when the only times Caleb had managed to turn human were times of tranquility.“我會的，”凱勒布承諾道，儘管他完全確定睿卡不需要接住他——因爲凱勒布僅有的幾次變回人類，都是在心境平和的時候。

Still, as he followed Rikaa, barely able to force himself to focus on the blue blur ahead of him as his vision started to fuzz and his head started to hurt, he pleaded, in desperation, with whatever gods would listen, that he would be granted the power to turn back into Caleb, not Kaal. He struggled to think when so much of his energy was devoted to flying away from the soldiers, but he could vaguely remember standing in the ocean and thinking of home when the scales had started to recede. The last time he had been truly human, he had been thinking of the life he had lost before the war took everything.儘管如此，他緊跟在睿卡身後，當視線開始模糊、頭部開始劇痛時，他幾乎無法強迫自己盯着前方那團藍色的虛影。他在絕望中向任何願意傾聽的神靈祈求，祈求被賦予變回凱勒布而非卡奧的力量。當大部分精力都用於逃離士兵時，他很難集中思考，但他隱約記得站在大海中、思念家園時鱗片退去的情景。上一次他真正作爲人類時，他正在思考那段在戰爭奪走一切之前的、失去的生活。

But how could he think of anything nearly that wonderful when he was whimpering with every movement, when the rush of wind beneath his wings also carried with it another wave of pain? He was stumbling in the air, too tired to think enough to keep his legs tucked in or his tail at the right position. He was dragging himself through the air, and he was too tired to keep from wearing out.但當他的一舉一動都伴隨着嗚咽，當翅膀下的疾風也帶起陣陣劇痛時，他怎能想到那樣美好的事物？他在空中踉蹌着，疲憊得無法思考如何收攏雙腿或保持尾巴的位置。他在空中掙扎前行，已經累得無法阻止體力的耗盡。

Rikaa was nothing more than a blur of blue in a tunnel of darkness, and several times, Caleb felt his head droop and his eyes close before he jolted himself awake. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.在黑暗的隧道中，睿卡不過是一抹藍色的虛影，凱勒布好幾次感覺到頭垂了下來，眼睛閉上，然後又猛地驚醒。他不知道自己還能撐多久。

If you fall, the soldiers will come looking for you, he told himself, trying to use fear to elicit that same panicked response that had helped him find the energy to fight the soldiers before, despite his exhaustion. But it was one thing to fight in a burst of energy and another thing entirely to fly for such a long time without immediate danger.如果你掉下去，士兵會來抓你的，他告訴自己，試圖利用恐懼激發出之前幫他對抗士兵的那種恐慌反應，儘管他已精疲力竭。但在爆發中戰鬥是一回事，在沒有迫在眉睫的危險下飛行這麼久又是另一回事。

If you fall, Alan will have you, he told himself—and that seemed to work a little better for motivation. Still, he could barely keep his eyes open. He was bleeding and hurt, and he hadn’t eaten anything before they left. He had nothing left to give.如果你掉下去，阿蘭就會抓住你，他告訴自己——這似乎更能激發動力。儘管如此，他還是幾乎睜不開眼。他流着血，受着傷，離開前什麼也沒喫。他已經無力再付出了。

Despite his every attempt to stay in the air, Caleb felt himself slipping—and then, all at once, his body quit listening to his pleas.儘管他竭盡全力留在空中，凱勒布還是感覺到自己在滑落——接着，突然之間，他的身體不再聽從他的懇求。

He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.他在落地之前就失去了知覺。

Caleb had no idea how long he had been asleep, but when he felt someone prodding him with the end of a snout, he knew he was, at least, still around a dragon. Hopefully Rikaa.凱勒布不知道自己睡了多久，但當他感覺到有人用口鼻輕輕拱他時，他知道自己至少還在一條龍身邊。希望是睿卡。

He was too tired to open his eyes, and everything hurt. But he was still alive, and that was something.他累得睜不開眼，渾身都在痛。但他還活着，這已經很不容易了。

“Kaal, wake up,” Rikaa said urgently, nudging Caleb again. “We’re so close. We need to keep moving.”“卡奧，醒醒，”睿卡急促地說道，又拱了拱凱勒布。“我們很近了。需要繼續趕路。”

“I can’t,” Caleb moaned, still without opening his eyes. He literally couldn’t make his body comply with his commands. He was too tired, too hurt. Maybe it would have been better if Rikaa simply left him in the forest to die. Caleb knew he was close to death; he had lost a lot of blood and had no strength left. He’d come close before, starved and thirsty and desperate as a refugee, and this felt a lot like that. Maybe it would be better if Rikaa let it happen—then, Rikaa wouldn’t have to worry about the council, and then, Caleb wouldn’t have to worry about Alan or the war or anything, really.“我已力竭，”凱勒布呻吟着，依然沒有睜眼。他真的無法讓身體聽從指揮。他太累了，傷得太重。也許睿卡直接把他丟在森林裏等死會更好。凱勒布知道自己離死亡很近；他失血過多，毫無力氣。作爲難民時，他也曾經歷過這種飢渴交加、絕望透頂的瀕死感。也許讓這一切發生更好——那樣睿卡就不用擔心議會了，凱勒布也不用擔心阿蘭、戰爭或任何事情了。

“Kaal,” Rikaa said softly, nudging him once more and bringing him out of his thoughts. “I know it’s hard. But I need you to come with me. Please.”“卡奧，”睿卡輕聲說，再次拱了拱他，將他從思緒中拉了回來。“我知道很難。但我需要你跟我走。求你了。”

The tone of Rikaa’s voice finally got Caleb’s attention, and he opened his eyes to see that Rikaa, looking more tired, worn, bloody, and afraid than Caleb had ever seen him, was close enough that Caleb couldn’t see Rikaa’s entire body, not from this perspective, with Rikaa’s face so close to his own.睿卡的語氣終於引起了凱勒布的注意，他睜開眼，看到睿卡看起來比以往任何時候都要疲憊、蒼老、血跡斑斑且充滿恐懼。由於睿卡的臉離他如此之近，從這個視角看去，凱勒布甚至無法看清睿卡的全身。

When Rikaa saw that Caleb was awake, he let out a sigh of such obvious relief that it left Caleb tingling with shame. Hadn’t he just been thinking that he wanted to keep Rikaa safe? That had to mean trying not to leave his friend alone again. Loss was a hurt just as powerful as any physical injury.當睿卡看到凱勒布醒來時，他發出瞭如此明顯的寬慰嘆息，讓凱勒布感到一陣羞愧。他剛纔不是還在想保護睿卡的安全嗎？那意味着不能再讓朋友孤身一人。失去的痛苦和任何肉體上的傷害一樣劇烈。

“I promise: there isn’t far to go,” Rikaa said, nudging Caleb in the shoulder as he tried to pry him into getting up. But when Caleb let out a noise of pain that he simply couldn’t stop even if he had the energy or desire to, Rikaa paused and frowned, then took in a deep breath and let it out gently in a warm rush of healing power.“我承諾：路途已近，”睿卡說着，頂了頂凱勒布的肩膀，試圖拉他起來。但當凱勒布發出一聲痛苦的呻吟——即使他有精力或意願也無法抑制的聲音時，睿卡停了下來，皺起眉頭，深吸一口氣，緩緩吐出一股溫暖的治癒力量。

Rikaa was too tired to heal much, and he couldn’t fix the arrowheads still embedded in Caleb’s scales, but the healing helped enough to get Caleb on his feet, even if he felt empty and dizzy in a way that he hadn’t felt since he was thirteen and starving and only managing to survive because he’d stumbled into a farm and found some unharvested food, enough to get him by until he could hunt for something more substantial.睿卡太累了，無法治癒太多，也無法取出仍嵌在凱勒布鱗片裏的箭頭，但這次治療足以讓凱勒布站起來，儘管他感到一陣空虛和眩暈。這種感覺他自十三歲那年捱餓以來就再沒體會過，當時他全靠闖入一座農場找到一些未收割的糧食才活了下來，撐到了他能捕獵到更充飢的食物爲止。

“I’m sorry,” Caleb whispered through his teeth.“我很內疚，”凱勒布咬着牙低聲說。

“It’s alright,” Rikaa promised quickly. “You and I have been pushing our way forward for a long time. I don’t blame you for being exhausted.”“沒事，”睿卡趕忙承諾道。“我們趕了很久的路。我理解你的勞累。”

Caleb shook his head. “The soldiers wouldn’t have known about your home if not for me,” he said, feeling miserable physically as well as emotionally—though the two were definitely connected. His physical pain was fueling his guilt, and the guilt made ignoring the pain impossible.凱勒布搖了搖頭。“軍人知道你的家，都怪我，”他說，無論生理還是心理都感到痛苦萬分——這兩者顯然是相連的。肉體的疼痛助長了他的內疚，而內疚又讓他無法忽視疼痛。

Rikaa shook his head lightly. “We don’t know that they found my cave itself. They may have followed us, or they may have been searching the area generally,” he reasoned. “And even if they did find my home, we can’t dwell on it.” He looked around them, and Caleb noticed for the first time that big, fluffy snowflakes were starting to fall around them. “I know you’re cold, and I know you’re tired, but Kaal—you need to move. Now. Before you can’t.”睿卡輕輕搖頭。“尚未可知。他們可能跟蹤了我們，也可能只是在這一帶搜尋，”他分析道。“即便他們真的找到了我的家，我們也別無他法。”他環顧四周，凱勒布這才注意到周圍開始飄落大朵蓬鬆的雪花。“我知道你很冷，也知道你很累，但卡奧——你需要動起來。現在。趁你還行的時候。”

“Where?”“去哪？”

“I told you: I live close to the rest of my family. My daughter isn’t far from here.”“我說過：我住在族人近處。我女兒就在這近處。”

Caleb remembered Rikaa telling him that, but honestly, after seeing the soldiers try to capture Rikaa, he wondered if they could justify being so selfish that they involved other dragons and put them in danger too.凱勒布記得睿卡說過這話，但老實說，在目睹了士兵試圖抓捕睿卡後，他懷疑自己是否應該如此自私，把其他龍也捲進來並置於危險之中。

But he was too tired to articulate his concerns; he already felt his head drooping once more.但他太累了，無法表達他的擔憂；他已經感覺到頭又一次垂了下來。

Rikaa nudged Caleb again. “Come on. I know you’re tired. You can make it a little longer.”睿卡又拱了拱凱勒布。“來。我知道你累了。再堅持一下。”

“And if the soldiers find us?” Caleb asked tiredly.“要是軍士找到我們呢？”凱勒布疲憊地問。

“Then may the gods protect them from their own folly,” Rikaa said, a sparkle of amusement dancing in his eyes. “My youngest is by far the most vicious out of everyone in our family, and she has grown less forgiving since her hatchlings reached adolescence.”“願神靈垂憐他們的愚蠢，”睿卡說，眼中閃爍着一絲戲謔。“我最小的孩子是我們家最兇的，自從她的幼崽到了青春期，她就愈加難以寬恕了。”

Rather than reassuring Caleb, Rikaa’s words had the opposite effect. “We can’t bring your grandchildren into this!”睿卡的話非但沒有讓凱勒布安心，反而起到了反作用。“莫要牽連你的後代！”

“They are all at least as old as you are,” Rikaa argued.“他們都至少和你一樣大了，”睿卡爭辯道。

“And if they get captured?”“要是他們遭難了呢？”

Rikaa shook his head. “Do we have another option?” he asked rather than trying to argue with Caleb any further.睿卡搖了搖頭。“我們還有餘地嗎？”他問道，不再試圖與凱勒布爭辯。

Caleb opened his mouth—but no words came to him. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Rikaa was right: if they wanted to survive, they needed help. And they could trust Rikaa’s family when they couldn’t trust anyone else—not even the dragon council.凱勒布張了張嘴，卻說不出話來。儘管他不願承認，但他知道睿卡是對的：如果他們想活下去，就需要幫助。而且比起其他人——甚至是龍族議會，他們更可以信任睿卡的家人。

Besides, Caleb was starting to shake again from the cold; he couldn’t afford to be choosy.此外，凱勒布又開始因寒冷而發抖；他已經沒有挑三揀四的餘地了。

“Fine,” he said at last, though even the one word tasted like defeat. “But only until we’ve recovered.”“行，”他最終說道，儘管這一個字聽起來也像是認輸。“但僅限於我們痊癒。”

“We can revisit the discussion when we have both had sleep and food—and after our wounds have been tended to,” Rikaa said. Even though he was technically acquiescing to Caleb’s demands, Caleb still felt like Rikaa was giving him a list of requirements all the same.“等我們休息好、填實了肚子……等傷口處理好了，再聊這個，”睿卡說。儘管他名義上是答應了凱勒布的要求，但凱勒布依然覺得睿卡是在給他列出一系列必須達成的條件。

“Fine.”“行。”

Rikaa nodded and then stretched out his wings, wincing in sympathy when Caleb did the same and couldn’t stop the whimpering noise from before. “I know it hurts,” he said. “Believe me—I wish I could take that away from you.”睿卡點頭，然後伸展翅膀，當凱勒布也跟着做並忍不住發出之前的嗚咽聲時，他感同身受地皺了皺眉。“我知道很疼，”他說。“相信我——我真想替你承擔。”

“The arrowheads need to come out,” Caleb explained tersely.“箭頭得取出來，”凱勒布簡短地解釋道。

“I know.” Again, Rikaa looked perfectly sympathetic. “And I know it sounds callous, but that noise will draw other dragons to us. We’ll find help faster this way.”“我知道。”睿卡再次露出同情的表情。“我知道這聽起來很冷酷，但那種聲音會引來同類。這樣我們能更快找到援手。”

“Good, because I don’t think I can stop it,” Caleb admitted.“好，因爲我難以控制它，”凱勒布承認道。

“No, you cannot,” Rikaa agreed, his long claws scratching the rocks beneath his feet. “It is completely instinctual. All hatchlings and adolescents can make that call—and only other dragons can hear it. For parents especially, the drive to help a young dragon in distress can be … overwhelming.”“確實如此，”睿卡贊同道，長爪抓撓着腳下的岩石。“這是天性。所有幼崽都能傳出這種呼救——唯有龍類能察覺。對於雙親而言，救助受難幼崽的渴望是……難以抗拒的。”

Caleb’s eyes widened, and he winced as he shook his head. “I’m sorry. It must be hard to listen to.”凱勒布瞪大眼睛，搖着頭縮了縮脖子。“我很內疚。聽着一定很難受。”

“Not as difficult as it was to see you nearly beaten and captive once more,” Rikaa admitted. “At least in taking you to safety, I can help.” He took a deep breath and settled his shoulders, shaking his wings out again. “Fly for as long as you can, Kaal. Eventually, we will either reach my daughter—or she will reach us.”“沒看到你再次受難、遭囚那麼難受，”睿卡承認道。“至少將你帶到安全境地，我能盡一些力。”他深吸一口氣，沉下肩膀，再次抖了抖翅膀。“盡力翱翔，卡奧。最終，我們要麼找到我女兒——要麼她會找到我們。”

wwl

首先感謝作者@Herrychess 的辛勤漢化！ [有愛] 因爲前面看的實在有些入迷，後面看着有些停不下來了 [被炸]
將原書的後面幾段讓Gemini雙語重新翻譯了一下，順便貼上來吧，方便後面來的龍看 [大笑]

CHAPTER 19: LET’S GO HOME第 19 章：回家吧

Kaal, wake up.”“卡奧，醒醒。”

Caleb could feel the gentle push of Rikaa’s nose in his side, and he let out a soft moan as he stretched his tired limbs. He didn’t understand how his legs and tail were sore along with his wings from the long flight, but then, he had been so tense that it felt like every muscle in his body had gone rigid as soon as he had seen the island on the horizon. It made sense that there would be a price to pay for that reaction.凱勒布能感覺到睿卡用鼻子輕輕推着他的側腹，他在舒展疲憊的肢體時發出一聲輕微的呻吟。他不明白爲什麼長途飛行後，不僅是翅膀，連腿和尾巴也痠痛不已，但轉念一想，他在看到地平線上的海島時是如此緊張，以至於全身的每一塊肌肉都僵硬了。這種反應顯然是要付出代價的。

He yawned widely and turned to see Rikaa shaking sand from his wings. Caleb was glad to see that; it meant his friend had managed to snatch some sleep, even if it looked like he had stationed himself in a position to watch over Caleb while he slept.他大張着嘴打了個哈欠，轉身看到睿卡正抖落翅膀上的沙子。凱勒布很高興看到這一幕；這說明他的朋友設法眯了一會兒，儘管看起來睿卡一直守在能照看凱勒布睡覺的位置上。

“I would let you rest longer,” Rikaa admitted, “but I am nervous to stay so close to the council.”“我本想讓你多歇會兒，”睿卡承認道，“但我留在這議會近處，深感憂慮。”

Caleb certainly didn’t blame Rikaa, not when the mere sight of the council’s island had been such a terrifying experience that Caleb had nearly crashed into the sea. “How did you sleep?”凱勒布當然不會怪罪睿卡，畢竟僅僅是看到議會的海島就是一次如此恐怖的經歷，他當時差點墜入大海。“你睡得如何？”

“I slept,” Rikaa said simply.“歇過了。”睿卡簡短地回答。

Caleb nodded, appreciating the blunt answer. He knew exactly what Rikaa meant without any further explanation. They gave their bodies the sleep they needed, but their minds were another matter entirely.凱勒布點點頭，很欣賞這種直率的回答。他完全明白睿卡的意思，無需多言。他們的身體得到了所需的睡眠，但精神狀態完全是另一回事。

Caleb stood up and shook out the sand from his own wings, the way Rikaa had done. His stomach rumbled, but he didn’t say anything about it. He’d been hungry the last time they were on the beach, when he was a human, and it made sense that he would be hungry as a dragon as well, even if dragons didn’t have to eat as often. He simply hadn’t noticed when his stomach had been rolling with nerves and not hunger at the island and after they’d left.凱勒布站起身，像睿卡那樣抖掉自己翅膀上的沙子。他的肚子咕咕作響，但他什麼也沒說。上次他們在海灘上時他就很餓，那時他還是個人類，所以現在作爲一條龍感到飢餓也很合理，即便龍不需要頻繁進食。只是在海島上以及離開後，他的胃裏一直翻騰着緊張感而非飢餓感，所以他纔沒察覺到。

But Rikaa looked worn and weary, and Caleb was used to hunger. He could wait. He put it aside, then, to ask after his friend. “Will you be in trouble with the council?” he asked.但睿卡看起來疲憊不堪，而凱勒布早已習慣了飢餓。他可以忍耐。於是他放下這件事，轉而詢問他的朋友。“議會那邊，你會惹上禍端嗎？”他問道。

Rikaa turned Caleb’s way sharply, obviously surprised by the question. “What?”睿卡猛地轉向凱勒布，顯然對這個問題感到驚訝。“怎麼？”

“The council—some of them, anyway—wanted to imprison me. We left before they could come after us, but I doubt they are happy with us right now,” Caleb pointed out. “You came with me, and you stood up for me. Will they hold that against you?”“議會——至少他們中的一些——想將我關起來。我們在他們追來前離開了，但我猜他們此刻定然惱火，”凱勒布指出，“你隨我同行，還爲我出頭。他們會因此遷怒於你嗎？”

Rikaa frowned and then let out a breath that was hot enough to carry a few embers with it as well as smoke. “They might.”睿卡皺起眉頭，呼出一口灼熱的氣息，其中夾雜着些許餘燼和煙霧。“或許會。”

“I’m sorry, then.”“那我深感愧疚。”

“No.” Rikaa shook his head. “No, I am not sorry. Aiding someone running from war, from slavery, and from the very worst that humanity can bring upon itself and others—if that puts me at odds with the council, then they are the ones at fault.”“沒必要。”睿卡搖了搖頭，“沒必要，我絕無悔意。援救一個逃離戰火、逃離奴役、逃離人類所能施加的最深苦難之人……若這讓我與議會決裂，那也是他們的過錯。”

“But you are in trouble with them,” Caleb said.“可你確實惹上禍端了。”凱勒布說。

For only a moment, Rikaa looked like might try to deny it, but then, he let out a mirthless laugh. “Those that are against us, yes—they are set against me and you. But don’t worry yourself, little one.”有那麼一瞬間，睿卡似乎想否認，但隨即他發出一聲苦笑。“那些敵視我們的，沒錯——他們現在視你我爲眼中釘。但無需憂慮，小傢伙。”

“I’m going to worry anyway,” Caleb said, nudging Rikaa with his snout. “I didn’t mean to drag you into trouble.”“我還是會擔心的，”凱勒布說着，用口鼻部蹭了蹭睿卡，“我無意將你捲入禍事。”

“I came willingly,” Rikaa said, a fond smile playing with his expression before he shook his head again. “We need to move. I, for one, will feel better when we get back home.”“我心甘情願，”睿卡說道，臉上露出一絲慈愛的微笑，隨後他又搖了搖頭，“我們得動身了。等回到巢穴，我才能安心。”

“Agreed,” Caleb said, nodding seriously.“贊同。”凱勒布嚴肅地點頭。

Rikaa waited for Caleb to stretch out his sore muscles before the two of them took off once more. Caleb’s wings were already tired—he really hadn’t used them often enough to build up any kind of strength—but he didn’t want to complain. Not when he noticed Rikaa turning to look at him every once in a while, checking on his progress, obviously worried.睿卡等凱勒布舒展開痠痛的肌肉後，兩人才再次起飛。凱勒布的翅膀已經很累了——他確實還沒怎麼練習過，沒能積攢起足夠的力量——但他不想抱怨。尤其是當他注意到睿卡時不時轉頭看他，確認他的進度，顯然是在擔心他。

Caleb didn’t want to slow Rikaa down. And he definitely didn’t want Rikaa to wind up getting caught by angry council members because he was waiting for his much slower, younger, and weaker companion.凱勒布不想拖累睿卡。他絕對不希望睿卡因爲等待他這個速度慢、年紀小且虛弱的同伴，而最終被憤怒的議會成員抓獲。

Still, Caleb couldn’t hide his exhaustion when every wingbeat was slower, every breath more ragged the longer he tried to push himself. Rikaa had excellent hearing—and even if he didn’t, he had raised a family and seen enough young and headstrong dragons to know when to call for a break even if Caleb’s fledgling pride wouldn’t allow him to ask for a rest.然而，隨着他強迫自己堅持的時間越長，每一次扇動翅膀就越緩慢，每一次呼吸就越急促，凱勒布無法掩飾自己的精疲力竭。睿卡的聽覺極佳——即便聽不見，他也撫養過族親，見過足夠多年輕氣盛的龍，知道什麼時候該叫停休息，哪怕凱勒布那初出茅廬的自尊心不允許他主動開口求援。

When they touched down again, Caleb stretched out his legs and tail with a noise of frustration. “My wings are doing all the work, so why am I sore everywhere?”當他們再次降落時，凱勒布伸展着腿和尾巴，發出一聲沮喪的嘆息。“全是翅膀在用力，爲何我渾身都痠痛？”

Rikaa chuckled despite the serious mood between them. “You’re keeping your legs close to you, and you’re using your tail as a way to direct your flight. Did you really think that would take no effort?”儘管氣氛嚴肅，睿卡還是輕笑出聲。“你一直蜷縮着腿，還用尾巴掌控方向。你真以爲這很輕鬆？”

Caleb rolled his shoulders forward as he rested his head on his front legs, feeling abashed. “No.”凱勒布將頭枕在前腿上，向前聳了聳肩，感到有些羞愧。“沒。”

Rikaa chuckled. “Don’t look so forlorn. You still have a lot to learn about this body that was never yours to learn.”睿卡呵呵一笑。“莫要如此沮喪。關於這具本不屬於你的軀體，你還有很多要學的。”

“Yeah.” Caleb tried to let his muscles relax, but he still felt embarrassed. He didn’t know how to explain to Rikaa that he was frustrated not just with his ignorance of his own body but with the fact that he had to rely on Rikaa for so much. It seemed that the more he learned, the more he turned to Rikaa—and he had made it a point of pride not to rely on anyone after he’d lost his family.“是啊。”凱勒布試着讓肌肉放鬆下來，但他依然感到尷尬。他不知道該如何向睿卡解釋，他的沮喪不僅源於對自己身體的無知，還源於他必須在這麼多事情上依賴睿卡。似乎他學得越多，就越是求助於睿卡——而在失去家人後，不依賴任何人曾是他引以爲傲的堅持。

He was terrified now that he had someone to rely on again, in a way that he couldn’t explain. He’d gotten used to being alone, and he honestly preferred it, because having someone that close again felt like living in the shadow of war, when any moment might change his fate and leave him mourning again. He had been alone for so long after he had lost everyone, and he couldn’t help but feel like that was simply his lot in life. As soon as he got used to Rikaa, the war would catch up to them—or maybe the council—and then Caleb would be alone all over again.現在他又有了可以依靠的人，這讓他感到一種無法言喻的恐懼。他已經習慣了孤獨，而且坦白說他更喜歡那樣，因爲再次擁有如此親近的人，感覺就像生活在戰爭的陰影下，任何時刻都可能改變他的命運，讓他再次陷入哀慟。在失去所有人之後，他孤獨了太久，不由得覺得這就是他的宿命。一旦他習慣了睿卡的存在，戰爭就會追上他們——或者是議會——然後凱勒布又會變得孤身一人。

“When we get back home, I want to teach you more,” Rikaa said, breaking into Caleb’s miserable thoughts—and surprising Caleb enough to get him to pick his head up off of his legs.“等回到巢穴，我想教你更多。”睿卡說道，打斷了凱勒布痛苦的思緒——這讓凱勒布大喫一驚，抬起了枕在腿上的頭。

“Teach me?”“教我？”

Rikaa smiled. “You’re still such a new dragon,” he said, gesturing Caleb’s way with his tail. “You need to learn how to be a dragon.”睿卡笑了。“你還是一條稚嫩的龍，”他用尾巴指了指凱勒布，“你得學會如何當一條龍。”

“So I don’t wear myself out every time I fly,” Caleb surmised, letting his head drop back down again. He was starting to feel overwhelmed by everything he needed to do, especially when the council wouldn’t help him. He had hoped he could lay his problems at their feet, and now, he felt he was drowning in everything he didn’t know.“省得我每次飛翔都累得虛脫，”凱勒布推測道，頭又垂了下去。他開始對所有需要做的事情感到應接不暇，尤其是當議會拒絕幫助他時。他曾希望把問題都交給他們解決，而現在，他覺得自己快要被那些未知的難題淹沒了。

“That’s certainly part of it,” Rikaa agreed, though he frowned as he watched Caleb and his obviously dejected body language. “But in that case, you simply need more practice.”“確實是其中一點，”睿卡贊同道，但他看着凱勒布那顯而易見的沮喪姿態，皺起了眉頭，“但那樣的話，你只需多加練習。”

“I know,” Caleb said in a sigh.“我曉得。”凱勒布嘆了口氣說。

“Then you also know that there is more to being a dragon than flight,” Rikaa said. His tone was somewhere between playful and reprimanding, and Caleb couldn’t help but look up to meet his gaze and pay closer attention to his friend. “You should learn our language,” he said. “It will be easier to talk with you without having to form your cumbersome words.”“那你也該曉得，當一條龍可遠比飛翔要複雜，”睿卡說。他的語氣介於戲謔與責備之間，凱勒布不由得抬起頭對上他的目光，更加專注地聽這位朋友說話。“你該學習我們的語言，”他說，“省去那些拗口的人類詞彙，交流起來會更順暢。”

Despite himself, Caleb had to smile. He was glad, after his experience on the council’s island, that Rikaa recognized the same problems with the language barrier that Caleb had seen. If Caleb could speak or even simply understand the language, then he could deal with other dragons more easily. He could pass as a natural dragon—long enough to gain trust. Then, Caleb would never be in the same position he had been in with the council, when the dragons around him had growled and snarled in their own language, deciding Caleb’s fate without him. If he could understand them, he would have that slightest bit more control over his own destiny. And, if he was honest, he desperately needed to have that control—or he would lose his mind. He was tired of other people directing his fate.凱勒布不由自主地露出了微笑。在議會海島的經歷之後，他很高興睿卡也察覺到了同樣的語言障礙。如果凱勒布能說，或者哪怕只是聽懂這種語言，他就能更輕鬆地與其他龍打交道。他可以僞裝成一條天生的龍——時間長到足以贏得信任。這樣，凱勒布就再也不會陷入像在議會時那樣的境地：周圍的龍用他聽不懂的語言咆哮低吼，在沒有他參與的情況下決定他的命運。如果他能聽懂，他就能對自己命運多一分掌控。說實話，他極度渴望這種掌控力——否則他會瘋掉的。他已經厭倦了由別人來主宰他的命運。

“Kaal?”“卡奧？”

At Rikaa’s prompting, Caleb nodded quickly. “I think that’s a good idea,” he said. “I was just thinking about how I’d like to be able to know what the council was saying about me.”在睿卡的催促下，凱勒布迅速點點頭。“我覺得這是個好主意，”他說，“我剛纔還在想，真希望當時能聽懂議會在議論我什麼。”

“Oh, I’m sure you already know what they were saying,” Rikaa said darkly.“呵，我敢肯定你已經猜到他們在說什麼了。”睿卡陰沉地說道。

“I can imagine,” Caleb admitted. “But even if they were saying every terrible thing you can imagine about humans and what a scourge we are on the world, I would still like to know what’s coming.” He smiled grimly. “If nothing else, I probably need to know words like ‘seize him’ or ‘kill him.’”“我能想到，”凱勒布承認道，“即便他們把人類說成是世間最邪惡的禍害，我也想預知危險。”他冷峻地笑了笑，“至少，我得聽懂‘抓住他’或者‘殺了他’。”

Rikaa’s deep frown was accented by a growl from the pit of his belly. “I would prefer not to limit your vocabulary to such … depressing eventualities.”睿卡深深地皺起眉頭，腹部發出一聲低吼。“我倒希望你的詞彙遠比這些……悽慘的字眼要豐富。”

“Maybe,” Caleb said. “But you have to admit: it’s probably necessary.”“或許吧，”凱勒布說，“但你得承認，這很有必要。”

Rikaa let the growl ripple out a full minute longer before he finally bit it off and nodded. “Yes, well, I will also teach you how to hold a decent conversation. Sooner or later, you will meet the rest of my family. They like to visit me in the spring when the mountainside is dotted with the full bloom of the gods’ artwork and the hatchlings can play in the tall grass and flowers relatively hidden from human sight.”睿卡的低吼持續了整整一分鐘才終於止住，他點了點頭。“沒錯。不過，我也會教你如何得體地交談。遲早你會見到我的其他族親。春季山間繁花盛開，那是衆神的傑作，他們喜歡在那時來看我，幼崽們能在高草叢中嬉戲，躲避人類的視線。”

“Are you sure you want your family around me?” Caleb asked. “You’re already in trouble with the council; I don’t want the rest of your family to be in danger too.”“你確定要讓族親待在我身邊嗎？”凱勒布問道，“你已經惹惱議會了，我無意讓你的族親也陷入險境。”

Rikaa made an impatient noise at the back of his throat. “You’re under my care and protection, Kaal. That makes you part of my family, like it or not.”睿卡喉嚨深處發出一聲不耐煩的響動。“你受我庇護，卡奧。無論你願不願意，你現在都是我的族親。”

“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”“我無意讓旁人受傷。”

“My family makes its own choices, Caleb,” Rikaa said, though his tone was gentler, somehow. “It is not your responsibility to keep us safe from the consequences of those choices. Only the gods can judge what we choose to do with our lives.”“我的族親會自行抉擇，卡奧，”睿卡說道，語氣不知爲何變得溫柔了些，“承擔抉擇的後果並非你的責任。唯有衆神能審判我們的餘生。”

Caleb held his breath and Rikaa’s gaze and then smiled lightly. “I think,” he said at last, “I want to learn more about your beliefs as well as your language.”凱勒布屏住呼吸，迎着睿卡的目光，隨後露出一絲輕笑。“我想，”他最後說道，“除了語言，我也想多瞭解你們的信仰。”

“Of course,” Rikaa said.“自然。”睿卡說。

“I’ve liked the stories I’ve heard so far.”“目前聽到的這些傳說，我很中意。”

Rikaa broke into a genuine smile for the first time in a while. “I’m glad to serve as your entertainment, then,” he teased. When that got a wider smile out of Caleb, Rikaa seemed to relax into a better laugh. Finally, he stretched out his wings, obviously ready to get moving again. “When we get the chance, I also want to teach you how to hunt. You need to know how to survive for yourself.”睿卡許久以來第一次露出了真誠的微笑。“那我很榮幸能爲你解悶，”他打趣道。看到凱勒布笑得更燦爛了，睿卡似乎也放鬆下來，笑得更歡了。最後，他展開翅膀，顯然準備再次出發。“等有機會，我還要教你狩獵。你得學會自食其力。”

Caleb nodded softly. That made sense. Rikaa probably didn’t want to be stuck taking care of someone who barely knew how to survive on a daily basis as a dragon, let alone someone who couldn’t help hunt for food or defend their home. He needed to be useful and earn his keep.凱勒布輕輕點頭。這很有道理。睿卡大概不想被困在照顧一個連作爲龍的基本生存技能都不具備的人身上，更不用說一個無法幫忙狩獵或保衛家園的人了。他需要變得有用，賺取自己的立足之地。

“I taught all of my hatchlings how to hunt,” Rikaa said, his tone turning softer, somehow, enough to get Caleb to pause. Rikaa didn’t look annoyed. He looked almost … wistful.“我教過我所有的幼崽如何狩獵，”睿卡說，語氣不知爲何變得柔和了，這讓凱勒布停頓了一下。睿卡看起來並不惱火，反而顯得有些……惆悵。

“I’ll probably be harder to teach,” Caleb said at last, deciding that the best way to approach the conversation would be to inject a little humor, since he could tell that Rikaa was starting to get lost in his own memories.“我大概會很難教，”凱勒布最後說道。他決定在談話中加入一點幽默，因爲他能感覺到睿卡開始沉浸在回憶中了。

Rikaa smiled, showing all of his teeth. “Oh, a challenge?”睿卡咧嘴一笑，露出了整齊的牙齒。“噢，想挑戰一下？”

“If that’s the way you want to see it,” Caleb teased.“如果你非要這麼看的話。”凱勒布逗趣道。

“I’ll teach you to be faster, quieter, and more effective than you could ever imagine yourself to be,” Rikaa promised, laughter glinting in his gaze. “And when I do, you will so impressive that the dragon council themselves will have no choice but to recognize your superiority.”“我會教你變得更迅捷、更隱祕、更強悍，遠超你的想象，”睿卡承諾道，眼中閃爍着笑意，“到那時，你定會讓議會刮目相看，令他們不得不承認你的優秀。”

“I didn’t realize you had such grand ambitions for me,” Caleb laughed.“沒想到你對我寄予如此厚望。”凱勒布笑着說。

“I want you to be strong, Kaal. You have been through too much to be anything else.” Rikaa shrugged, his wings rustling with the motion. “When you are not a dragon, we can find other things for you to do. Perhaps you can put your hunting skills into practice and sneak down to the human camp to see whether they are still looking for you.”“我希望你變強，卡奧。歷經磨難的你理應如此。”睿卡聳聳肩，翅膀隨之沙沙作響。“當你不是龍的時候，我們可以找點別的事給你做。或許你可以運用狩獵技巧，潛入人類營地，看看他們是否還在搜尋你。”

“Oh, I don’t need to spy on the army to know they are looking for me,” Caleb said, making a face as he thought of the way Alan had been able to search for him in the fire. “And even if the army isn’t actively looking, Alan doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to let anyone get away with besting him. He was too interested in me—” He broke off and shook his head. “Not me. He was interested in his own ‘success’ in creating a white dragon. I don’t think he’s going to abandon his interests so easily.”“噢，無需打探我也曉得軍方在找我，”凱勒布撇撇嘴，想起了阿蘭在火焰中搜尋他的手段，“即便軍隊沒在搜山，阿蘭那種人，也絕不會容忍有人勝過他。他對我太癡迷了——”他停頓了一下，搖了搖頭，“並非對我。他癡迷的是造出皚龍的‘功績’。我想他絕不會輕易放手。”

Rikaa let out a sound that clearly said what he thought of that assessment. Caleb felt, somehow, comforted to hear the slight growl and know he wasn’t the only one deeply bothered by the way Alan treated him like some kind of alchemical experiment and nothing more. “Then it is a good thing no human has ever found my home.”睿卡發出一聲悶響，清楚地表達了他對這一評價的看法。聽到這聲輕微的低吼，凱勒布莫名感到一絲安慰，因爲他知道自己並不是唯一一個對阿蘭把他當作某種鍊金實驗品而深感困擾的人。“幸好還沒人類發現我的巢穴。”

Caleb nodded, though his thoughts were stuck on the magic that Alan knew, the kind of magic that Rikaa had seemed to fear. He wondered what else Alan was capable of, but he didn’t want to bring up his fears when Rikaa was talking about his home and family. Instead, he stood and stretched. “I think I can manage another short flight,” he said.凱勒布點點頭，但他的思緒仍停留在阿蘭掌握的魔法上，那種讓睿卡似乎都感到恐懼的魔法。他想知道阿蘭還有什麼本事，但在睿卡談論家園和族親時，他不想提起這些恐懼。相反，他站起身舒展了一下。“我想我還能再飛一程。”他說。

“You will tell me if you get tired,” Rikaa said. Caleb was sure he meant to phrase it as a request, but by the time the words left his mouth, they had become more of an order.“累了就告訴我。”睿卡說。凱勒布確信他本想用請求的語氣，但話一出口，聽起來更像是命令。

Caleb shrugged. “I’ll try.”凱勒布聳聳肩。“我盡力。”

Rikaa chuckled and shook his head. “You are as stubborn as my hatchlings were.”睿卡呵呵一笑，搖了搖頭。“你跟我那些幼崽一樣固執。”

“Thanks. I think.”“謝了。大概吧。”

Rikaa smiled wider before he took off, waiting for Caleb to get himself in the air as well before he flew ahead. Caleb was getting better at flying, but that initial fight to get off the ground was the hardest part—every single time. There was always a moment, right before he made it off the ground—a terrifying moment when he wondered if he’d crash instead of flying.睿卡笑得更燦爛了，隨後騰空而起，等凱勒布也飛上天后才向前飛去。凱勒布的飛行技術越來越好了，但起飛時的最初掙扎依然是最難的部分——每一次都是如此。在離地前總有那麼一瞬間，一個恐怖的瞬間，他會懷疑自己是不是會墜毀而不是飛翔。

Still, each takeoff was better than the last, and Caleb found himself getting used to the sensation. His movements were getting more automatic; he didn’t need to be reminded to tuck his legs in or get his tail into the right position, so he wasn’t dragging himself down and wearing his wings out too quickly.儘管如此，每一次起飛都比上一次更順利，凱勒布發現自己正逐漸適應這種感覺。他的動作變得越來越自然；不再需要提醒自己收起雙腿或調整尾巴的位置，因此他不會再拖累自己，也不會太快耗盡翅膀的力量。

He was, essentially, getting used to being a dragon.本質上，他正逐漸習慣作爲一條龍的生活。

Caleb wasn’t sure what that would mean for the way he had been switching back and forth between his dragon form and his human form. When he became a human, it had always been when he was relaxed and even feeling confident in himself. But if he got used to being a dragon and became confident in that skin, would that cut off his only method of returning to his original body?凱勒布不確定這對於他在龍形和人身之間來回切換會有什麼影響。以前他變回人類，總是在他放鬆甚至感到自信的時候。但如果他習慣了當一條龍，並對這副皮囊感到自信，這是否會切斷他變回原本軀體的唯一途徑？

More than that, Caleb had to wonder if he wanted to go back to being a human. When he was human, he was hungry, he was small, he was cold, he was vulnerable. As a dragon, he had power—not just to fight but to survive. He could go for longer periods of time without food. He could bring his own fire with him so he wouldn’t freeze. And he could take on an entire army of humans if they tried to force him back into servitude.不僅如此，凱勒布不得不問自己，他是否真的想變回人類。當他是人類時，他飢腸轆轆、弱小、寒冷且脆弱。而作爲一條龍，他擁有力量——不僅是戰鬥的力量，更是生存的力量。他可以更長時間不進食。他可以隨身攜帶火焰以免受凍。如果人類軍隊試圖強迫他重回奴役，他甚至可以獨自對抗他們。

As a human, Caleb was alone in the world. Weak. Used up. But as a dragon, even a dragon who barely knew how to fly, he had a better chance of surviving.作爲人類，凱勒布在世上孤苦伶仃。虛弱。精疲力竭。但作爲一條龍，哪怕是一條几乎不會飛的龍，他也有更好的生存機會。

And he had Rikaa.而且，他還有睿卡。

He still wasn’t entirely sure why Rikaa was willing to risk so much for him, but Caleb was infinitely grateful for it. He hadn’t felt this safe in a long time, and it was a relief that allowed him to breathe in a way he hadn’t realized he had been unable to do until that burden was lifted.他仍不完全確定睿卡爲何願意爲他冒這麼大的風險，但凱勒布對此感激涕零。他已經很久沒有感到如此安全了，這種解脫讓他終於能夠順暢地呼吸，直到重擔卸下，他才意識到自己之前一直屏息凝神。

The two of them flew mostly in silence, with Rikaa checking on Caleb’s progress from time to time. Even though the trip out to the council had been marked with plenty of storytelling, when they stopped for the night, neither Caleb nor Rikaa quite had the emotional energy for anything like that. Not until they had a bit more distance from the impotent council. They had too much on their minds for niceties.兩人大多在沉默中飛行，睿卡不時查看凱勒布的進度。儘管前往議會的旅途中充滿了故事，但當他們停下來過夜時，凱勒布和睿卡都沒有精力再聊這些了。至少在離那個無能的議會更遠一些之前，他們沒心情寒暄，心裏裝了太多事。

That meant that the rest of their trip left them both with only their thoughts for company. If they had talked to each other, of course, they would have found that they were thinking along similar patterns: wondering whether they could forge a family bond despite their differences, wondering how long it would be before the army found them, wondering whether the council would change its mind and actively seek them out. But since neither of them spoke up, they could only worry in silence—and then, as they got closer to Rikaa’s home, worry in silence and cold. It was still winter, and the further north they traveled, the more Caleb started to shiver when he flew too high into the cold air—and the more he had to ask for breaks along the way so that he (or Rikaa) could blow fire over his scales to stay warm.這意味着在接下來的旅程中，他們都只有各自的思緒相伴。當然，如果他們交流一下，就會發現兩人的想法如出一轍：都在想盡管存在差異，他們是否能建立起親情紐帶；在想軍隊還要多久纔會發現他們；在想議會是否會改變主意並主動搜尋他們。但既然誰也沒開口，他們只能在沉默中擔憂——然後，隨着他們離睿卡的家越來越近，擔憂中又加了一層寒冷。現在仍是冬季，越往北飛，當凱勒布在高空的冷空氣中飛得太高時，他就越是發抖——他也越是不得不請求中途停歇，好讓他（或睿卡）能對着鱗片噴火取暖。

“I know you feel like slowing down right now,” Rikaa said during one of those stops, “but the sooner we can get back home, the sooner you can spend more time in the warmth, near a fire. My home is deep enough into the mountain that we won’t have to worry about the winter air.”“我曉得你現在想慢下來，”在一次停歇中睿卡說道，“但越早趕回巢穴，你就能越早烤上火。我的巢穴在山腹深處，無需擔憂冬日的寒氣。”

“Push through it?” Caleb said, attempting a playful smirk that he was simply too cold to execute the way he wanted to.“咬牙堅持？”凱勒布試着露出一個頑皮的苦笑，但他實在太冷了，沒法做出想要的表情。

“I’m afraid that’s the only solution that gets you out of the cold faster.”“恐怕這是讓你擺脫寒冷的唯一法子。”

“And I would like to be warm sooner than later,” Caleb agreed, already slowing down and feeling the effects of the cold even though Rikaa had just blown fire over him.“我也想早點暖和起來，”凱勒布贊同道，儘管睿卡剛對他噴過火，他還是已經慢了下來，感受到了寒意的侵襲。

“Don’t worry,” Rikaa said in a gentle tone. “We will be home soon enough.”“無需憂慮，”睿卡語氣溫柔地說，“我們很快就到家了。”

Home.回家。

Caleb paused when he heard it, his wings still moving him forward out of sheer desperation to keep moving but his mouth slightly open while words failed him. The last time he had thought of home, it hadn’t been Rikaa’s cave deep in the mountain but a farm that had burned to the ground a long time ago and a meadow that had been covered in ash the last time he saw it.凱勒布聽到這個詞時停頓了一下，他的翅膀仍憑着求生的本能帶着他向前，但他微微張着嘴，啞口無言。他上一次想到“家”時，那並不是睿卡位於大山深處的洞穴，而是一個很久以前就被付之一炬的農場，以及一片他最後一次見到時被灰燼覆蓋的草地。

And yet, somehow, that word had shifted, so that when he heard it, when he felt it echoing in his body and dredging up feelings of warmth and safety … yes, he still thought of his childhood, but with Rikaa’s cave in mind as his destination, the world “home” seemed just as fitting.然而，不知爲何，這個詞的含義發生了轉變，以至於當他聽到它，當他感覺到它在體內迴盪並喚起溫暖與安全感時……沒錯，他依然會想到童年，但由於目的地是睿卡的洞穴，“家”這個詞似乎同樣貼切。

He hadn’t had a home in such a long time, and he nearly laughed out loud at the realization that the first real refuge he’d had since he was little was a dragon’s lair. If someone had told him as much when he was growing up, he would have insisted that Tris was the hero, so if anyone would go out slaying dragons, rescuing princesses, and gaining glory, it was his big brother. Not Caleb.他已經很久沒有家了，當他意識到自己從小到大第一個真正的避難所竟然是一個龍穴時，他幾乎要笑出聲來。如果在他成長過程中有人告訴他這些，他一定會堅稱特里斯纔是英雄，所以如果有人要去屠龍、救公主、贏取榮耀，那也該是他哥哥，而不是凱勒布。

Well, he had been right about one thing: Caleb wasn’t going to slay dragons or rescue princesses. He was, however, going to learn how to fly, how to hunt, and how to be a dragon. And that was somehow even more of an adventure.好吧，有一件事他猜對了：凱勒布不會去屠龍，也不會去救公主。然而，他將學會如何飛翔，如何狩獵，以及如何成爲一條龍。這在某種程度上甚至是一場更偉大的冒險。

Despite himself, Caleb found that he couldn’t stop his smile. Sure, he was tired, he was cold, and he was in trouble with the dragon council as well as the human armies. His own people would kill him when they saw him—if they didn’t capture and enslave him. And his very existence put him and his only friend in the world in jeopardy. And yet he felt better now than he had in a long time. He had a home to go to, and he had a friend to live with.凱勒布發現自己不由自主地露出了微笑。當然，他很累，很冷，而且還惹上了龍族議會和人類軍隊。他的人民一見到他就會殺了他——如果沒把他抓起來當奴隸的話。他的存在讓他和他在世上唯一的朋友都陷入了險境。然而，他現在的感覺比很久以來都要好。他有家可歸，有友相伴。

So, yes, he was going home. For the first time in a long time.所以，是的，他要回家了。這是很久以來的第一次。

镜中龙影 · 中世紀龍會選擇的職業

最符合龍風格的僞裝不是去當領主嗎？

中世紀的獵人是領主的某種專業扈從，爲領主管理獵場，追捕偷獵者和獵捕野味。
領地上所有的野生動物（通常不含兔子和狼）都屬於領主，平民是沒有資格狩獵的，偷獵是死罪。（其實這倒不單是什麼壟斷珍貴資源，如果不加管制，人肯定能把所有野生動物全喫光）

迴歸話題，與其做這麼一個既不進入民間社會又隔絕世俗，而且沒有關係很難拿到的工作（很多時候是代代相傳的準世襲，劊子手也是，這種特殊專業扈從都屬於社會邊緣人仕）的打工仔，何不取而代之？

不打算這麼幹的話要不然乾脆和領主坦白了吧——我，龍；你，養我；保密，幕僚，扈從，封臣；我滴用途大大滴有，希望你不要不識抬舉x。

最后修改：镜中龙影 (2026-01-17 16:45:22)

破灭之月 · 中世紀龍會選擇的職業

我可能會以大賢者或教師的身份，作爲求歷史學家融入人類社會。 [啜飲]
可能是我的龍魂愛好古文物，比如收集書籍

最后修改：破灭之月 (2026-01-16 08:44:17)

Sherixs · 中世紀龍會選擇的職業

假如龍要僞裝潛入人類社會，選擇什麼職業會比較合適呢？ [靈感]
背景設定：中世紀；考慮較長時間的且比較穩定的職業
[思考]
或許可以當一個獵人？ [巫師帽] 畢竟龍還是很熟悉狩獵動物的 [owo]

破灭之月

關於三番五次這樣犯過的錯，並且是不遵守規則觸犯了原則性問題……（龍在哀嘆）
我是不擅長交流，一直都是在潛水觀望。
經此一事之後就是你們可以選擇無視我

shiningdracon

由於你多次通過站內短消息對其他會員進行騷擾，相關消息包含人身攻擊性詞語，且未體現出正常討論或交流的意圖。因此決定暫停你主動向其他用戶發送站內短消息的權限。

破灭之月

我是最喜歡光龍了 [裝酷]

与黑语焉

你怪怪，抱走了~ [十字紅眼思考] 小裏奇

[↑] @Herrychess 寫道: 本子王情風龍呢 …

THUBAN

先介紹一下她(Wiki）：安妮·伊內茲·麥卡弗裏（Anne Inez McCaffrey，1926年4月1日－2011年11月21日）是一位美國作家，以其科幻小說系列《珀恩的龍騎士》（Dragonriders of Pern）而聞名。她是第一位獲得雨果獎（最佳中篇小說獎，《龍穴探祕》，1968年）和星雲獎（最佳中篇小說獎，《龍騎士》，1969年）的女性作家。她1978年出版的小說《白龍》（The White Dragon）成為最早登上《紐約時報》暢銷書榜的科幻小說之一。

在 20 世紀中之前的西方文學中，「龍」幾乎是邪惡與災厄的代名詞。從《貝武夫》到託爾金筆下的史矛革，龍始終是英雄必須斬殺的貪婪怪物。然而，安妮·麥卡弗裏徹底翻轉了這個延續千年的刻板印象。

她最卓越的貢獻，在於她於 1968 年推出的《龍騎士：培恩》(或者叫培恩的龍騎士)（Dragonriders of Pern）系列中，首度引入了「心靈感應連結」（Telepathic Bond）的概念。這種連結瞬間締造出一段極為親密且終生相伴的關係──巨龍幾乎總會在騎士死後自殺，而失去巨龍的騎士則會留下永遠無法癒合的深重情感創傷。龍不再只是被奴役的坐騎或是受寵的生物，而是具備高智商、擁有豐富情感，且能與騎士共享思考、痛覺與喜悅的靈魂伴侶。這種深層的情感連結，將龍從神話傳說中的「怪物」提升到了「英雄戰友」的高度。在後續龍圈經典的《龍之心》(Dragonheart）、《龍槍》（Dragonlance），乃至於大眾文化中的《馴龍高手》系列中都可以看到類似的設定。

可惜的是，儘管該係列已經出版了二十多篇小說並且風靡歐美奇幻文學界，我們依然很難看到這個偉大IP的影視改編。在麥卡弗裏女士臨終前
2000 年代初期華納兄弟曾計劃開發影集，並由《戰星卡拉狄加》的製作人 Ronald D. Moore 負責，但因創意分歧（製片方想將其改成類似《齊娜武士公主》的風格，而 Moore 想忠於原著的科幻底色）在開拍前夕告吹。

2014 年華納兄弟再次購下所有系列小說的版權，意圖打造一個類似《哈利波特》的電影宇宙，但直到最近被Netfilx收購，都一直沒有實質進展。

目前，熱愛這個系列的粉絲依然會在每年舉辦一次的在龍之大會（Dragon Con）齊聚，這個慣例從1992年延續至今，這個大會還有很多很多我們熟悉的經典作品，比如Eragon、Summer Dragon等等。

很遺憾沒有在她在世時閱讀她的作品，還有幾個月就要到麥卡弗裏女士的百年誕辰了，祝這位偉大的女士生日快樂吧~Rest in Peace

shiningdracon · 申請改名

已處理


Ulu -> 某龍

某龍 · 申請改名

Ulu
改成
某龍

感謝您！

地球遗龙

首先感謝用這樣的方式爲我重現這場真實之夢的偉大故事講述者（storyteller st ）天外飛貓！！！！！用跑團的形式再現了第三章拜訪魂木林的森林之魂的片段——

簡單介紹：這個團使用的是經典近現代都市傳說背景的跑團規則World of Darkness中的狼人變形者世界線，其主要內容是作爲蓋亞的鬥士狼人（迦魯）爲了自然和地球母親而與貪婪和污染進行的漫長抗爭。

然後強大的主持人(st)天外飛貓把狼人規則的延伸之一的龍/爬行類變形者的拓展規則適配了進來，讓我可以選用來適配進這個我還不算太熟悉的世界觀參與跑團。

在這個世界觀下存在一個和物質真實世界相聯的，概念和印象的精魄世界影界，其中就有一個區域保留着曾經板塊還未分裂的，恐龍和他們的文明還行走於世界時的相貌

所以在進行了一定調整之後，就有了下面所展現的這段，golden treasure主題的，跑團片段。

爲了方便區分我和主持人各自的文本，黑色原色的是主持人的片段，而藍色的是我作爲參與者的。

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
總之你可以堂而皇之的抵達地面站點……

你們的地面站點是由一艘降落的穿梭機改造而來，除卻穿梭機本體改造而來的模塊以外，還額外增設了數個銀灰色的預製房間模塊，表面佈滿傳感器和散熱裝置，與周圍盤根錯節、色彩斑斕的原始植被形成刺眼的對比。營地外圍是兩圈閃爍着淡藍色微光的能量柵欄，柵欄外的植物有明顯的焦灼痕跡，顯然任何試圖逾越的存在都會遭到電擊

#遠離科聯的營地，確認不會被看到發現後，脫下隨身的衣物，抖抖身體，伸長，變形回自己最爲偏愛，卻限於帷幕難以輕易使用的化龍形態

（舒展着身體，縮着四肢在草地上橫着連打好幾個滾，龐大體型加大翅膀最大的缺點，就是在這一個織者眼目衆多的時代很難再隨意的在野外放肆的舒展撒歡，經常是隻能在確定安全的室內才能以龍形放鬆活動，但室內總歸還是伸展不開，而在這裏，簡直就是最好的機會）

你的翅膀寬廣而輕盈……以這種姿態在凡世漫遊是難以做到，甚至是難以想象的，而如今，在這片屬於龍的廣袤之綠中，你可以如此盡情起舞，任由風在你的翼間吹拂

絲縷一樣的光帶在林木頂端匯聚成河，指向西方……那廣袤的綠之心

#在舒展身體的同時感受着身體的變化，從來到這裏開始，夢兆就能感覺到自己自己的感官就像本就已經充盈的河流變得更加洶湧，世界都似乎膨脹起來，變得更加清晰，或者失真的幾乎能從萬物間看到精魄的線條

#追隨着明亮的精魄軌跡一路向着西南，更爲溫暖的方向前進，如果從這樣遙遠的地方就能看見匯聚的線條，那盤踞在遠處的實體一定非常龐大，也難怪會吸引到這些研究員的注意

（在前進的同時，來到這個世界後身體也受到着影響持續的改變着，夢兆能感覺到喉嚨深處溫暖的，等待被呼出的火焰，面部的冠也在羽毛的裝飾下越加華麗，在這裏，她似乎也被影響着，暫時的更加接近更爲古老時代的相貌）

#風吹起草葉，在身側盤旋，撥動着翅膀和華冠，這裏的精魄似乎要更加古老，也更加的活躍而不受阻礙

那是一棵老樹

“在接近明亮的線條匯聚的老樹的時，夢兆也不由得跟隨着從各個方向匯聚的，從天空落向大地匯入老樹的明亮的精魄軌跡一起落回地面，這裏的天空比來時的更加安靜空曠，就像是空中的住民也因敬畏而選擇繞行，或是降落，然後在林間漫步着向着中心的老樹前進”

在你進入養育了神聖之樹的山谷後，你隨即失去了能直接看到它的視野。樹林變成了曲折的迷宮，而你似乎找不到前進的路:所有的路都通回到你開始的地方

甚至太陽似乎也隱藏起來了，被樹木，那些古老者忠實的附庸，恭敬而堅定地擋在外面

在你意識的角落，你感覺到一種舒緩的奔流，就像溪流的聲音，然而你知道這附近並沒有溪流

#既然視覺不再能指引道路，那就閉上雙眼，將身體貼近地面，讓身體憑着感覺循着奔流，逆流而上的尋找源頭

某些東西在你的意識中閃耀，宛如細碎的雲母碎片，你的感知與本能將你帶到了一個狹小且岩石衆多的隘口。前進的唯一道路被一塊巨石所擋

#從巨石的根部掘松泥土，再將身體像楔子一樣的釘入巨石和隘口之間，用自己的全身將巨石從隘口前推倒，移遠

#明亮的線條如呼吸般起伏明滅，牽動着自己的心一起向前，自己已經很接近了，非常接近，好奇，敬畏，甚至..歸屬？夢兆不能在這停步，不會在這裏返回

你是龍族，天地最偉大的孩子，你不會被阻擋。你必將前進，必將戰勝任何擋在你路上的險阻

內在之火燃燒着，巨石逐漸屈服於你的激情

在這裏，樹枝形成了一連串的門戶，當你逐一穿越時，你感覺自己堅實、實存的部分被一一剝離，只留下了無形而永恆的一半，一隻生有鹿角的兔子在此靜靜的等待着你，一個念頭短暫的在你的腦海中閃爍

“現在還沒到你，但你也可以”

#扭過頭來，短暫的回望向自己，兩股火焰，兩種不同本源相互糾纏，共同塑造了自己的形體，回過神來，緩步，帶着敬畏和好奇的向前，向等待着的兔子投去詢問的目光

“我來到了這裏，我要怎麼繼續向前...

“你爲何來此，你並非廣袤之綠的獠牙，是異者，亦是眷族”

#（在心裏默默的思索着）我可以...我要做什麼，我可以做到什麼..”

（聲音因不確定而有些顫抖嘶啞）“我....一開始，我只是以爲能在這找到需要的藥草，能在這看見遙遠時自己可以成爲的相貌，但真的到了這裏之後，我來到這裏，是因爲渴望，因爲歸屬，就像是自己的一部分屬於這裏，我想要知道，我這樣的一個遙遠過客，能夠在這裏留下些什麼，怎樣才能和這裏相連，見證自己的祖先曾經走過的道路...我..不知道爲什麼，我會來到這裏，我能來到這裏

“但是我想要繼續向前，就像是一個沒有做完的夢，沒有成爲現實的一種可能，我想要知道

“你的本源並未與廣袤之綠相連……這並非你的道途”

淡綠的絲縷輕撫着你的鱗片

“你將懲罰、將獎賞，將毀滅、將創造，正如你本源所指引那樣，將一切視爲一體，讓你的力量爲一奏帶來平衡”

”但是——“

#想起些什麼的猛然抬頭”儘管我的道路已經太久的不再和這裏相連，但我仍是一枚尖牙，爲了我所在的世界的大地和自然——身上的每一道傷痕和印記都是證明“

“夢是通往一切可能性的門戶;所有以肉身存在的事物最初都是在這微不可察的領域中孕育的，然而你的鬥爭，你的狩獵將在實相，我的幼雛”

”我不能...但是也好想要留下...總有一天，我會最終來到這裏嗎....

“如果你期望的話”

“或許一切塵埃落定，你可以回到廣袤之綠，回到我的懷抱，但絕非此刻，絕非今日”

（輕輕點頭，再深深的伏低身體，向着面前的存在表達出心底最深的敬意和渴望）

”....我明白了，謝謝您，知道自己終將回到這裏，那我也就，不用再畏懼最終等待着的沉寂”

#深深的伏低身體，爲着眼前的所見所知而欣喜，顫抖，儘管已經得到了期待之外的最好結果的語盡，卻還是不願離開，不捨的延長着這必須離開前的時間

你打了個哈欠，方纔不知何時你已經睡着了，那顆巨木依然靜靜的矗立在你面前，彷彿方纔的一切都是轉瞬即逝的夢，你將你的脖子、腿和尾巴一一伸展。太陽垂死，到了離開的時候了

然而你感覺你的內在發生了一些變化，你曾一度立於某些至大至偉的存在面前

你的本源，你的命途就此與廣袤之綠的魂靈糾纏在了一起，你的爪與牙應當投入更加偉大，決定一奏命運的戰爭中，你並非他的尖牙

但你也可以是

#從初醒時的恍惚，再到隨後瞭然的清明，起身仰望眼前的巨樹，心中翻滾着無數的情緒

隨後，儘管心裏的聲音提醒着這並非這片廣袤之綠，這裏的親族所會使用或接受的方式，但依舊劃開自己的掌心，攥緊前爪，讓自己的血液淌下，融入巨樹前的大地，逐一的轉變形體，人形，鱷形，直到再次回到龍形，用這樣的方式向眼前的存在致以敬意，也將自己的一部分留下，

#那麼，該離開了....

夜色迫近，深沉的重量下夢兆選擇在走出這裏而非從空中跨越，起初幾步一回頭，直到漸漸遠離，而自己終將歸反的瞭然再一次的充盈，隨後，步伐平靜，不再回頭的離開

無論你走到何方，你的一部分將永遠安睡在那棵老樹下

shiningdracon · [小遊戲]火焰之翼（Fire Wing）

https://dushi.itch.io/fire-wing

一款橫版射擊類遊戲。

你將操縱一隻紅龍從天而降焚燒人類的國度。

shiningdracon · [小遊戲]Dragon's Playground

https://extar.itch.io/dragons-playground

Dragon's Playground 是爲 RNDGAME2020 game jam（一個遊戲開發馬拉松）製作的遊戲，是一款俯視視角、自由探索的射擊類遊戲。

你將操控 Azron，諸界的天譴者，在王國中肆意橫行。你必須焚燒整個國度，擊敗巫師、精靈和騎士，以確立你對王國的絕對統治。

破灭之月

抱歉打擾了那位會員，本意是想討論事情，沒想到造成困擾。我接受禁言懲罰，也反思過之前說話不當被警告的問題，真心說聲對不起。

最后修改：破灭之月 (2026-01-11 09:48:18)

shiningdracon · 角蛇/有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent）

《克里克印第安人的創世神話與傳說》（Creation Myths and Legends of the Creek Indians）中有一章專門討論“有角之蛇”。

https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/01/16/79/00001/CreationMythsofCreekIndians.pdf

前置信息

克里克人的宇宙被理解爲三層結構：

上界（Upper World）：即天空之外的世界，是強大靈體與逝去靈魂的領域。其中充滿了完美、秩序、恆常、清明與週期性的力量。
中界（Middle World）：即人類居住的世界，被視爲一個平坦的平面，其上方拱起一座堅固的穹頂。處在上界與下界力量之間一種“脆弱的平衡”之中：一方面是那些結構化自然與人類生活的力量，另一方面是那些打破秩序並賦予自由以力量的力量。
下界（Lower World）：大地與水域之下的世界，也被視爲許多強大靈體的棲息地。它是與上界力量完全相反的力量之領域：顛倒、瘋狂、創造力、生育力與混沌。

這兩個世界雖然充滿不同且對立的力量，卻不應按歐洲意義上的善與惡來理解，而只能理解爲不同與對立。

有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent）

儘管在克里克人（Creeks）的信仰中，並不存在與至高“善”相對應的“惡”的化身，但確實存在一個與非人格化的宇宙力量相對應的存在。這個對應物，即混沌之力（Chaotic Force），經常被描繪爲“有角之蛇”（Horned Serpent）或“系蛇”（Tie Snake）的形象。喬爾·馬丁（Joel Martin）並不區分“系蛇”和“有角之蛇”，他將系蛇描述爲下界（Lower World）最主要的力量，“身披水晶般的鱗甲，閃耀着彩虹般的光澤，額頭上戴着一顆異常明亮的水晶。作爲占卜的重要輔助物，這些耀眼的鱗片和水晶只能由一位經過淨化、能夠接觸下界危險力量的薩滿獲得。”¹⁸
然而，有些記載確實區分有角之蛇與系蛇，而馬丁的描述很可能適用於有角之蛇。斯旺頓（Swanton）的一位信息提供者傑克遜·劉易斯（Jackson Lewis）如此描述有角之蛇：“這種蛇生活在水中，長着像雄鹿一樣的角。它不是一條壞蛇。它會爬出來，在洞口附近曬太陽……它不傷害人類，但似乎對獵物具有一種磁性力量。如果任何獵物動物，比如鹿，靠近這條蛇躺着的地方，就會被不可抗拒地吸引進水中並被毀滅。它只喫被它殺死的動物鼻子的末端。”¹⁹

劉易斯所描述的系蛇則是一種細長的蛇，通過連續的跳躍或翻滾前進，力量極其強大，甚至可以拖着一匹成年馬一起走。劉易斯對系蛇的描述繼續說道：“‘系蛇’直徑約一英寸半，身體短小，但非常強壯。它喉部下方是白色的，身體其餘部分是黑色的，頭部彎曲，像鷹的喙一樣。它生活在深水中，通常棲居在小而深的水洞裏，並從那裏進入樹林，將獵物拖入水中帶回巢穴。”²⁰
與劉易斯的說法一致，威利·萊納（Willie Lena）斷言，有角之蛇和系蛇實際上是不同的存在，只是二者常常被用同一個名字稱呼。²¹ 根據萊納的說法，有角之蛇外形類似系蛇，但體型要大得多。它生活在深水潭中，其角被高度珍視，被視爲極爲強效的藥物。阿拉巴馬人將這一存在稱爲 tcinto såktco（“小龍蝦蛇”），並根據角的顏色區分出四種：黃色、白色、紅色或藍色。²²

有角之蛇被認爲原本是一個人，後來被轉化爲蛇形存在，它融合了三個世界中存在者的特徵。有角之蛇被描述爲擁有蛇的身體（下界的存在）、鹿的角（中界的存在），以及類似鳥的翅膀（上界的存在）。²³ 蛇橫跨三個世界：它們能在水中或水下游動，能鑽入地下，在地表爬行，還能爬上高高的樹木，接近天空。

這種蛇的角被高度珍視，被視爲狩獵用的強效藥物，同時也被用來吸引女性。據說角的碎片外觀類似紅色封蠟，只能在極度危險的情況下才能獲得。²⁴ 角的碎片只能由具有適當靈性訓練的人取得，其過程中需要藉助一個響器、一段綠色木材製成的短木、一把專門用來刮取蛇角的刀、一圈鹿皮用來接住刮下的碎屑，以及一批新鮮切下的光滑漆樹（Rhus glabra）枝條用來餵食這條蛇。²⁵

靈脩者將那段短木放在靠近水邊、與岸線平行的位置，然後跪在其後。他右手持響器，左手拿着漆樹枝，吟唱四首魔法之歌來召喚蛇。由於有角之蛇是下界力量之首，當它出現時，鳥類會變得躁動不安。在歌聲的魅惑下，這條蛇會將頭擱在木頭上，並進食漆樹枝。隨後，靈脩者便可以用特製的刀刮取蛇角，並用鹿皮接住刮下的碎屑。²⁶
與萊納的記述相似，霍金斯（Hawkins）的記載也描述了一種從有角之蛇身上獲取角的傳統方法：“蛇在水中，老人們唱歌，它便顯現出來。他們再次唱歌，它便稍稍露出水面。第三次，它露出了角，他們便切下了一隻；第四次，它再次現身，他們又切下了另一隻角。這些角的碎片以及獅子的骨頭，是最強大的戰爭藥物。”²⁷

由於有角之蛇角的碎片被認爲極其強大，擁有這種強效藥物的人通常會將其存放在遠離住所的一棵空心樹中，以防止家人受到傷害。這些碎片會與紅色顏料一起存放在一個鹿皮袋中。狩獵時，可以在每隻眼睛下方塗抹少量顏料，以確保狩獵成功。

在克里克人的多則神話中，都講述了系蛇和有角之蛇的起源。這些神話在細節上略有不同，但在結構上極爲相似。除了一則之外，其餘故事中都有兩名男子在旅行或狩獵，其中一人決定喫某種奇怪或被禁止的食物——通常是從樹洞或樹樁中發現的魚（U15, H3, MC2, MC3, M11, M12, M15）。在其他神話中，他喫的是某些動物的大腦（M10, M13）、魚陷阱中捕獲的一種不尋常的鯰魚（A17），或是一枚巨大的蛋（M14）。在喫下這種禁忌食物之後，這名男子（或女子）在一夜之間被轉化爲一條蛇——系蛇或有角之蛇——並開始生活在附近的溪流或池塘中。

與有角之蛇密切相關、甚至可能是同一存在的，是獅子，或稱“食人者”（Man Eater）。人們相信，獅子的骨頭與有角之蛇角的刮屑一樣，都是極其強效的藥物，並被存放在神聖的藥物包中：“他們在彈藥袋中帶着一種護符，一種抵禦一切疾病的保護物，稱爲戰爭藥物，由奇託·加比（Chitto Gab-by）和伊斯特·帕烏·帕烏（Is-te-pau-pau）組成，也就是蛇與獅子的骨頭。”²⁸
傳統和神話認爲，在古代，獅子（Is-te-pau-pau）經常吞食人類（M1）。爲了捕捉並殺死這個存在，人們挖了一個坑，將它誘捕其中，然後用松脂木塊覆蓋其身，將其燒死，並保存了它的骨頭。

神話傳統與圖像學傳統都證明了有角之蛇與一種類獅存在之間的關係，這種存在有時被稱爲“水美洲獅”（Water Cougar）。在一些考古出土的護胸飾（gorgets）上，有角之蛇的頭部不是鹿的頭和角，而是美洲獅的頭。查爾斯·哈德森（Charles Hudson）認爲，這代表了水美洲獅，其被描述爲有四條腿、沒有腳、長毛，以及一條類似魚的長尾巴。²⁹

作爲混沌之力的化身，有角之蛇和水美洲獅在傳統上與下界聯繫在一起，尤其與洪水和毀滅有關。作爲下界的原則，它們與上界的鳥類形成對立。

值得注意的是，有兩則傳說（MC2, MC3）明確將古代馬斯科吉城鎮庫薩（Coosa，MC1–MC5, M1）的毀滅歸因於有角之蛇。另有兩則傳說則明確將該城鎮的毀滅歸因於水美洲獅或豹（MC4, MC5）。

在傳說 MC2 和 MC3 中，一名男子因違反食物禁忌而被轉化爲蛇。隨後，他要求庫薩鎮的人們在四天後聚集在城鎮的儀式廣場（Busk Ground，也稱“廣場”或“方形廣場”）。當他從水中現身時，身後帶着一股水流，進入儀式廣場，地面隨之下沉，形成了庫薩河。

在最後兩則傳說（MC4, MC5）中，庫薩鎮的一名女子生下了水虎的孩子。有些鎮民因恐懼這些孩子而想要殺死他們。水美洲獅警告那些願意保護孩子的人離開城鎮，隨後用洪水毀滅了城鎮及其餘居民。根據傳說 MC4，庫薩沉沒之處形成了一個漩渦，除了一種小型黃色鳥類外，沒有任何鳥能飛越該處，這種鳥發出類似“koskoza”的聲音。傳說 MC1 也提到城鎮的毀滅，但並未說明洪水的原因。與 MC4 相似，該傳說稱，只有一種鳥能飛越城鎮沉沒之地，那是一種大型鶴，發出“koos, koos, koos”的聲音。

庫薩因此被稱爲“沉入水中的城鎮”。根據傳說，這座城鎮沉入水中，只剩下球柱仍可見。³⁰ 另一些說法認爲，這座城鎮是被地震吞沒的，並且“由於某種強大的吸引力”，除了一種名爲 Koskosa 的鳥之外，沒有鳥能飛越該地點，河流和城鎮的名稱即由此而來。傳說稱，這場災難的倖存者是在河中、他們的獨木舟裏被發現的。³¹

還有兩則傳說並不涉及人類變成蛇，而是講述人類造訪系蛇之王的水下國度（MT3, MT4）。第一則明確與塔卡巴奇（Tuckabatchee）鎮有關。第二則雖未明確提及城鎮名稱，但與前一則高度相似，顯然是同一故事的不同版本。在這些傳說中，塔卡巴奇鎮遭到圍攻，酋長派遣他的兒子去向附近一位友好的酋長求助。作爲友誼的象徵，那位酋長讓年輕人帶走一個部族陶罐。在途中，年輕人不慎將陶罐掉入河中，在尋找陶罐時被帶入水下，去見系蛇之王。系蛇之王贈予他多件禮物，並承諾系蛇將幫助他被圍困的族人。當他將這一承諾轉達給父親後，酋長便召喚系蛇的幫助，並擊敗了敵人。

新大陸各地關於有角之蛇、系蛇、水美洲獅或類似存在的衆多故事，暗示了這一信仰的古老性。這些故事的分佈極爲廣泛：在東部林地、上下大平原以及美國西南部的諸多族羣中都能發現；它們似乎也與中美洲和南美洲的羽蛇神話有關。³² 特別引人注目的是一則來自蘇穆人（Sumu）的傳說，該族曾居住在尼加拉瓜加勒比海岸：

兩兄弟蘇科（Suko）……和庫魯（Kuru）……外出捕魚……他們捕獲了許多上好的食用魚……隨後，他們釣到了一條巨大的河鯰魚……掛在魚鉤上。蘇科立刻想喫這條魚的一塊肉，但庫魯反對，因爲在他看來，那似乎是一種靈體。然而蘇科沒有聽從兄弟的勸告，他烤了一塊魚肉並喫了下去。但他剛喫完飯就變得異常口渴。由於喫得太多，他幾乎無法移動，便向兄弟要水。庫魯照做了，但蘇科喝得越多，口渴就越嚴重，他不斷催促兄弟去取水。最終，庫魯厭倦了這一切，便扶着兄弟來到小溪邊，讓他隨意飲水。到達水邊後，蘇科躺在地上，將頭伸進水中，不停地喝水。漸漸地，他的身體變成了一條巨大的蟒蛇……而頭部仍保持原本的大小和形狀。庫魯被嚇壞了，回到了家中，卻不敢告訴任何人發生了什麼。當人們詢問他的兄弟時，他回答說蘇科仍在捕魚，很快就會回來。但鄰居們察覺到事情不對，便一同前去尋找蘇科。到達捕魚地點後，他們發現那條蟒蛇盤踞在一棵極高的西巴樹或木棉樹的枝頭。然而他們剛剛發現它，一場大洪水便到來，淹沒了整個國家。除了蘇科以及他的妻子和孩子外，所有人都被淹死了。³³

正如羅伯特·蘭茲（Robert Rands）指出的，這則神話中的許多要素與克里克人的傳說完全一致：

兩名男性同伴外出狩獵或捕魚。
其中一人違背另一人的勸告而食用魚類。
其結果是食魚者被轉化爲蛇。
蛇身上出現鹿角。
蛇進入溪流。
另一名男子返回家中，蛇人的親屬或鄰居來到同一地點或指定地點。
當這些人遇到蛇時，發生毀滅性的洪水並造成生命損失。³⁴

E·孔策米烏斯（E. Conzemius）將該傳說中的羽蛇描述爲“一條非常巨大的 waula 或蟒蛇……頭上長着像鹿一樣的角，據說棲息在松林高地中的某些瀉湖裏，遠離最近的印第安村落……人類無法殺死這種蟒蛇，因爲子彈對它不起作用；它只能被一道閃電擊斃。”³⁵
他繼續描述入侵 waula 領地的後果：“會聽到雷鳴般的轟響；隨後水流逆轉，以極快的速度流回瀉湖，直接進入蟒蛇的口中，它會將闖入者連同獨木舟一起吞下。”

蘭茲指出，這條蛇與強大、具有毀滅性的水流之間存在關聯。在此基礎上，喬治·蘭克福德（George Lankford）補充說，在某些南美神話中，西巴樹或木棉樹常常與水源及其他生命必需品的起源聯繫在一起。³⁶
例如，庫納人（Cuna）講述文化英雄砍倒這棵樹的故事，當樹倒下時，“從樹頂湧出了淡水和鹹水、農田、植物、爬行動物、哺乳動物、魚類和鳥類。”³⁷
在加勒比人（Carib）和阿拉瓦克人（Arawak）的部族中，這棵樹不僅與水果和蔬菜有關，也與洪水相關。³⁸
蘭克福德還指出，在某些傳說中，當樹被砍倒後，人們發現樹幹是空心的，裏面充滿了水，“各種淡水魚的魚苗在其中游動。”因此，蘭克福德提出，這棵樹可能曾被視爲一棵宇宙之樹，它連接着世界結構的各個層級，而洪水則從土地之下湧出，土地被視爲漂浮在水面之上。

有角之蛇／系蛇以及水美洲獅主題在北美東南部擁有悠久歷史，這一點毋庸置疑。這些存在的形象在考古中可追溯至密西西比文化時期，甚至可能到霍普韋爾文化時期，這表明該主題可能在該地區已經存在了長達兩千年。³⁹

這些存在在克里克宇宙觀中的重要性，還體現在它們一直延續到二十世紀。斯旺頓報告說，過去阿拉巴馬人中曾有一種“蛇舞”，僅由女性參加，她們可能攜帶一條木製蛇像。⁴⁰ 直到1905年，有角之蛇仍出現在尤奇人（Yuchi）的儀式中：一個用鹿皮填充的塑像，被塗成藍色，頭上有黃色的角，安放在布斯克廣場北側的戰士小屋前。⁴¹ 在尤奇人中，這一存在與彩虹、風暴、雷、電和疾病相關，並通過一種如今稱爲“大龜舞”的舞蹈受到崇敬。⁴²

注：
作者強調：“克里克（Creek）”並不是單一、同質的文化羣體。歷史上多種語言與文化背景的羣體被納入同一政治共同體後，很多記述就粗暴地統稱爲“克里克”，導致文獻中大量混亂、以及看似相互矛盾的歷史與民族誌描述。因此他主張：只有把儘可能多的材料集中並做比較，纔可能從混雜中“復原結構”

shiningdracon · 角蛇/有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent）

決定還是開一個獨立的主題。
在梅里特島的龍中看到的線索：

這座雕塑的靈感來源於美洲印第安人的傳說，認爲在香蕉河與印第安河交匯處看到一條龍從霧中升起是好運的象徵。

對於這個說法，我希望能找到美洲原住民中與龍相關的傳說。但沒找到這個說法的出處，或許只是口述的民俗，目前未找到文獻記載。

不過以此爲線索，找到一些其它東西：

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_Serpent#In_Native_American_cultures

簡短總結：

總體概念
- 角蛇是一類出現在多種美洲原住民文化口述傳統中的超自然生物，主要分佈於東南林地地區、大湖地區以及大平原相關文化中。
- 它們通常與水域、力量、危險與靈性能力相關。
馬斯科吉（克里克）人的角蛇
- 角蛇與“結蛇”並存，有時被視爲同一種生物，有時被視爲相似但不同的兩種。
- 角蛇體型更大，生活在水下，具有虹彩般的晶體鱗片，額頭嵌有一塊巨大水晶。
- 鱗片和水晶被認爲具有占卜力量，角被用於醫藥。
- 角蛇不會傷害人類，但對獵物具有強大的吸引或控制力量。
- 在傳說中，角蛇喜歡食用漆樹。
阿拉巴馬人的角蛇觀念
- 角蛇被稱爲 tcinto såktco，又被稱作“小龍蝦蛇”。
- 根據角的顏色分爲四類：藍色、紅色、白色和黃色。
尤奇人的角蛇信仰
- 直到20世紀初仍製作角蛇的塑像。
- 塑像通常由鹿皮製成，整體爲藍色，角爲黃色。
- “大龜舞”用於敬奉角蛇的靈魂。
- 角蛇的靈魂與風暴、雷、電、疾病和彩虹相關。
切羅基人的角蛇（Uktena）
- Uktena 是一種巨大的、有角的蛇，體粗如樹幹，額頭有如鑽石般發光的冠飾。
- 全身佈滿彩色斑點，只有擊中從頭數第七個斑點才能將其殺死。
- 額頭的發光之物被稱爲 Ulun'suti，被認爲能賦予持有者強大的超自然能力。
- Uktena 的光芒會使人迷失理智，其呼吸本身具有致命毒性。
- 即便只是看到 Uktena 睡覺，也會給目擊者的家人帶來死亡。
蘇族的 Unhcegila
- Unhcegila 是生活在遠古時代的危險水生爬行動物怪物，形態多樣。
- 它們最終被雷鳥消滅，僅有蛇和蜥蜴等小型生物倖存。
- 這種信仰可能源於蘇族領地內發現的恐龍化石。
- 雷鳥形象可能部分受到翼龍骨骼發現的啓發。

完整翻譯（AI）：

角蛇（Horned serpents）出現在衆多美洲原住民文化的口述歷史中，尤其是在東南林地地區和大湖地區。

馬斯科吉（克里克）傳統中包含一種角蛇以及一種“結蛇”（Tie-Snake），在馬斯科吉·克里克語中稱爲 estakwvnayv。這些有時被解釋爲同一種生物，有時又被認爲是不同的——二者相似，但角蛇比結蛇更大。對馬斯科吉人來說，角蛇是一種生活在水下的蛇類，身上覆蓋着具有虹彩效果的晶體狀鱗片，額頭中央嵌有一塊巨大而單一的水晶。鱗片和水晶都因其占卜的力量而備受珍視。這些角被稱爲 chitto gab-by，曾被用於醫藥。傑克遜·劉易斯，一位向約翰·R·斯旺頓提供信息的馬斯科吉·克里克人，說道：“這條蛇生活在水中，長着像雄鹿一樣的角。它不是一條壞蛇……它不會傷害人類，但似乎對獵物具有一種磁性的力量。”在故事中，角蛇喜歡喫漆樹（sumac），即 Rhus glabra。

阿拉巴馬人稱角蛇爲 tcinto såktco，或稱“小龍蝦蛇（crawfish snake）”，他們根據其角的顏色將其分爲四種類型，這些顏色可以是藍色、紅色、白色或黃色。

尤奇人直到1905年仍在製作角蛇的塑像。一尊塑像由填充的鹿皮製成，整體塗成藍色，鹿角則被塗成黃色。尤奇人的“大龜舞”用以敬奉角蛇的靈魂，該靈魂與風暴、雷聲、閃電、疾病以及彩虹有關。

在切羅基人中，角蛇被稱爲 uktena。人類學家詹姆斯·穆尼如此描述這種生物：

那些知情者說，Uktena 是一條巨大的蛇，粗細如同樹幹，頭上長着角，額頭中央有一道明亮燃燒的冠飾，宛如鑽石，其鱗片閃耀如火花。它全身佈滿色環或斑點，除了從頭部起算的第七個斑點之外，無法被傷害，因爲在該斑點之下是它的心臟和生命。那枚燃燒的鑽石被稱爲 Ulun'suti，意爲“透明之物”，凡是能夠得到它的人，便可能成爲部族中最偉大的奇蹟施行者。但試圖獲取它往往要付出生命的代價，因爲任何被 Uktena 看見的人，都會被那耀眼的光芒迷得神志恍惚，反而朝着蛇跑去，而不是試圖逃離。即便如此仍不算完，Uktena 的呼吸極其致命，任何生物只要吸入它所吐出的哪怕最微量的污濁氣息，便無法存活。甚至只是看見 Uktena 睡覺，也意味着死亡——不是獵人本人，而是他的家人。

根據蘇族的信仰，Unhcegila（Ųȟcéǧila）是危險的、爬行動物形態的水中怪物，生活在遠古時代。它們具有多種不同的形態。最終，雷鳥消滅了它們，只有像蛇和蜥蜴這樣的較小物種倖存下來。這種信仰可能受到在蘇族部落領地內發現恐龍化石的啓發。雷鳥這一形象也可能部分源自翼龍骨骼的發現。

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#24 角蛇/有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent） » 2026-01-08 20:31:23

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前置信息

有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent）

#25 角蛇/有角之蛇（The Horned Serpent） » 2026-01-08 19:56:49

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#6 龍化小說《鱗翼之魂（Scaleshifter）》—— By Shelby Hailstone Law 翻譯 » 2026-01-18 00:12:13

#7 龍化小說《鱗翼之魂（Scaleshifter）》—— By Shelby Hailstone Law 翻譯 » 2026-01-18 00:10:07

#8 龍化小說《鱗翼之魂（Scaleshifter）》—— By Shelby Hailstone Law 翻譯 » 2026-01-18 00:09:53

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