此坑没废！置顶帖英文电子书中相关背景知识翻译[3月24大量更新：地理与Thedas11国]

不得不靠谱

　　置顶帖中的英文电子书，相信懂英文的同学早都翻烂了，个人认为除了没有DLC：RTO相关内容外，整体涵盖面和实用性仅次于wiki，但感觉上更官方更有力度。鉴于其中的攻略道具等部分已有高人译过，同时本人又对剧情和设定格外有爱，打算对电子书中最后一部分extra的内容进行翻译，方便英文有困难的同学深入了解龙腾。更新速度可以保证绝对非常的慢，大家不要催我。
　　翻译时所有专有名词保留原文，考虑稍后放出分类注释。本人英文水平有限，欢迎高人指正，更加欢迎大家参与讨论。

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更新内容总表：
顶楼：Thedas概述
10楼：Thedas历法与时间轴
13楼：Thedas历史年表纪元前部分
15、16楼：Thedas历史年表部分更新结束
最新更新：37至39楼：Thedas地理与Thedas十一国

=======第一条分割线，1月26日更新，没什么实质内容=======

Traveler’s Guide

We designed Dragon Age: Origins with the goal of creating of a world with weight and history. A place that felt both lived in and steeped in its own past, much of it forgotten. In the following pages, you’ll go in-depth with the world of Thedas. You’ll learn secrets and lore about the stout nation of Ferelden, the excesses of Orlais, the mysterious nature of the Fade and much more.
??Of course, not everything you will read in these pages is true, in an absolute, historical sense. Much of the world’s history is shrouded from even the greatest scholars, and many of the facts you will learn below represent the best guesses of the finest minds of the Chantry and Circle of Magi. Still, you hold an accurate representation of the current trends in thought, philosophy, history and religion at the time of Dragon Age: Origins.
??Whether you’re an aspiring module-maker with the toolset open before you, a game master looking for more in-depth information about the world, or simply a curious soul, welcome to the Thedas!

—The Dragon Age: Origins Team

旅行者指南

　　在设计《龙腾世纪：起源》的同时，我们试图创造一个有其历史渊源和真实世界。一个基于其历史存在并发展的世界，虽然这些历史大多已被人遗忘。下面的介绍将带你深入Thedas的世界，去了解大国Ferelden的秘密和相关知识、Orlais的暴行、Fade的神秘特性以及更多其他内容。
　　当然，以绝对的历史观看来，下面你将读到的一切并不全都是真实的。关于Thedas世界历史的大部分描述来自Thedss的著名学者，以下你将读到的许多内容只不过是Chantry和Circle of Magi中那些最卓越头脑所作出最佳猜测。但这并不影响你正确理解《龙腾世纪：起源》所处时期在思想、哲学、历史和信仰方面的最新趋势。
　　无论你是使用我们提供的toolset的有抱负的mod制作者，想深入探寻更多Thedas世界相关信息的游戏达人，或者只是对Thedas世界感到好奇，欢迎来到Thedas!

----《龙腾世纪：起源》设计组

=======第二条分割线，第二次更新，Thedas相关文献=======

Thedas is bounded to the east by the Amaranthine Ocean, to the west by the Trishan and the Hunterhorn Mountains, to the south by the snowy wastes that lie beyond the Korcari Wilds, and to the north by the Donarks.

The word “Thedas” is Tevinter in origin, originally used to refer to lands that bordered the Imperium. As the Imperium lost its stranglehold on conquered nations, more and more lands became Thedas, until finally the name came to apply to the entire continent.

The northern part of Thedas is divided amongst the Anderfels, the Tevinter Imperium, Antiva, and Rivain, with the islands of Par Vollen and Seheron held by the Qunari just off the coast. Central Thedas consists of the vast stretch of city-states known as the Free Marches, as well as the nations of Nevarra and Orlais, with Ferelden to the southeast.

What lies beyond the snowy wastes of the south is a mystery. The freezing temperatures and barren land have kept even the most intrepid cartographers at bay. Similarly, the far western reaches of the Anderfels have never been fully explored, even by the Anders themselves. We do not know if the dry steppes are shadowed by mountains, or if they extend all the way to a nameless sea.

There must be other lands, continents, or islands, perhaps across the Amaranthine or north of Par Vollen, for the Qunari arrived in Thedas from somewhere, but beyond that deduction we know nothing. The idea that “the world” consists solely of the lands we know about will one day be disproved, and no doubt much to our collective dismay.

—From In Pursuit of Knowledge:
The Travels of a Chantry Scholar,
by Brother Genitivi.

　　Thedas的边界东至Amaranthine海，西至Trishan和Hunterhorn山脉，南至Korcari荒野上冰雪覆盖的荒地，北至Donarks。
　　“Thedas”这个词源于Tevinter，意为帝国边界外的土地。随着帝国不断丧失对其占领国的统治，越来越多的土地变为Thedas，最终这一名字变为整个大陆的总称。
　　Thedas北部被划分为Anderfels、Tevinter帝国、Antiva以及Rivain，还包括距海岸不远Qunari控制下的Par Vollen和Seheron两岛。Thedas中心地带包括被称为Free Marches的众多城邦国家的巨大延伸，以及Nevarra和Orlais两国，Ferelden位于其东南方向。
　　在南部冰雪荒地之上究竟存在着什么，始终是一个谜。严寒的天气和贫瘠的土地使最无畏的地图绘制者也敬而远之。同样，Anderfels的最西部地区，甚至连Ander们自己从未完全探索过。究竟那片山脉的阴影之中隐藏着一片干燥的草原，或是通向无名的海洋，我们无从知晓。
　　一定还存在着其他的土地、大陆或是岛屿，也许在Amaranthine的另一边或者在Par Vollen的更北边，作为Qunari来到Thedas之前的故乡，但除了这一推论之外，我们一无所知。我们目前所知的土地所构成的“世界”的概念终有一日将被推翻，我们无疑都将对此感到失望。

----出自《对知识的追求：一个Chantry学者的旅行》，
Brother Genitivi著

=======第三条分割线，1月28日再次更新，Thedas概述部分结束=======

Thedas
　　Long ago, the land of Thedas was populated only sparsely by the elves and dwarves. The elves, immortal beings for whom time passed without consequence and who lived spread out on the surface lands, existed in tandem with the forests and nature. The dwarves, meanwhile, were content to live beneath the mountains in an underground kingdom that spanned all of Thedas, shaping stone and mining the enchanted metal known as lyrium. And so both races continued until the humans came. Where they came from is unknown, and the humans themselves would deny that they ever came from anywhere else, but both the elves and the dwarves claim that there was once a time when humans did not walk the land.

　　很久以前，Thedas只居住着少数的精灵和矮人。精灵，这些时间无法对其产生影响的不朽存在分散的生活在地面世界中，与森林和自然和谐共存。而矮人则满足于生活在山脉下方贯穿Thedas的地下王国之中，致力于石艺以及被称为lyrium的拥有魔法力量的金属的开采。这两个种族持续着自己一直以来的生活，直到人类出现。没人知道人类究竟来自何方，而人类则否认自己来自其他地方，但精灵和矮人都声称曾几何时人类并不存在于这片土地。

　　The elves encountered the humans first and found this upstart race of quick-lived mortals to be too angry and too impatient. Horrified, the elves withdrew from human contact as the humans spread quickly across Thedas. Humans formed the great Tevinter Imperium, a land ruled by tyrannical magisters who worshipped the mysterious Old Gods, ancient dragons that, according to legend, had once challenged the might of the Maker and thus were imprisoned by him forever beneath the ground—and yet who still whispered in the ears of men from their prisons and taught them forbidden knowledge. These magisters learned magic from the Old Gods and became powerful, demanding blood sacrifices from their subjects, worship of the Old Gods, and tribute from the dwarves and the elves. Eventually the greed of their Imperium grew so great that they destroyed the elven homeland of Arlathan, enslaving the entire elven race and using their usurped wealth to rule all of Thedas.

　　精灵们首先遇到了人类，并发现这个突然出现的生命短暂的凡类种族过于易怒和缺乏耐心。出于恐惧，精灵们为避免与人类接触而远离人类居住地，于是人类在Thedas的领地迅速扩大。人类建立了巨大的Tevinter帝国，屈于膜拜神秘的上古神的残暴博学者们的统治之下。根据传说中记载，上古神是一些古代龙，曾经试图挑战Maker的力量并因此被Maker永远囚禁于地下----但其仍从其监牢之中对人类悄声耳语，向其传授被禁止的知识。博学者们从上古神那里学会了魔法，并通过血祭其子民，膜拜上古神和来自精灵和矮人的贡品而日益强大起来。终于，在其日益膨胀的贪婪驱使下，帝国摧毁了精灵的故乡Arlathan，奴役了整个精灵族，用掠夺来的财富统治着整个Thedas。

　　And so the Tevinter Imperium ruled until its might was challenged by the first Blight. In their pride, the Tevinter magisters succeeded in opening a gateway into the Golden City—heaven itself, an unreachable place within the heart of the dream realm known as the Fade. However, humanity was never meant to walk in heaven, and with each step, these men corrupted it. It became the Black City, and the magisters in turn became twisted and tainted by their own sin, transformed into the darkspawn and thrown back down to Earth by the Maker. They had become creatures that shied from the light and multiplied into terrible hordes in the underground tunnels of the dwarves. These darkspawn sought out and found one of the Old Gods in its underground prison and infected it with their taint, and the great dragon arose as the first archdemon. This creature led the darkspawn horde to the surface, bringing the nations of Thedas to their knees. The people of the Imperium turned to the other Old Gods, praying for protection, but none was forthcoming.

　　Tevinter帝国持续统治着Thedas，直到其强大力量受到第一次Blight的冲击。出于自大，Tevinter的博学者们成功打开了一条通往黄金城(Golden City)——即天堂，位于被称为Fade的梦之领域中心的不可触及的圣地——的通道。但是，人类注定无法漫步于天堂，他们所迈出的每一步都是对天堂的破坏。黄金城变成了暗黑城(Black City)，相应地，博学者被其自身的罪行所扭曲污染，变成了darkspawn，被Maker打回了人间。他们变成了一种怕光的生物，并在矮人的地底隧道中繁殖出可怕的众多部落。darkspawn四处寻找，终于在地底监牢中找到了上古神的其中之一，由于darkspawn的污染，巨龙成为首个archdemon。在其率领下，darkspawn部落向地面世界发起进攻，迫使Thedas各国屈伏在其脚下。帝国的人民向其他上古神祈求庇护，但是没有一个上古神向其显灵。

　　Humanity was brought to the brink of destruction, and only a newly formed order known as the Grey Wardens managed to defeat the archdemon and end the Blight. The Imperium was greatly weakened, however, and it did not have the strength to defend itself when a great army of barbarians invaded from the south, led by the prophet Andraste. Andraste proclaimed that magic should exist to serve humanity rather than rule over it. She railed against the magisters and claimed the Old Gods were lies, insisting that the Maker was the One True God of all humanity. Her teachings spread quickly, and much of the Imperium crumbled before her armies. Andraste died a martyr, and around her legend grew a cult, and with it came the Chant of Light: a chant filled with Andraste’s teachings that her priests claimed must be sung from every corner of the world until the Maker forgave humanity for his prophet’s death and turned the world into a paradise. As this cult grew, so were the Old Gods quickly forgotten and abandoned. They had forsaken the Imperium and betrayed its people in its hour of need, and so the old temples quickly fell by the wayside of history.

　　人类已到了毁灭的边缘，一个刚成立的被称为Grey Warden的组织却仅凭自身的力量成功击败archdemon，结束了Blight。帝国遭受了严重的打击，而当由先知Andraste率领的异教徒从南部入侵时，帝国已没有足够的力量进行抵抗。Andraste宣称魔法的存在是为了服务人类，而不是统治人类。她指责博学者们，声称上古神只是假象，坚持只有Maker才是所有人类唯一的真神。她的教义迅速传播开来，帝国的大部分版图在她的军队面前土崩瓦解。最终Andraste殉教而死，围绕着她的传说产生了一个异教派，随之也诞生了光之圣歌（Chant of Light）：一支充满Andraste教诲的圣歌，其教士宣称此圣歌必须被传送至世界的每一个角落，直到Maker原谅人类杀死他的先知，并把世界转变为天堂。随着异教的发展壮大，上古神很快被遗忘抛弃。他们在最需要他们的时刻抛弃了帝国，背叛了帝国的人民，于是古代的神庙也随之迅速退出历史舞台。

　　It was not long before another of the Old Gods awoke to lead the darkspawn in the Second Blight and plunge the world into terror once again. The greatest military mind in Thedas, Emperor Drakon of Orlais, became humanity’s best defender; he pushed back the darkspawn hordes before his armies, and as his own power grew, he spread the cult of Andraste. The cult was known as “the Chantry,” and during those dark years, it became the dominant religion even in the old Imperium. It forbade the use of blood magic and mind control; however, the Circle of Magi was formed to allow magic to be harnessed against the darkspawn while ensuring that its mages were carefully watched. Between the Circle of Magi, Emperor Drakon, and a rejuvenated order of Grey Wardens, the Second Blight was thrown back and the dreaded archdemon that led it finally defeated.

　　没过多久，又一个上古神被唤醒并在第二次Blight中率领darkspawn再一次使世界陷入恐惧之中。Thedas最伟大的军事家——Orlais的Drakon皇帝——成为人类最出色的首位者，他以自己的军队逼退darkspawn，随着他力量的增强，他也传播着Andraste的异教。该异教被称为“Chantry”，在那段黑暗的岁月中，它逐渐成为主要信仰，甚至在古老的帝国也是如此。Chantry禁止使用血魔法和心灵控制；但却成立了Circle of Magi，以便在确保法师被严密监视的条件下，利用魔法对抗darkspawn。在Circle of Magi，Drakon皇帝和重生的Grey Warden的共同努力下，他们击退了第二次Blight，并最终消灭了作为其领导者的恐怖的archdemon。

　　Over the centuries to come, two more Blights would arise, threaten humanity, and be defeated. In the last Blight, the Grey Wardens finally struck such a blow against the darkspawn that everyone was certain that their threat was finally over. The nations of humanity prospered until yet another race suddenly appeared and invaded the continent: the Qunari, a race of bronze giants with an alien religion that compels them to dominate all others. In a great war, they invaded deep into the heart of Thedas. Humanity was forced to band together to bring their invasion to a halt and finally pushed them back.

　　在接下来的几个世纪里，另外两次Blight出现，威胁人类存亡，最终都被击退。在这最近一次Blight中，Grey Warden狠狠打击了darkspawn，以至于所有人都确信来自darkspawn的威胁终于结束了。人类各国再一次繁荣起来，直到另一个种族突然出现并入侵这片大陆：Qunari，青铜色的巨人的种族，其异族的信仰要求他们统治所有其他种族。在这次大战中，他们一直侵入到Thedas中心。人类被迫团结起来试图抵御异族的入侵，终于将他们驱逐出去。

　　For centuries, there has been an unsteady peace with the Qunari, allowing the nations of Thedas to once again rebuild and prosper. Only recently have the Qunari stepped up their battles against the remnants of the Tevinter Imperium, and their war has escalated to the point where it threatens to once again engulf the rest of Thedas in conflict. Thus the darkspawn are a forgotten threat, the idea that they might now resurface again after four centuries disregarded. The Grey Wardens insist, however, that another Blight lies on the horizon. With the Grey Warden numbers having declined greatly and humanity at large giving little credibility to the return of such a threat, the lands of Thedas may be in store for their greatest challenge yet.

　　近几个世纪以来，与Qunari间基本和平的状态，给Thedas各国再次重建和繁荣提供了机会。直到最近，Qunari加快对Tevinter帝国残余部分的战争进程，其战事不断升级终于突破临界，再次将Thedas其他地区牵涉到冲突之中。由于darkspawn已是被人遗忘的威胁，没人相信它们会在四个世纪之后重新出现在地面上。但是Grey Warden们坚称一次全新的Blight已经迫在眉睫。如今，Grey Warden的数量已大不如前而大多数人类仍对卷土重来的威胁持怀疑态度，Thedas世界或许将遭遇有史以来最大的危机。


1月27日修改内容：Tevinter Imperium译为Tevinter帝国
1月28日内容说明：为行文方便，Chant of Light暂译为光之圣歌