黑白往昔

蒙丹 (Mondain) 

很久很久以前，早在陌生人進入索沙利亞(Sosaria)和其中四個大陸 -不列顛王之地(Land of Lord Britrish) 、危險和絕望之地(Land of Danger and Dispare)、黑暗未知之地(Land of the Dark Unknown)，以及諸侯之地 (Land of Fedual Lords) - 之前，有一個名叫蒙丹的年輕魔法師。隨著蒙丹的年齡和知識的增進，他對權力的渴望和凡人肉體的厭惡也日漸成長。他開始對追求不死生命陷入執迷，最後，他聽說了傳說中的秘寶，會賜予其主無法想像的力量和永恆生命的不滅之寶石(Gem of Immortality)。這些你們想必都聽過了吧？

我個人和大部分這個王國的歷史學者都認為，蒙丹對永恆生命的執念掩蓋了他長期以來學習魔法所帶來的智慧。最後這股入魔的欲望吞噬了他，也使他親手殺死了寶石當時的持有者 - 他的父親。

蒙丹的名字到今日在這個王國中還是個被詛咒的名字，那些為了私欲而對親人下毒手的人都可算是自願和黑暗力量結盟了。不過這是另外的話題了。要知道我們目前對蒙丹的仇恨從何而來，還有你尚未知道的事•••

在得到不滅寶石之後，蒙丹舉行了一個讓他得到其終極力量的儀式。在這個將寶石和蒙丹永遠結合為一體的儀式中，寶石補抓了整個世界的影像，只略過這個儀式的執行者蒙丹本 人。

在得到不死生命之後，蒙丹利用寶石的力量控制了這個世界 - 直到一個陌生人的來到，堅決地要毀滅盟蒙丹邪惡存在的根源。在多年於索沙利亞的旅行中，陌生人的使命是要自蒙丹的黑暗控制下解救這個世界和其人民。在多場戰鬥之後，他抵達統治者的巢穴並摧毀了寶石。隨著寶石的毀滅，蒙丹也終於得到死亡的命運。

破碎寶石之歌      2/17/2002

譯者  小葉

看到816翻了蒙丹的故事，把自己兩年前翻的另一篇內容相近但略有不同的也貼上來好了。

Sedrit the Amicable 敘述－－見習法院調停者

　　「我想你是第一次橫越大陸吧？你可以在這裡休息一陣子，年輕的旅人朋友。我可以提供你熱食和歌曲，希望你能在這裡待到黎明，我的營火和歌曲是今晚給你的禮物。」

　　歡迎，疲倦的陌生人。你可以在這裡找到溫暖的麵包和動聽的曼陀林音樂。你說你要探索不列顛尼亞？靠到我的營火旁吧，我會告訴你關於我們土地的故事來招待你，好讓你更加的了解。

　　我很重視音律，並在這方面下了許多工夫。我詩人的生涯帶著我到過可愛的城市－－不列顛城，你旅行時可能已在月光、特林西格城或其他城鎮見過我的演奏，但你若不知道我待會要說的事，就不算在不列顛尼亞旅行過。休息一下，文雅有禮的旅行者，而我要開始了……

　　在那名陌生人到達這個索沙瑞亞大陸的很久之前，這塊分為四個部分－－布理敘王的領地、危險與絕望的大陸、未知的黑暗大陸和另一名領主的領土－－這新名出現的巫師名為蒙丹。隨著蒙丹的年紀與知識的成長，他無法壓抑渴求力量和永生不死的欲望，他對於如何超越死亡和得到永恆的生命非常困擾。最後，他獲知了永恆寶石的存在－它將賜予擁有者無法想像的力量和不朽的生命。你曾聽過這件事吧？

　　接下來是我個人的判斷，我曾和這王國裡大部分的歷史學家討論過，蒙丹永生不死的慾望已污染了他對於魔法的求知，他全心全意地希望得到那顆寶石，在極度痛苦掙扎之後，他殺了寶石的保管者－－他的父親。

　　蒙丹的名字直到今天為止，仍會被不列顛大陸上任何一名舉劍對抗那些願用自己的血換取黑暗力量以謀奪私利者的人所詛咒著，但是那是另一個故事了。要真正了解我們對蒙丹的憎恨，你就必須再聽下去……

　　在確定寶石已為自己所有之後，蒙丹使用寶石執行一項將會帶給他終極力量的魔法儀式，在這魔法陣之內，寶石的力量將會和蒙丹融合成為一體，然後寶石映入了整個大陸的形象，並將之禁錮在儀式執行者－－蒙丹的身上。

　　融合了永恆的力量，蒙丹使用寶石統治著世界，直到一名陌生人抵達索沙瑞亞，並決心毀掉蒙丹的力量來源。在索沙瑞亞經過數年的旅行，那名陌生人的探索解放了許多在蒙丹黑暗統治下的土地和人民。無數戰鬥之後，他尋到統治者的根據地，擊敗了邪惡的巫師並擊碎寶石。由於永恆寶石的力量發散到大陸各地，整個宇宙的結構開始解體，而失去寶石力量的蒙丹也終遭到毀滅。

　　現在我們在每年的同一天，都會慶祝這位始終沒人認識的無名英雄擊敗蒙丹。很遺憾，他在留下他的傳說後，並沒有留下名字就離開了。他在索沙瑞亞長期的停留，消除了由蒙丹野心所引起的大災難，而若非有仁慈的聖靈在看顧著世界，大不列顛今天或許已不存在了。

　　你能了解嗎？一個男人對最終力量的探索而對自然界造成的影響，竟能幾乎毀減一個世界，但守護著我們的聖靈卻保住了這塊大陸。祂們察覺到世界的崩壞是因為寶石的破碎，便掌握時間及空間的元素重新組織索沙瑞亞的結構－也就是我們今天稱呼的不列顛尼亞。一般人民都相信這個島嶼上的山脈就是世界在修補時的接縫，雖然那只是想像。

　　另外也有謠傳當寶石被擊碎時，成千上萬的碎片散落在宇宙之中，而每一塊碎片中就包含著一個被蒙丹頡取的索沙瑞亞世界。沒有人找得到重新集合這些碎片的方法，身為一名歷史研究者，我對它們的存在特別好奇。我願意付出我的生命來讓時間之流倒轉，以揭露這一小段不為人知的歷史！或許有一天，另一名和你相似，能夠回答這個問題的陌生人將會來到。

Sedrit the Amicable

本篇原文如下：

THE BALLAD OF THE SHATTERED STONE
As related by Sedrik the Amicable,
Apprentice to the Court Composer 

"I ween thou art new in crossing this land. Might you rest here a while, young travelling friend? Shall I proffer a warm meal and song? I implore thee to pause and rest until dawn. My fire and my song shall be thine for an eve Which of these gifts wouldst thou gladly receive?" 

Welcome, weary stranger! May you find here warm bread and the beautiful song of my mandolin. On a quest through Britannia, you say? Should you rest alongside my fire, I shall impart the story of our land for your enlightenment and entertainment. 

I am considered, by all measures, to be an expert on these matters. My pilgrimage as a Bard has drawn me to the lovely city of Britain, though I have had occasion to spread song in Moonglow, Trinsic and other townships you must surely have seen in your travels. A journey through Britannia may not be wholly understood without the knowledge I am inclined to impart. So rest, gentle traveller, and I shall begin ... 

Long before the Stranger ever entered the lands of Sosaria and the four continents within ?the Lands of Lord British, the Lands of Danger and Despair, the Lands of the Dark Unknown, and the Lands of the Feudal Lords ?there arose a young wizard named Mondain. As Mondain grew in age and knowledge, so grew his unquenchable thirst for power and discontent with mortal life. He became obsessed with transcending mortality and gaining perpetual life. Eventually, he learned of the treasured Gem of Immortality, which grants unimaginable power and everlasting life to its owner. Surely, you have heard of this? 

Now it is my opinion, as shared by most historians in this kingdom, that Mondain's desire for immortality tainted with greed the moral wisdom usual to those who study the power of magic. His wishful longing for the Gem became all-consuming, and after much anguish, he was led to willfully murder the keeper of the Gem ?his father. 

Mondain's name is still cursed in Britannia to this day, for anyone that turns a sword against those of his own blood for selfish gain is believed to eternally align himself with the Dark Forces. But, that is a subject for another eve. To truly understand our present hatred for Mondain, you must know more ... 

After securing the Gem as his own, Mondain made plans to use it in a ritual that would give him ultimate power. During the ceremony that was to forever bind the Gem to Mondain, the Gem captured an image of the entire land, save the wielder of the ritual ?Mondain himself. 

Once imbued with the power of immortality, Mondain used the Gem as a means to rule the world ?until a Stranger arrived, determined to destroy the very source of Mondain's existence. Having journeyed for years throughout Sosaria, this Stranger's quest was to free the land and people from Mondain's dark, shadowy rule. After many battles, he travelled to the ruler's lair and felled the evil sorcerer by shattering the gem. As the essence of immortality was loosed upon the land, the very fabric of the universe began to unravel. And with the power of the Gem gone, Mondain himself was eliminated. 

We in Britannia celebrate this ever-elusive stranger one day each year as the Hero Who Smote Mondain, for alas, he parted and left no name behind for his legacy. Had he endured a longer stay, perhaps the catastrophe wrought by the release of Mondain's greed might have been lessened. Were it not for the benevolent spirits watching over the world, Britannia might not exist today. 

You see, concerned by the results of the natural course of events ?whereby one man's quest for ultimate power nearly annihilated a world ?our guardian spirits set into motion a plan to ensure that the land would come under the rule of the right. Aware of the devastation caused by the destruction of the Gem, they seized hold of the fabric of time and space and re-wove the fibers of Sosaria, which today we call Britannia. It is popularly believed that the ridges lining this island represent the mending seams, though this may be a fancy. 

It is also rumoured that when the Gem was shattered, thousands of splintered fragments scattered across the universe. Within each facet purportedly lies the very image of Sosaria, just as it was captured during Mondain's ritual. 

No mortal has yet found the means to find or reassemble these fragments, though as a historian, I am particularly curious as to their existence. Would I not give but my very life for a spell to reverse the flow of time to unveil this bit of history! Perhaps one day, another Stranger will arrive ?one similar to yourself ?who has the wherewithal to answer such questions.

Sedrik the Amicable

資料來源：UOSS http://tfb.uline.net/story/uo.stratics.com

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这里的蒙丹 Mondain应该就是UO开始片头动画面的那个看上去牙齿很烂，身穿GM ROBE。样子丑陋及邪恶的魔法师吧？呵呵