There was nothing special about that particular day. It was a sunny afternoon, just like many others before it and also like many others that would come after that one.
那天并没有什么特别的，一个阳光明媚的下午。就像之前的许多天一样，也像之后的许多天一样。
Yet, despite how ordinary that day seemed to be, that was the day when everything changed.
然而，尽管那天看起来是多么的平常，那是一切都改变的一天。
Lord Blackburn gazed out of the window and looked at his statue. He was certainly not prone to pride and that statue had been a tribute his beloved citizens have built for him. He was respected and loved, and he loved them back and felt responsible for their well being and happiness.
布莱克本领主凝视着窗外，望着他的雕像。他当然不会骄傲，那座雕像是他敬爱的人民们为他建造的。他受到尊敬和爱戴，他也爱他们，并对他们的幸福负责。
With a heavy sigh, he moved to his meeting chamber and started the daily meeting with the villagers. The evil forces were getting stronger, but that was not fresh news.
在沉重地叹了口气后，他走进他的会议室，开始了与村民们的日常会面。邪恶势力越来越强大，但这已经不是新鲜的消息了。
For as long as he could remember, he had fought evil. There was a time when he was certain he could banish it from the realm and he had made every possible effort to see that happening. But he was an older man now, worn and sullen from years of conflict. He was getting tired since no matter how bravely he fought or how many men he lost, evil would rise again with a new face. He knew now, in his heart, his beloved citizens would never be free from it.
从他记事起，他就一直同邪恶势力作斗争。曾经有一段时间，他确信自己可以把邪恶从王国中驱逐出去，他尽了一切努力来阻止这种事情的发生。但他现在年纪大了，多年的冲突使他疲惫不堪，闷闷不乐。他感受到了厌倦，因为无论他多么英勇地战斗，无论他失去了多少人民，邪恶都会以新的面貌重新崛起。现在，他心里明白，他亲爱的人民永远无法摆脱它。
This knowledge was the cause he was barely eating and sleep became a luxury tainted by nightmares. Someday, he would die, leaving his lands and his people unguarded. Who would stand strong against the darkness? Who would ensure peace and happiness for the citizens? If he died, his duty and promise to them would remain unfulfilled forever. The great Lord Blackburn, in all his strength, would die a failure. He couldn’t allow that to happen.
这个意识是他几乎不吃东西的原因，而睡眠成了被噩梦污染的奢侈品。有一天，他会死去，使他的土地和他的人民无人守护。谁会坚强地面对黑暗？谁来保证人民的和平与幸福？如果他死了，他对他们的责任和承诺将永远无法实现。伟大的布莱克本领主即使用尽全力也会失败而死。他不能让这种事发生。
On that day, word of a terrible attack on the southern border reached his ears. The crops had been ravaged, and hundreds of villagers had been slain. The sight of it was haunting. The houses burned, and the soil ran red with the blood of innocents. He had failed to protect them. No more, he decided. It was at that precise moment that he took a decision that would change not only his fate and also the ones that trusted him the most.
那天，他听说南部边境遭到了可怕的袭击。庄稼被毁，数百名村民被杀害。那景象令人难忘。房屋被烧毁，土地被鲜血染红。他没能保护他们！就在那一刻，他做出了一个决定，这不仅改变了他的命运，也改变了那些最信任他的人民的命运。
Since the beginning of time, a coven of white witches had lived on what was now lord Blackburn's lands. They had always lived peacefully providing help and medical aid to the villagers. The covenant was directed by two twin sisters, who had sworn an oath to serve and protect the Lord and his family.
从一开始，一群白女巫就住在现在布莱克本领主的土地上。她们一直过着平静的生活，为村民提供帮助和医疗援助。这约定是由一对孪生姐妹所指示的，她们曾起誓要服事并保护主和祂的家人。
They were not surprised when Lord Blackburn requested them to come to the castle to meet with him, as this had happened more and more often due to the continuous increase of the attacks.
当布莱克本领主要求她们到城堡与他会面时，她们并不感到惊讶，因为由于袭击不断增加，这种情况越来越常见。
What caught them by surprise was his unusual request. Lord Blackburn had gone through the ancient library and found references on a scroll of rotten parchment about a special kind of magic that he thought could shield his lands and inhabitants from the impending doom the evil forces represented and wanted the coven to perform those rituals.
但使她们吃惊的是他不同寻常的要求。布莱克本领主翻遍了这座古老的图书馆，在一本腐烂的羊皮纸卷上找到了有关一种特殊的魔法仪式的参考文献，他认为这种魔法可以保护他的土地和居民免受邪恶势力所代表的即将到来的厄运，并希望巫师们执行那些仪式。
The witches tried to explain to him that that kind of magic always came with a steep price and that he was asking them to meddle with forces beyond his control, but their warning fell into deaf ears. There was nothing he would not sacrifice to ensure the safety of his people, and he gave them the order to proceed.
女巫们试图向他解释，那种魔法总是伴随着高昂的代价，而他是在要求她们插手他无法控制的力量，但她们的警告却被无视。为了确保他的人民的安全，他什么都不愿意牺牲，他命令她们继续执行。
This desperate act would have dire consequences. The ritual’s magic spread unchecked across his domain. It was true it ensured the protection against the evils that had been restlessly attacking, but it did so by lending the lands so uninhabitable that nothing, not even the demons of Pandemonium itself, could live there.
这种孤注一掷的行为将产生可怕的后果。仪式的魔力在他的领地上无拘无束地传播。的确，它确保了对一直在遭受邪恶势力不停攻击的人民的保护，但它这样做的方式是把土地借给了如此无法居住的不毛之地，以至于没有任何生物，甚至连混沌之地本身的地狱恶魔也不能在那里生活。
As for the villagers, they were drained of all life, reduced to mindless vessels, void of suffering, pain… and happiness.
至于村民们，他们被耗尽了所有的生命，沦为没有思想的容器，没有痛苦，没有疼痛…和幸福。
The White Witches were twisted into wicked creatures who thrived on the power of black magic. Strengthened by the energy of the ritual and their new abilities, any who dared step foot in Blackburn’s territory would meet a grim fate.
白女巫们被扭曲成邪恶的生物，依靠黑魔法的力量茁壮成长。在仪式的能量和他们的新能力的强化下，任何胆敢踏入布莱克本领地的人都将遭遇严酷的命运。
But it was Lord Blackburn himself whose fall was most tragic. His own choice corrupted his soul and caused his body to fade into mist. Banished from death and bound to his sworn duty, he was given a new form to carry out his eternal charge in a shell of cold steel. He was now tireless, undying, and would stand to protect his domain. Forever.
但是布莱克本领主的堕落是最悲惨的。他自己的选择败坏了他的灵魂，使他的身体消失在烟雾中。他从死亡中解脱出来，被赋予了一个新的形式，在冰冷的铁壳中完成他永恒的使命。他现在不知疲倦，不屈不挠，将站起来保护他的领地，永远...永远...
To this day, the White Witches turned Black Hags fly the skies north of Valardul, terrorizing anyone that crosses their path to fulfill the oath made to their Lord...
直到今天，白女巫们都变成了黑女巫，在瓦拉杜勒北部的天空中飞翔，恐吓每一个穿过他们的路径去履行对他们的主的誓言的人...
•Pandemonium 万魔殿 这里译为混沌之地
•瓦拉杜勒 包括现今布莱克本城堡、腐朽森林到南部余烬裂隙的广大地区