作者 主题: 叶与荆棘:精灵的秘密生活 by Robin B. Laws  (阅读 6955 次)

副标题: Leaf & Thorn: The Secret Life of Elves (Dragon #279)

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叶与荆棘:精灵的秘密生活 by Robin B. Laws
« 于: 2021-08-10, 周二 23:07:59 »
我什么时候能感觉到,妈妈?
我什么时候才能感受到柯瑞隆的触摸?
它会在温暖的阳光下吗?
还是在深蓝色的星光下?
当风停歇的时候它会来吗?
或者大风吹过林间的花瓣时?
 
这些时候都不会,我的孩子;
当他唤醒你时,你就会知道。

——传统的精灵童谣,由精灵语翻译

剧透 -   :
When will I feel it, mother?
When will I feel Corellan's touch?
Will it be in the warmth of the sun?
Or in deep blue starlight?
Will it come when the air is still?
Or when gales blow petals through the glade?
 
All of those times and none, my child;
When he awakens you, you will know.

- traditional elven nursery song, as translated from Elven


起初这里看起来不像一个定居点。来访者只看到一个宁静的森林山谷,溪流蜿蜒流过。他听见微风抚过柳枝的沙沙声和鸣禽的鸣叫声。然后他的眼睛捕捉到了动静。他看到一个高大的身影,像她经过的桦树一样苗条,从树林里滑到溪边,提着一个柳条篮子,里面堆满了薄纱和月丝的衣服。来访者向她致意,因为来访者是这里的朋友,广受欢迎。她转身挥手,突然间这个地方充满了生机,来访者的朋友们从伪装得很好的小屋里出来迎接他。欢笑的精灵孩子们向他扑来,很快他就被年轻和年长的精灵包围了。他感觉沐浴在他们的接纳和爱中。然而,他对他们保持着内心的一部分,

他比大多数人更了解精灵,并且透过他们如此不假思索地在他周围编织的爱之网,他提醒自己他们不寻常的的生活方式。他们的每一刻,从喜悦的出生到忧郁的死亡,都标志着他们是一个与众不同的民族。

剧透 -   :
At first, it does not even look like a settlement. The visitor sees only a tranquil forest dale, coursed by a meandering stream. He hears the rustle of willow branches caressed by a gentle wind and the piping of songbirds. Then his eye catches movement. He sees a tall figure, slim as the birch trunks she walks among, slip from the woods and down to the stream, carrying a wicker basket heaped with garments of gossamer and moonsilk. The visitor hails her, for he is known here as a friend and can count on a welcome. She turns and waves, and suddenly the place bursts with life, as the visitor's friends emerge from their well-camouflaged huts to greet him. Laughing elven children bound towards him, and soon he is surrounded by elves both young and old. He feels bathed in their acceptance and love. Yet he keeps a portion of his heart hard to them, understanding all too well that these beautiful creatures could carelessly steal his affections and abandon him on a moment's whim.

He knows more of elves than most, and by resisting the webs of love they so unthinkingly weave around him, he reminds himself of their curious ways. Their every moment, from joyous birth to melancholy decline, marks them as a people apart.


你们和我们The You and the We

精灵陶醉于双重天性。他们对悖论的热爱使他们在其他种族看来显得神秘,但精灵并不认为自己神秘或异域风情;世上的人总是希望事情是非此即彼的,这让他们很困惑。

精灵们所接受的主要悖论是一个他们称之为“你们和我们”的想法。外人必须先了解它,才能真正了解精灵的思维。年轻的精灵在摇篮中学习它。它告诉他们必须平衡对自我的责任和对社区的义务。精灵对自我的责任是始终努力发掘自己的个性,追求经验,并探索自己的灵魂深处。他对社区的义务是与他人合作并支持他们对内在知识的追求。这两件事并不矛盾。如果没有社区来给她衣食住行和心灵慰藉,精灵就无法享受她追求内心追求所需的人身保障。

如果不了解自己的精神,精灵就无法为她的社区做出真正有价值的贡献。要掌握“你们和我们”的原则,精灵必须让自己真正具有个人主义,但不能有一丝自私。

剧透 -   :
Elves revel in a dual nature. Their love of paradox makes them seem mysterious to other races, but elves do not see themselves as mysterious or exotic; it is the world of people who want things to be one way or another that puzzles them.

The main paradox elves embrace is an idea they call "The You and the We." Outsiders must understand it before they can truly know the elven mind. Young elves learn it in the cradle. It tells them that they must balance their duties to themselves with their obligations to the community. An elf's duty to herself is to always strive to explore her own identity, to pursue experience, and to delve into the depths of her own soul. His obligation to the community is to live in partnership with others and to support their quests for inner knowledge. These two things are not contradictory. Without a community to clothe, feed, and comfort her, an elf can't enjoy the physical security she needs to pursue her inner quest.

Without knowledge of her own spirit, the elf has nothing of true value to contribute to her community. To master the principle of "The You and the We," an elf must make herself truly individualistic, but without a trace of selfishness.


出生Birth

个性和无私的双重原则贯穿了精灵从他的出生开始一生中的每一个重要事件。总是努力与自然模式和谐相处的精灵们,他们为出生而庆祝,出生是新的生命循环起点。没有什么事情比孩子的出世更神圣。精灵母亲尽可能的在她们自己出生的社区分娩。这种回归的习俗为精灵定居点注入了新的生命,使其重新与保持世界运转的新生之力联系起来。如果可能的话,一个出生在精灵社区之外的母亲会回到她长大的村庄,否则,回到她父母之一的出生地。紧急情况下可以任何精灵社区分娩。如果附近没有精灵社区,精灵会尽量选择在野外分娩而不是其他种族的社区中分娩。

精灵女性从成年(见下文)到大约 550 岁生日的年龄段内保持生育能力。

精灵胎儿大约会有十二个月周期的发育时间。在怀孕期间,母亲与孕育中的胎儿建立了联系。众所周知精灵不会睡觉,而是会进入恢复身心的冥想状态。在第六个和第七个周期之间的某个时间点,孩子萌芽的意识向母亲显露。在接下来的周期中,她逐渐开始感觉到她的孩子会成为什么样的人。她为成长中的婴儿选择一个孩子可以识别并接受名字。这个名字一直保密到出生的那一刻。

出生经历是一个大型公共庆典的高潮部分。社区的每个成员都围着准妈妈,欢快地唱着司掌生育的女神传承给精灵的古老圣歌。男女老少一起参加仪式,见证生命的奇迹。他们既不羞耻也不反感地看着它。精灵们不认可分娩是不洁的,或者分娩不宜公开进行。精灵族的母亲比其他种族的母亲更容易顺产;她们分娩几乎没有痛苦。(当婴儿只是半精灵时情况并非如此;这些分娩可能是痛苦和危险的。)

精灵近乎永远保留着他们刚出现在世界上的、婴儿被举起来供整个社区观看的那一刻的生动记忆。他们记得新邻居们为自己唱的那首特别的歌。当精灵第一次分娩时,她会发现自己无师自通这首歌谣。
剧透 -   :
The twin principles of individuality and unselfishness ring through every significant event in an elf's life, starting with his birth. Elves, who strive always for harmony with nature's pattern, celebrate birth as the beginning of a new cycle of life. No event is holier than the birth of a child. Elven mothers do everything they can to deliver their babies in the community where they themselves were born. This custom of returning breathes new life into an elven settlement, reconnecting it to the forces of renewal that keep the world turning. A mother who was herself born away from an elven community will return, if at all possible, to the village where she was raised, or failing that, to the birthplace of one of her parents. In emergencies, any elven community will do. Where none is available, birth in the wilderness is preferable to one among other races.

Elven women remain fertile from around the time of their coming of age (see below) to approximately their 550th birthday.

The elven fetus gestates for approximately twelve lunar cycles. During pregnancy, the mother develops a bond with the developing child. As is well known, elves do not sleep, but slip into trances that renew their souls and bodies. At some time between the sixth and seventh cycles, the child's budding consciousness reveals itself to the mother. Over the coming cycles, she gradually begins to sense what kind of person her child will become. She selects a name for the growing baby, which it recognizes and accepts. The name is kept secret until the moment of birth.

The birth experience serves as the climax of a great communal celebration. Every member of the community encircles the mother-to-be, joyously singing the ancient chants handed down to them by the birthing goddesses. Both women and men, young and old, attend the ceremony and witness the miracle of being. They behold it with neither shame nor revulsion. Elves recoil at the suggestion that births are somehow unclean, or that they should be kept hidden from the world. Elven births are easier on their mothers than those of other races; they suffer little pain. (This is not true when the baby is only half-elven; these births can be agonizing and dangerous.)

Elves almost always retain vivid memories of the moment just after they emerge into the world, when they are held up for the community to see. They remember the special song their new neighbors sing to them. When the time comes for an elf to attend her first birthing, she finds she knows the song without having been taught it.


童年Childhood

精灵对童年(接下来的五十年左右)的记忆很少如此清晰。童年是玩乐和探索的时光,一切都在社区成年人的监护下进行,他们敏锐地意识到即使在最宁静的自然环境中也潜伏着危险。虽然精灵重视直接地经验而不是二间接地学习,但有些东西只能通过教授学习。孩子们在探险之前学会了警惕危险,背诵数以千计的精灵神祗和精魂的名字,并模仿长辈们制作手工艺品、服装和狩猎工具。尽管孩子学会了认识和陪伴他的父母,但和其他的家族区别并不重要。

已经在追求自身个性的儿童被允许与他们觉得最适应的成年人建立联系。在出生仪式上,社区的每个成员都发誓要将他或她最好的知识和精神传授给新生儿。如果一个孩子长大后变得自私、对美变得迟钝或无趣,那么整个社区会备受挫折。如果一个孩子因森林的危险而夭折,那么所有人会感受一个生命的早夭的悲剧。

虽然精灵男性和女性在人生观上有些细微的差别(见下文),但这些只是倾向而并非儿童们应该遵守的强制性规则。儿童既不会被迫学习家庭的生意,也不会强迫接受家庭的艺术传统。在精灵文化中,界限是模糊的,只是暂时的方便区分开来。
剧透 -   :
An elf's memories of childhood (the next fifty or so years) are rarely so clear. Childhood is a time of play and exploration, all carried out under the watchful eyes of the community's adults, who are keenly aware of the hazards lurking in even the most tranquil natural setting. Although elves value direct experience over second-hand learning, there are certain things that can only be taught. Children learn to look for danger before exploring, to recite the names of the thousand elven gods and spirits, and to imitate their elders in the making of crafts, clothing, and hunting implements. Although the child learns to recognize and accompany his mother and father, other family distinctions are unimportant.

Children, already in pursuit of their individuality, are allowed to form bonds to the adults to whom they feel most attuned. Every member of a community swears, during the birthing ceremony, to lend the best of his or her knowledge and spirit to the new child. If a child grows up to be selfish, dulled to beauty, or unamusing, the entire community has failed. If a child succumbs to the forest's dangers, all share the tragedy of a life taken before its time.

Although there are some slight differences in outlook between elven men and women (see below), these are tendencies, not enforced rules to which children are expected to adhere. A child is neither pressed into learning a family trade or adopting its artistic traditions. In elven culture, lines are meant to be blurred, and distinctions are but a thing of temporary convenience.


引用
对美的追求The Pursuit of Beauty

    精灵认为一个人的作品应该尽善尽美。使用最频繁的物品应该是最吸引力的,因为这些物品是最频繁看到的。
    精灵的工艺追求一切感官的享受,一件物品如果仅仅是看起来精致是不够的。它还得闻起来令人心怡、触感令人满意。即使物品不慎坠落到地面的声音也应如铃声或钟鸣一般悦耳,而非难听的撞击声。
    粗陋或者无价值的物品不会被装饰。即使战争用的武器也是可爱的工艺品。精灵诗篇中的一幕,传奇的Arranyn的箭,射穿了一位兽人军官,在要伤到Arranyn兄弟们之前堪堪停止,这反映他们的设计武器的极度完美。尽管诗歌里的嘉奖明显地进行艺术加工,这一段篇反应了精灵对于艺术的态度。
    不同地区对美的定义多种多样。一个地方的精灵可能会偏爱繁复的装饰,只有在一件艺术品的每寸角落都被复杂精细的的花纹复盖才会感到满意。他们的远方亲戚可能喜欢极简主义的玄妙和谐。


性别角色Sex Roles

尽管精灵乐于测试界限和混淆定义,但他们必须承认对于男性和女性在社会中的角色可以做出一些概括。

男性和女性都经常从事猎人和武者的职业。一些男性精灵爱好旅行,通过探索更广阔世界的冒险和危险来追求真实的自我。另一方面,女性精灵战士有时觉得需要待在离家更近的地方来保护她们所爱的人。因此她们经常成为社区的护林员、守卫或民兵。然而,寻求顿悟Epiphanies的需求(见下文)凌驾于一切之上,精灵会毫不犹豫地追求她内心告诉她应遵循的道路。

在精灵社会中,男性和女性演奏乐器的可能性是一样的。男性更喜欢声乐艺术和管乐器,女性则有轻微的学习打击乐器或弦乐器的倾向。据说精灵吟游诗人们的四重奏能够让神祗流泪。

男性和女性在神职人员和奥术施法者队伍中的比例相当。一切精灵爱魔法深入骨髓更甚其他种族

在非暴力的工艺品方面,精灵男人大多数喜欢木雕、陶艺和需要用双手塑造材料的工艺品。另一方面,精灵女性则倾向于绘画、编织和其他需要活跃的想象力和温和的,创造性的接触的手工艺。通常来说,精灵喜欢为给大自然创造的事物再塑形的感觉。他们乐于将平凡变为神奇,将平凡变为辉煌,任何与自然和谐相处的努力都是崇高的。

不过,值得重申的是,与任何其他种族的成员相比,精灵不太可能遵守其社会的不成文规则。每个社区自豪的宣称拥有凶恶的流浪女猎手和居家温顺的男性织布工。
剧透 -   :
As much as elves delight in testing boundaries and confounding definitions, even they must admit that some generalizations can be made about the roles of men and women in their society.

Both men and women frequently take up the professions of hunters and warriors. However, some male elves are seized by wanderlust and seek their true selves by exploring the adventures and dangers of the wider world. Female elven fighters, on the other hand, sometimes feel a need to stay closer to home to guard the ones they love. As a result, they often become the foresters, guards, or militia of their communities. The need to seek an epiphany (see below) overrules all else, though, and no elf hesitates to pursue any course her heart tells her to follow.

Both men and women are equally as likely to play a musical instrument in elven society. However, men tend to prefer the vocal arts and wind instruments, and women have a slight tendency to pick up percussion or stringed instruments. A mixed quartet of elven bards is said to be capable of bringing a god to tears.

Both genders are equally represented among the priesthood and the ranks of arcane spellcasters. All elves love magic and feel it in their bones like perhaps no other race.

In terms of the less violent crafts, many elven men enjoy woodcarving, pottery, and crafts that require shaping material with their bare hands. Elven women, on the other hand, lean toward crafts such as painting, weaving, and other crafts that require an active imagination and a gentle, creative touch. In general, though, elves love the feeling of bringing a new shape to something that nature has created. They find great joy in turning the mundane into the magical and the normal into the brilliant, and any effort to work in harmony with nature is a noble one.

It bears repeating, though, that elves are much less likely to follow the unwritten rules of their societies than are the members of any other race. Every community boasts its share of wolfish, wandering female hunters and homebound, peaceable male weavers.


青春期Adolescence

童年和成年之间的五十年跨度对于塑造一个精灵的性格和决定他的精神之路是最重要的。精灵们称其为beryn fin,或“发现时间time of discovery”。Beryn fin,青春期的开始,伴随着纠结的情感和浪漫的冲动,更伴随着强大的神秘觉醒。
剧透 -   :
The fifty-year span between childhood and full adulthood is the most important in shaping an elf's character and determining his spiritual path. Elves call this the beryn fin, or "time of discovery." Beryn fin, the onset of puberty, with its wrenching emotions and romantic urges, is twinned with an even more powerful mystical awakening.


性的尝试Sexual Experimentation

其他种族普遍认为精灵的性自由令人吃惊、轻佻嬗变,而且魅力无穷。这些族裔以讹传讹的民间故事和谣言比实际情况的有点抹黑中伤、添油加醋的意味。对于精灵来说,性的表达方式只是任何精灵在塑造自我认知过程中必要探索的一长串人生经历中的一堂课。精灵和一组伙伴们进行性的尝试,并不比与品尝一打浆果汁、沿着风吹走羽状种子的路径穿越树林、或者了解森林动物的秘密名字更加奇怪。当然,一个年轻精灵会如同完成他或她开始的任何其他任务目标一样,完成对爱欲的探索。

精灵在他们的结合和分手的游戏中不存在双重标准。男性和女性被鼓励充分表达他们身体的渴望。年轻的女性可以愉快地追求性事的迷恋,因为精灵长生种的低生育率使得怀孕不太可能。非婚生儿童虽然很少见,但在精灵社区中不会受到特殊的偏见。

年轻的精灵对其他种族似乎轻浮多变,因为他们不会遭受分手或单相思之苦就能移情别恋。露水情缘是社交互动中常见且可接受的一部分。一个精灵可能在过去与他或她的社区中的大量同龄人结合过,在他们面前也不会感到羞耻或尴尬。他们可能会深情地回忆起旧日约会的欢乐时光,但不会比他们对某天愉快的聚餐或令人满意的攀岩的回忆更重要。
剧透 -   :
Other races generally consider the sexual freedom of elves shocking, fickle, and endlessly fascinating. The folk tales and rumors they repeat are much more scandalous and colorful than what really goes on. To an elf, sexual expression is just one item on a long list of experiences anyone should explore in the course of forging an identity. Experimentation with a range of partners is no more or less odd than tasting the juice of a dozen berries, following the path of plume-seeds as winds carry them through the woods, or learning the secret names of the forest's animals. Still, a young elf's exploration of love and lust should be as complete as any other quest he or she embarks upon.

Elves hold no double standards in their games of coupling and uncoupling. Males and females are both encouraged to fully express their physical yearnings. Young females can blithely pursue their infatuations because the low fertility rate of their long-lived species makes pregnancy unlikely. Children born out of wedlock, though rare, face no special prejudice in an elven community.

Young elves seem fickle to other races because they are able to move from one partner to the next without suffering the pangs of separation or unrequited love. Casual liaisons are a common and accepted part of social interaction. An elf might have partnered in the past with a large number of contemporaries in his or her community and feels no lingering feelings of shame or awkwardness in their presence. They might fondly recall the joys of an old rendezvous, but give it no more weight than they would the recollections of a delightful shared meal or a satisfying day of rock climbing.


日益增长的责任Growing Responsibilities

在追求欢愉的同时,青春期的精灵们还赋予逐渐承担起使社区团结的互助和保护的职责。男性和女性都必须掌握基本的战斗能力,特别是如何使用弓箭。他们必须学会在长时间的观察中始终保持注意力——对于容易分心、充满探索精神的年轻人来说,这不是一件容易的事。青少年参加社区的觅食、耕作和狩猎活动。在这段时间里,他们也必须学会制作有用的和美丽的事物。
剧透 -   :
Alongside their pursuit of pleasure, adolescent elves are expected to slowly take on the duties of mutual support and protection that keep a community together. Males and females alike must master the basics of combat, especially with the bow. They must learn to keep themselves at constant attention during a long watch - not an easy task for an easily-distracted, questing young mind. Adolescents take part in the community's foraging, farming, and hunting activities. During this time, they must also learn to make useful and beautiful things.


顿悟Epiphanies

快乐和责任都没有年轻精灵的精神进展重要。精灵不会在日常世界和众神领域之间划清界限。所有精灵都知道科瑞隆·拉瑞利安和他的神系居住在外层位面郁郁葱葱的一角,他们的存在也渗透到了主物质位面。在精灵与自然和谐相处的任何地方,都可以找到科瑞隆·拉瑞利安的精神气息。精灵不会简单地听牧师讲述他的神;他进入旷野寻求神的存在,用肌肤感受神的呼吸,聆听神对信徒耳语的箴言。年轻精灵被鼓励在野外独自地度过数小时,直到他们遇到拉瑞利安的精魂。

顿悟之刻,当一个精灵开启内视,他的整个存在被神圣的意识所淹没时,是任何精灵生命中的关键时刻。精灵不会向任何人描述这件事,甚至不会向他最亲密的爱人或自己的孩子描述,除非用最模糊的术语。因此,很难可靠地描述这一瞬间的至高无上的神秘。每个精灵似乎都有不同的体验。在某些非精灵学者的想象中,他们将这一事件描绘成科瑞隆·拉瑞利安的光辉圣者出现在探索者面前的一幅宏伟景象,这一刻是极其微妙的。精灵可能会通过看到在在一片摇摇欲坠的树叶的叶脉上看到了一个特别壮观的图案,或者在暴风雨前的躁动的风中发现了即将到来的雷暴力量,来认识这位神。

beryn fin期间的精灵为了这一刻的做了多年的精神准备,以从稍稍体验到却又无法真正得到的的暗示和预兆中接收到它的真正意义。它通常发生在精灵的一百岁期间。一些精灵,尤其是那些出生时伴随着吉兆的精灵,可能会在七十五岁时体验到它。这些人通常会成为伟大的祭司或女祭司,或强大的英雄。一些不幸的灵魂发现他们没有顿悟,这通常是因为他们太刻意地强迫这一刻出现。大多数人经过祭司的辅导后,在不超过十年或二十年的时间内经历觉醒。极少数精灵从未觉醒。他们从朋友和邻居那里得到的关爱和怜悯使他们变得痛苦而沮丧,Malawain,或者说“未觉醒者”,通常会选择自我放逐,离开精灵世界到异国城市定居,或者成为无根的冒险者流浪。Malawain很少承认自己的身份,即使是对那些不太关心精灵精神进展的人也是如此。

精灵经历觉醒后,她会发生变化。她宣称自己是一位成年人,通过为自己选择一个新的名字来标记她新发现的个人天性。她已经和社区里的任何成年人平起平坐了。
剧透 -   :
Both pleasure and responsibility are less important than the young elf's spiritual progress. Elves do not draw a line between the everyday world and the realms of the gods. Although everyone knows that Corellon Larethian and his pantheon dwell in a lush and verdant quadrant of the outer planes, their presence also permeates the Prime Material Plane. The spiritual touch of Corellon Larethian can be found in any place where elves live in harmony with nature. An elf does not simply listen to a priest tell him about his god; he goes into the wilderness to seek his presence, to feel the deity's breath upon his skin, and to hear the words of wisdom he whispers in his worshipers' ears. Young elves are encouraged to spend hours in solitude out in the wild until they encounter Larethian's spirit.

The moment of epiphany, when an elf's inner senses open up and his entire being is flooded with an awareness of the divine, is the pivotal moment in any elf's life. He does not describe it to anyone, even to his closest love or his own children, except in the vaguest terms. It is hard, then, to reliably say much about this instant of supreme mystery. Each elf seems to experience it differently. Despite the imaginings of certain non-elven scholars, who picture the event as a grand vision of a glowing avatar of Corellon Larethian appearing to the quester, the moment is a profoundly subtle. The elf might come to know the god by seeing an especially sublime pattern traced in the veins of a crumbling leaf, or in the knowledge of imminent power found in the disturbed air that precedes a thunderstorm.

An elf spends his years of beryn fin in spiritual preparation for this moment, receiving tantalizing hints and premonitions of its true significance. It usually occurs during the elf's one-hundredth year. Some elves, especially those whose births were accompanied by auspicious signs and portents, might experience it as soon as age seventy-five. These individuals often go on to become great priests or priestesses, or mighty heroes. A few unlucky souls find that epiphany eludes them, usually because they're trying too hard to force the moment to occur. Most, after priestly counseling, experience the awakening no more than a decade or two late. A rare few never taste it. Growing bitter and frustrated with the loving pity they receive from their friends and neighbors, the malawain, or "unawakened," often choose self-exile, leaving the world of elves to settle in foreign cities or wander as rootless adventurers. Malawain rarely admit their status, even to those who couldn't care less about elven spiritual development.

When an elf experiences the Awakening, she is transformed. She declares herself an adult, marking her newfound individuality by selecting a new name for herself. She has become an equal of any adult in the community.


成年Adulthood

精灵的亲戚和邻居可能不太会接受精灵新选择的名字。精灵,对他们来说十年就像一眨眼的功夫,他们需要一段时间来调整他们对他人的印象以适应新的环境。年长的溺爱的亲戚非常倾向于使用精灵的孩童名字作为昵称。有些人接受这一点,有些人则会炸毛。
剧透 -   :
The elf's relatives and neighbors might be slow to adopt the elf's newly-chosen name. Elves, for whom a decade is like the blinking of an eye, take a while to adjust their impressions of others to match new circumstances. Elderly, doting relatives are especially prone to use an elf's child-name as a term of endearment. Some individuals accept this; others bristle.


对抗邪恶Against Evil

虽然皮糙肉厚的矮人或缺乏耐心的人类可能不会注意到这一点,但新成熟的精灵已经经历了突然的变化。她失去了beryn fin的天真俏皮。她会继续寻找美丽和欢愉的时刻,但她现在这么做是出于另一个原因,而且是以一种完全不同的精神。在与精灵诸神合一的时刻,她也感觉到了他们对立面不可避免的潜在存在:邪恶神祗和他们的爪牙。她明白她在这片土地上轻装上阵并保护社区免受敌人的伤害,是为了保护生存而进行的伟大斗争的一部分——尤其是捍卫自然世界——那些残酷而强大的实体不断地计划着要摧毁它。

精灵与邪恶作斗争不仅要对邪恶的征兆保持警惕,还要拥抱世界的美好。当她创作一件艺术品时,她不只是让自己和周围的人开心。她正在筑起一座抵御仇恨和不假思索毁灭的堡垒。她不能让自己被对敌人的恐惧或仇恨所吞噬,因为正是通过这些有害的冲动,邪恶才能发挥作用。她必须给世界带来欢乐来,继续寻找真正的自我,以此战胜邪恶。
剧透 -   :
Although a crusty dwarf or impatient human might not notice it, the newly matured elf has undergone a sudden change. She has lost the innocent playfulness of beryn fin. Although she continues to seek out moments of beauty and pleasure, she now does so for a different reason and in an altered spirit. In achieving her moment of oneness with the elven gods, she has also sensed the inescapable, lurking presence of their opposites: the gods of evil and their minions. She understands that her efforts to live lightly on the land and protect the community from enemies are part of a greater struggle to protect existence - especially the natural world - from cruel and powerful entities that constantly scheme to destroy it.

An elf fights evil not only by remaining vigilant against signs of its taint but by embracing the beauty of the world. Now, when she creates a work of art, she is not just making herself and those around her happy. She is erecting a bulwark against hatred and unthinking destruction. She can't allow herself to be consumed by fear or hatred of the enemy, because it is through these corrosive impulses that evil does its work. She must defy evil by bringing joy into the world and by continuing her quest to know her true self.


引用
精灵冒险家Elven Adventurers

大约两百分之一的精灵在她的一生中作为流浪冒险家度过了一段寻找异国经历的旅程;他们中几乎没有人为这种追求投入超过一两个世纪的时间。一个离开同伴的陪伴,与暴躁矮人和浮躁人类一起在泥泞的地下城中探索的精灵,顾名思义,就是一个古怪的人。幸运的是,精灵们崇尚个人主义并以兴奋的好奇心对待返回的冒险者,而非蔑视或恐惧。
剧透 -   :
About one in two hundred elves spends part of her life as a wandering adventurer in search of exotic experience; almost none of them devote more than a century or two to such pursuits. An elf who leaves the company of her fellows to delve through muck-encrusted dungeons with surly dwarves and impetuous humans is, by definition, an eccentric. Fortunately, elves celebrate individuality and treat returned adventurers with excited curiosity, not contempt or fear.

引用
堕落精灵Corrupt Elves

尽管精灵的宗教和文化使他们与邪恶势力格格不入,但精灵并不比其他物种更能免受其诱惑。恶魔特别喜欢引导精灵误入歧途,恶魔通过在精灵追寻顿悟时与精灵进行精神接触来做到这一点。有些恶魔伪装成科瑞隆·拉瑞利安,愚弄那些易受骗的精灵。其他恶魔则提供了精灵社会背道而驰的财富和支配地位。自卑的Malawain认为自己被拉瑞利安放逐了,特别容易屈从恶魔的操纵。

典型的精灵社区很快就会注意到一个明显残忍或疯狂的邪恶仆人的古怪行为。但更狡猾的类型可能会潜伏几十年,甚至几个世纪,巧妙地利用社区的信任来挫败他们的保卫成果,让腐败在精灵的土地上立足。尽管精灵的宽容度很高,除非逃走,被揭露邪恶面目的社区成员将被处决。
剧透 -   :
Though the religion and culture of the elves puts them at odds with the forces of evil, elves are no more immune than other species from its temptations. Demons take special pleasure in leading elves astray, which they do by making mental contact with them as they quest for their epiphanies. Some pose as Corellon Larethian, tricking the gullible. Others offer the wealth and dominance that elven society turns its back on. Self-pitying malawain, convincing themselves that they been cast out by Larethian, are especially prone to their manipulation.

It does not take long for the typical elven community to notice the odd behavior of an obviously cruel or insane servant of evil. But more clever types might thrive for decades, if not centuries, subtly taking advantage of a community's trust to thwart their protective efforts and allow corruption to gain a foothold around their lands. Although elven tolerance is vast, a community member who reveals his evil faces execution unless he escapes.


求爱与婚姻Courtship and Marriage

成年后,精灵继续他们的性探索。但最终,每个人都发掘自己内心中那一份独一无二的持久之爱。就像他们生命中其他重要的事情一样,精灵用神秘的术语来描述这一切。他们相信一个精灵的精神进程在不知不觉中与另一个精灵的精神进程交织在一起。这一灵魂伴侣被称为thiramin。在遇到他的thiramin后,精灵的心充满了激情和确定性。百分之九十九的情况下,对方也会因为同样的瞬间亦是永恒的挚爱而沦陷。(虽然很少见,单相思的thiramin的感觉是灾难性的,这会带来长达几个世纪的痛苦心碎。苦情之人经常自杀或屈服于邪恶的诱惑。)精灵们几乎总是对初次见面的人有thiramin的感觉:换句话说,来自其他社区的来访者。社区之间的通婚强化了定居点之间的沟通联系,使他们能够迅速联合起来对抗在这片土地上行军的邪恶军队。

也许一百对精灵夫妇中就有五对,小时候就认识的精灵青梅竹马们突然相互对视彼此,陷入了thiramin的状态。当这种情况发生时,这两个精灵之前的日子里几乎总是将彼此视为死对头。

Thiramin确定之后长期的求爱过程不允许被打扰。青少年会因为一点小小的挑逗就和其他人一起跳进干草堆里,而一对被thiramin影响的夫妇可能会延迟数十年甚至数百年来才会升华至他们的极乐时刻。

精灵的婚礼仪式庄严而美丽,通常持续数周之久。诗歌朗诵、音乐演奏和戏剧活动复述着精灵传说的伟大爱情故事。非精灵经常发现无法忍耐这种旷日持久的隆重场合。丈夫和妻子步入婚床后开始的狂野放荡可能会让他们感到惊讶。

虽然精灵夫妇更喜欢呆在一起,但已婚夫妇也可以分开很长时间。即使她远在天边,他们彼此之间的联系感使分开的伴侣感觉对方近在咫尺。
剧透 -   :
Upon reaching adulthood, elves continue their sexual explorations. Eventually, though, each discovers that his heart has developed a capacity for lasting and exclusive love. Like most other important things in their lives, elves describe this in mystical terms. They believe that a person's spiritual progress is unknowingly intertwined with that of another. This soulmate is called a thiramin. Upon meeting his thiramin, an elf's heart fills with passion and certainty. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the other party is felled by the same feeling of immediate and eternal devotion. (Though rare, an unrequited feeling of thiramin is always disastrous, bringing centuries of wrenching heartbreak. Sufferers often commit suicide or succumb to the temptations of evil.) Elves almost always feel thiramin for people they meet for the first time: In other words, visitors from other communities. Intermarriage between communities strengthens the bonds of communication between settlements, allowing them to quickly band together against the armies of evil that march across the land.

Perhaps five couples out of a hundred form when elves who have known each other since childhood suddenly look upon one another and fall into a state of thiramin. When this happens, it is almost always the case that the two elves have previously treated each other as bitter rivals.

The certainty of thiramin is never allowed to interfere with the experience of a long and protracted courtship. Where adolescents will hop into the hay with one another on the slightest provocation, a couple swayed by thiramin might heighten their moment of ecstasy by delaying it for decades or even centuries.

Elven marriage ceremonies are stately and beautiful, often lasting for weeks. Poetry recitations, musical performances, and theatrical events all retell the great love stories of elven lore. Non-elves often find the protracted dignity of these occasions unbearable. The wild debauchery that begins after the husband and wife have retired to the nuptial bed might surprise them.

Though they prefer to stay close together, married couples are capable of spending long periods of time apart. The feeling of connection they have for one another makes a missing partner feel close at hand, even when she is far away.


引用
离婚Divorce

Thiramin(灵魂绑定)的状态有时会很快地消失,同样,这种突然断开的感觉几乎总是相互的。thiramin的结束几乎不可能追溯到特定的原因,比如家暴或者出轨。相反地,它被视为这表明了伴侣的精神道路已经发生分歧,科瑞隆·拉瑞利安对他们的神圣计划呼唤他们分开。爱情的蒸发被悲哀地接受。这对夫妇悄悄地解散了他们的家庭,社区领袖会传播这个悲伤的消息,灵异的一方通常离开社区,以寻找他或她新的天命。精灵通常不会对前伴侣感到恨意或苦涩,但当他或她出现时仍会失落和心痛。

Thiramin有时会被外力所破坏。某些邪恶牧师所熟知的一种仪式可以切断夫妻之间的纽带。仪式需要获取两位目标共同拥有的一件个人物品。被分开夫妇的冒险者朋友可以通过复原物品并摧毁祭司的仪式工具,以此来破解咒语,重新编织婚姻的纽带。不快乐的伴侣一般不需要如此,因为他们失去了恢复关系的所有愿望。
剧透 -   :
The condition of thiramin (soul binding) can sometimes vanish as quickly as it came, Again, the feeling of sudden disconnection is almost always mutual. The end of thiramin can almost never be traced to a specific cause, like a fight or an incident of infidelity. Instead, It is seen as an indication that the partners' spiritual paths have diverged, and that Corellon Larethian's divine plans for them call for their parting. The evaporation of love is accepted with mournful resignation. The couple quietly breaks up their household, relying on community leaders to spread the sad news, One partner usually leaves the community in search of his or her new destiny. An elf doesn't usually feel hate or bitterness towards an ex-partner, but still suffers a sense of loss and pain while in his or her presence.

Thiramin can sometimes be broken by outside forces. A ritual known to certain covens of evil clerics can sever the bond between husband and wife. It requires the capture of a personal item co-owned by the targets. Adventurous friends of the sundered couple can break the spell, and reknit the bonds of marriage, by recovering the item and destroying the priest's ritual implements. The unhappy mates normally don't assist in this, as they lose all desire to reform the relationship.


生活在这片土地上 Living Off the Land

精灵社区以大自然的恩惠养活自身。他们将自身视为自然世界的另一部分,以保持可循环的方式狩猎、觅食和耕作。在魔法的帮助下他们能够生产食物和建造住所,同时让周围的区域保持原始状态。精灵们保持自身的社区小而分散,以免使土地负担过重。他们的低生育率率帮助他们实现了这一目标。精灵社区的目标是维持生活,而非财富或利润。如同任何旨在自给自足的社区的情况,专业化的劳动力并不常见。人们根据自己最擅长的事情分配时间,但每个有能力的人都至少会做一点农活、觅食、狩猎和手工艺。
剧透 -   :
Elven communities support themselves with the bounty of nature. Regarding themselves as just another part of the natural world, they hunt, forage, and farm in ways that maintain its cycles of renewal. Aided by magic, they're able to produce food and shelter for themselves while leaving the area around them in its original state. They keep their communities small and spread out so as not to overtax the land. Their low birth rate helps them accomplish this. The goal of an elven community is subsistence, not wealth or profit. As is the case in any community that aims only to sustain itself, specialized labor is uncommon. People divide their time according to what they do best, but every capable individual does at least a little farming, foraging, hunting, and crafting.


引用
土地的仪式Rituals of the Land

精灵主神科瑞隆·拉瑞利安 (Corellon Larethian) 授予社区祭司和女祭司以下神术。按照惯例,祭司施展觅食者的祝福咒语,而女祭司则进行大地仪式。然而,任何一种性别的牧师都可以施展任何一种法术。
剧透 -   :
The chief elven deity, Corellon Larethian, grants the following divine spells to community priests and priestesses. By convention, priests cast the forager's blessing spell, while priestesses conduct the womb of the earth ritual. However, clerics of either sex can perform either spell.

觅食者的祝福Forager's Blessing
预言系
等级:    牧师0,巡林客1
成分:    言语,姿势,法器
施法时间:1动作
距离:    接触
目标:    1精灵/每等级
持续时间:1小时/每等级(可解消)
豁免检定:意志通过则无效(无害)
法术抗力:可(无害)
    此法术在一群觅食者步入荒野寻找可食植株或狩猎野味动物之前施展。牧师将双手搭在每个目标的肩膀上,依次祝福他们。法术持续时间内,受术者在尝试寻找食物的野外求生检定上获得+2加值。
    如果DM认为觅食的经历对整个冒险是次要的,可以直接进行野外求生检定,宣布觅食者非常愉快的满载而归,带回来大量的坚果、浆果、蘑菇、打猎的鸟儿等。


大地丰产Womb of the Earth
变化系
等级:    牧师1
成分:    言语,姿势,材料
施法时间:15分钟
距离:    近距(25英尺+5英尺/2等级)
范围:    15尺加每等级10尺的半径爆发区域
持续时间:立即(可解消)
豁免检定:不可
法术抗力:不可
    此法术将一片由稀疏植被组成的荒野区域,比如一片自然空地或者最近发生过森林火灾的地方,改造成一片可供耕种的土地,使可食用植物能够在24小时内成熟。区域内原本生长的植被和动物不会受到伤害,它们仅会被移动到这片新土地的边缘地带。此法术会平整地上的犁沟,为最适宜施法者所选择种子类型生长的方式施肥。植物生长时农夫仍然需要照料园圃,比如清除杂草和害虫。
    残留的魔法充盈着这快土地。当可食用植物被收获后的24小时后,周围边缘地带原本生长的植被和动物会重新占据这片土地。没有任何迹象显示这片土地被耕作过。
    此法术无法在茂密的森林区域施展,也不能在农夫或者其他人有诸如清除树木举措的地方使用。


贸易Trade

一些社区完全不鼓励与其他种族甚至与邻近的精灵进行贸易。几个常见的精灵民间故事讲述了最早发现贸易的精灵;它们总是几乎给所有精灵族带来毁灭。其他团体对贸易更为宽容,只要这不会促使他们耗尽当地资源。甚至他们也拒绝交易他们可以自己制造或收集的东西;这样做不仅意味着承认失败,还意味着接受对不可靠的外来者的依赖。喜欢美丽和异国情调的精灵更有可能交易奢侈品。他们喜欢漂亮的石头、装饰的珠宝、魔法奇物和陌生的乐器。他们对价值的认知与人类或矮人的有很大不同:他们可能会用一块拳头大小的金块来交换演奏一首歌曲,或者用一罐萤火虫来交换一支镶嵌翡翠的节杖。

生活在人类聚居地的精灵们为了谋生,开始接受贸易的必要性和物品的标准价值。精灵冒险者很快就知道购买装备的重要性;当他们退休回到自己的社区时,他们可能会充当亲族和困惑小贩之间的中间人。
剧透 -   :
Some communities completely discourage trade with other races, or even with neighboring elves. Several common elven folktales tell of the first elves to discover trade; they invariably bring near ruination upon all of elvenkind. Other groups are more permissive of trade, so long as it doesn't drive them to deplete local resources. Even they refuse to trade for those things they can make or gather themselves; to do so would be not only to admit failure but also to accept dependence on unreliable outsiders. Elves, who love the beautiful and exotic, are much more likely to trade for luxury items. They like pretty stones, decorative jewelry, wondrous magic items, and unfamiliar musical instruments. Their sense of value is very different from a human's or dwarf's: They might offer a fist-sized nugget of gold in exchange for the performance of a song, or a jar of fireflies for an emerald-encrusted scepter.

Elves who live in human settlements come to accept the necessity of trade and the standard values of items in order to survive among them. Elven adventurers quickly learn the importance of purchased gear; when they retire to their communities, they might act as intermediaries between their kin and puzzled peddlers.


领导和权威Leadership and Authority

作为自由的爱好者,精灵们也会对为自己而行使的权威而让步。他们意识到在危机时刻有时必须遵循一个明智的领导者的指示。在社区内部,领导层是非正式的。社区领袖不能强迫人们做任何事情;他们依靠自身的声誉和言行取得合作。每个人都了解其他人,也知道在需要时向谁寻求建议。他们寻求少数受人尊敬的长者的建议,每个长者都在特定领域有几个世纪的经验和成就。一位长老可能是祭司或女祭司,没有人比其更懂教养。另一个长者对当地森林了如指掌,能够最好地指导社区的防御。三分之一的长者在对外战争方面拥有最专业的知识;当村里的战士迎击邪恶时,她负责指挥他们。来访者如果问村长的名字可能会得到五到六个不同的答案,这取决于她想和哪方面业务打交道。

每个社区都承认一位国王或女王,他们有权控制数十个、有时甚至数百个小型社区。他们的职位是世袭的;每一位王都是古代精灵英雄的后裔,并通过他们能追溯了到了柯瑞隆·拉瑞利安本尊。君主必须通过做出正确的决定并赢得与邪恶的战斗来不辜负他们神圣的血统。如果他们失去了一个社区的尊重,社区可能会举行一个分割仪式转而效忠于另一血脉的统治者。幸运的是,君主们很认真地履行自己的职责,这种情况很少发生。精灵王族的魅力令人惊叹;即使是与这些统治者打交道的非精灵也会发现自己渴望为之效劳。

在和平时期,君主的主要职责是礼仪性的。每年有三分之二的时间,她从一个社区到另一个社区巡游,在那里她主持仪式、评判比赛、欣赏表演、接受无尽的赞美诗并祝福庄稼丰收。

君主不向臣民征税,但在每次皇室访问结束时,他们通常会带走数以百计的奢侈礼物。他们将这些物品带回自己的宫庭,并在那里陈列展示。在可怕的紧急情况下,它们可能会被出售换取军备,主要是在人类城市中交易。

结束巡游的时光,国王和王后居住在美丽绝伦的王庭。有些精灵宫殿是闪闪发光的古老大理石建筑;其他的则是由魔法地缠绕在一起的活树构成。王廷的位置是保密的;以免它们成为袭击者的诱人目标。

在宫廷中,精灵统治者会举办盛大的宴会。他们赞助节日和锦标赛,以在社区之间的建立兄弟情谊。君主或他们的高级朝臣负责调解来自不同定居点的精灵之间的争端。人类观察者经常评论精灵宫廷日常中没有阿谀奉承。尽管精灵女王和任何精灵一样喜欢赞美(也就是说,相当多),但她认为这是她应得的。女王从不会赏赐奉承者金银珠宝。
剧透 -   :
As lovers of freedom, elves recoil from authority wielded for its own sake. Yet they recognize that in times of crisis, it is sometimes necessary to follow the directions of a wise leader. Within communities, leadership stays informal. Community leaders can't force people to do anything; they rely on their reputations and the merit of their words to gain cooperation. Everyone knows everyone else, and know people who to ask for advice when they need it. They seek the counsel of a small handful of revered elders, each of whom claims centuries of experience and achievement in a particular area. One elder, probably a priest or priestess, might understand more about cultivation than anyone else. Another knows the local forests inside out and can best supervise community defense. A third might claim the greatest expertise in foreign warfare; she takes charge of the village's warriors when they go forth to fight evil. A visitor who asks the name of a village's leader might get five or six different answers, depending on the nature of her business.

Each community recognizes a king or queen who maintains authority over dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of small communities. Their positions are hereditary; each traces descent from elven heroes of the ancient past, and through them, to Corellon Larethian himself. Monarchs must live up to their hallowed pedigrees by making good decisions and winning battles against evil. If they lose the respect of a community, it might enact a ceremony of severance to transfer its allegiance to a ruler of another lineage. Luckily, monarchs take their duties seriously, and this rarely happens. The charisma of elven royalty is stunning; even non-elves who spend time with such rulers find themselves wanting to serve.

In peacetime, a monarch's main duties are ceremonial. She spends two-thirds of a year traveling from one community to another, where she presides over rituals, judges competitions, enjoys performances, accepts endless poetic tributes, and blesses the crops.

Monarchs don't tax their subjects, but are typically burdened with hundreds of luxurious gifts at the end of each royal visit. They carry these home to their courts, where they are put on display. In times of dire emergency, they might be traded, mostly in human cities, for armaments.

When not touring, kings and queens hold court in fabulous surroundings. Some elven palaces are ancient structures of gleaming marble; others are made of magically-intertwined, living trees. Their locations are kept secret; otherwise, they'd be too tempting a target for raiders.

While at court, elven rulers throw lavish feasts. They sponsor festivals and tournaments to build fraternal feelings between communities. The monarchs, or their senior courtiers, mediate disputes between elves from different settlements. Human observers often remark on the absence of flattery in elven court life. Although an elven queen enjoys compliments as much as any elf (which is to say, quite a lot), she sees them as her due. It does not occur to her to reward those who give them with gold or treasure.


黄昏之旅Journey Into Twilight

从精灵六百岁左右开始,她的血液流淌开始变慢,她的思绪开始变得模糊,她的身子骨变得疲倦。精灵一生都在训诫自己接受死亡是自然循环中不可或缺的一部分。即便如此,通常他们很难适应感官的钝化,这使他们难以体验快乐。精灵的晚年往往是忧郁的。她可能会用这些时间写下史诗般的回忆录,希望她的子孙后代能记住并代代相传。她可能会到隐居处或偏僻的山洞中避世,以思考存在的本质。极少数误入歧途的灵魂会转而使用最黑暗的法术来延长生命,成为巫妖。但大多数人都和他们的乡亲们在一起,试图传授他们获得的智慧,并在孩子们的笑声中振作起来。

丧葬习俗各不相同。在肥沃的土地,精灵选择土葬以将此身回馈滋养大地。在贫瘠的土地,逝者会被火化,骨灰随风飘零到不可知的远方。

有些精灵认为,死后他们的灵魂会与柯瑞隆·拉瑞利安的亲族们一起居住在一个翠绿的天国。还有人相信永恒的转世轮回,他们的灵魂回到大地,就像蒸发的水洼最终化为雨滴落下。每个探索者总会找到自己的真正答案。

剧透 -   :
Beginning around an elf's six hundredth year, her blood begins to slow, her thoughts start to cloud, and her bones grow tired. Elves train themselves all their lives to accept death as an integral part of nature's cycle. Even so, they usually find it hard to adjust to the dimming of their senses, which makes it harder for them to experience pleasure. An elf's declining years are often melancholy ones. She might spend them composing her memoirs in epic verse, hoping that her descendants will memorize and repeat them for generations to come. She might retreat to a hermitage or isolated cave to contemplate the nature of existence. A very few misguided souls turn to blackest sorcery to extend their lives, becoming liches. But most surround themselves with their fellow villagers, trying to impart the wisdom they've gained and take heart in the laughter of children.

Burial customs vary. Where the soil is lush, bodies are buried to nourish the land, repaying it for a life-time's bounty. Where the ground is hard, they are cremated, and their ashes sent on the winds for one final, unpredictable journey.

Some elves hold that after death, their spirits go to dwell in a verdant paradise with the kin of Corellon Larethian. Others believe in an eternal cycle of reincarnation, in which their spirits return to earth just as an evaporated puddle eventually falls as rain. The true answer remains for each seeker to find herself.
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