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.
那天並沒有什麼特別的，一個陽光明媚的下午。就像之前的許多天一樣，也像之後的許多天一樣。
Yet, despite how ordinary that day seemed to be, that was the day when everything changed.
然而，儘管那天看起來是多麼的平常，那是一切都改變的一天。
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.
布萊克本領主凝視著窗外，望著他的雕像。他當然不會驕傲，那座雕像是他敬愛的人民們為他建造的。他受到尊敬和愛戴，他也愛他們，並對他們的幸福負責。
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.
在沉重地嘆了口氣後，他走進他的會議室，開始了與村民們的日常會面。邪惡勢力越來越強大，但這已經不是新鮮的消息了。
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.
從他記事起，他就一直同邪惡勢力作鬥爭。曾經有一段時間，他確信自己可以把邪惡從王國中驅逐出去，他盡了一切努力來阻止這種事情的發生。但他現在年紀大了，多年的衝突使他疲憊不堪，悶悶不樂。他感受到了厭倦，因為無論他多麼英勇地戰鬥，無論他失去了多少人民，邪惡都會以新的面貌重新崛起。現在，他心裡明白，他親愛的人民永遠無法擺脫它。
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.
這個意識是他幾乎不吃東西的原因，而睡眠成了被噩夢汙染的奢侈品。有一天，他會死去，使他的土地和他的人民無人守護。誰會堅強地面對黑暗？誰來保證人民的和平與幸福？如果他死了，他對他們的責任和承諾將永遠無法實現。偉大的布萊克本領主即使用盡全力也會失敗而死。他不能讓這種事發生。
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，他聽說南部邊境遭到了可怕的襲擊。莊稼被毀，數百名村民被殺害。那景象令人難忘。房屋被燒燬，土地被鮮血染紅。他沒能保護他們！就在那一刻，他做出了一個決定，這不僅改變了他的命運，也改變了那些最信任他的人民的命運。
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.
從一開始，一群白女巫就住在現在布萊克本領主的土地上。她們一直過著平靜的生活，為村民提供幫助和醫療援助。這約定是由一對孿生姐妹所指示的，她們曾起誓要服事並保護主和祂的家人。
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.
當布萊克本領主要求她們到城堡與他會面時，她們並不感到驚訝，因為由於襲擊不斷增加，這種情況越來越常見。
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.
但使她們吃驚的是他不同尋常的要求。布萊克本領主翻遍了這座古老的圖書館，在一本腐爛的羊皮紙捲上找到了有關一種特殊的魔法儀式的參考文獻，他認為這種魔法可以保護他的土地和居民免受邪惡勢力所代表的即將到來的厄運，並希望巫師們執行那些儀式。
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.
女巫們試圖向他解釋，那種魔法總是伴隨著高昂的代價，而他是在要求她們插手他無法控制的力量，但她們的警告卻被無視。為了確保他的人民的安全，他什麼都不願意犧牲，他命令她們繼續執行。
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.
這種孤注一擲的行為將產生可怕的後果。儀式的魔力在他的領地上無拘無束地傳播。的確，它確保了對一直在遭受邪惡勢力不停攻擊的人民的保護，但它這樣做的方式是把土地借給瞭如此無法居住的不毛之地，以至於沒有任何生物，甚至連混沌之地本身的地獄惡魔也不能在那裡生活。
As for the villagers, they were drained of all life, reduced to mindless vessels, void of suffering, pain… and happiness.
至於村民們，他們被耗盡了所有的生命，淪為沒有思想的容器，沒有痛苦，沒有疼痛…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.
白女巫們被扭曲成邪惡的生物，依靠黑魔法的力量茁壯成長。在儀式的能量和他們的新能力的強化下，任何膽敢踏入布萊克本領地的人都將遭遇嚴酷的命運。
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.
但是布萊克本領主的墮落是最悲慘的。他自己的選擇敗壞了他的靈魂，使他的身體消失在煙霧中。他從死亡中解脫出來，被賦予了一個新的形式，在冰冷的鐵殼中完成他永恆的使命。他現在不知疲倦，不屈不撓，將站起來保護他的領地，永遠...永遠...
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，白女巫們都變成了黑女巫，在瓦拉杜勒北部的天空中飛翔，恐嚇每一個穿過他們的路徑去履行對他們的主的誓言的人...
•Pandemonium 萬魔殿 這裡譯為混沌之地
•瓦拉杜勒 包括現今布萊克本城堡、腐朽森林到南部餘燼裂隙的廣大地區