前言
最近在读冰与火之歌原版小说（惭愧，三年前买的全套英文版，现在才开始看），小说这种艺术形式和影视剧的区别就是，它通过细致的描绘来表现场景和人物神态。比如第一节序曲中，马丁在小说中花了很多笔墨来描写夜色寒冷，以及老兵will感觉到情况异样时寒毛倒立。
这两种东西在影视剧中都是无声呈现的，如果你看美剧是那种囫囵吞枣，过把瘾类型的，很可能就忽略了这些重要而有趣的细节。我就是这样的人（囧），现在已经完全忘了第一集竟然还出现过异鬼。
所以我打算把当年囫囵吞枣时遗漏的精彩补回来。同时开一个小说领读的连载，带你领略与影视剧不同的精彩，学习原汁原味的英文表达。如果你没有时间看原版书的话，就来听听我的解读吧。
第一节 序曲（PROLOGUE）
序曲是第一本小说的开篇，主要讲了年轻的守夜人长官Ser Waymar Royce和两个守夜人士兵gared、will在长城外追捕野人，结果遭遇异鬼的故事。
“We should start back,” “The wildlings are dead.” 天色渐暗，老兵Gared嚷嚷要撤
他们三人离开长城，追赶一帮野人已经整整八天了。疲惫和不安的情绪逐渐萦绕在Gared头上，可惜一点也没影响到长官Royce。
“Do the dead frighten you？” “Are they dead？” “What proof have we？”长官Royce年轻气盛，第一次出任务，不带点战利品回去太没面子。
“Will saw them, ” "If he says they are dead, that's proof enough for me" Gared说道。
[ 野人死了，是will出去打探情报时看见的。关于will的出身有一段交代 ]
Will had been a hunter before he joined the Night`s Watch. Well, a poacher(偷猎者) in truth. Mallister freeriders(自由骑士) had caught him red-handed(人赃并获) in the in the Mallister's own woods, skinning one of the Mallisters's own bucks(雄鹿), and it had been a choice of putting on the black or losing a hand. No one could move through the woods as Will, and it had not taken the black brothers long to discover his talent.
Will 不想把争吵的战火烧到自己，于是补了一句 “My mother told me that dead man sing no songs.”
长官Royce不以为然“My wet nurse said the same thing，Will” “Never believe anything you hear at a woman`s tit，There are things to be learned even from the dead.” [真是一语成谶，很快这个不知天高地厚的小伙子就从要死人那里学到一些东西了]
"We have a long ride before us," "Eight days, mabe nine. And night is falling." Gared强调。
Ser Waymar Royce glanced at the sky with disinterest."It does that every day about this time. Are you unmanned by the dark, Gared?" 长官取笑Gared
Gared在守夜人待了40年，从一个boy到man，这种资历可不是随便让人寻开心的，但是他现在不仅仅是愤怒，Will从这个老头身上感受到了其他的东西，一种本能的对危险的恐惧。
Will加入守夜人4年了，他想起第一次到长城外时，脑海里那些古老传说不断闪回，吓得他浑身发软。事后想起难免莞尔，如今他已经是拥有上百次巡逻经验的老手，被南方人称作鬼影森林的无尽黑暗的荒原，他早已无所畏惧。
但是今夜有点不同寻常，用马丁的话来说
There was an edge to this darkness that made his hackles rise(汗毛竖立). Nine days they had been riding, north and northwest and then north again, farther and farther from the Wall, hard on the track of a band of wildling raiders(野人). Each day had been worse than the day that had come before it. Today was the worst of all. A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle(沙沙作响) like living things. All day, Will had felt as though something were watching him, something cold and implacable that loved him not. Gared had felt it too. Will wanted nothing so much as to ride hellbent(拼命地) for the safety of the Wall, but that was not a feeling to share with their commander.
老兵们都想赶紧离开这鬼地方，可惜这种心情Ser Waymar Royce一点都不能感受到。
[年轻的长官一方面是没有体会过死亡的恐怖，另一方面是太看重面子]
马丁对Royce有两段描述，我想从中应该能看出他为何坚持
Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs.
1.Royce是一个古老家族众多子嗣中的一个，也许他是来黑城堡历练的，和胖子sam一样，有家族继承人的竞争压力，所以需要取得军功
His cloak was his crowning glory; sable, thick and black and soft as sin. "Bet ht killed them all himself, he did," Gared told barracks over wine, "twisted their little heads off, our mighty warrior." They had all shared the laugh.
It is hard ti take orders from a man you laughed at in your cups, Will reflected as he sat shivering atop his garron. Gared must have felt the same
2. Will回忆起一桩往事，Royce的斗篷是他最引以为傲的东西，那是一件厚重却又柔软惊人的黑貂皮斗篷。Gared曾经在酒后对营房里的伙计们开玩笑说，“我打赌这（黑貂）肯定是他亲手杀的。我们最强的勇士，扭下那些小脑袋。”营房顿时笑成一片。
你很难让人服从一个他在酒桌上取笑过的人，因此Royce想要在黑城堡吃得开，必须拿出点能够震慑人的事情来
Royce让Will讲述了一遍他所看到的情形，Leave nothing out.
Will回答，那是在一个山坡避风面，有8个野人，那里有一个小披屋来躲避风雪，没有生火，野人趴在地上一动不动。看起来应该是死了，但是地上没有血迹。武器散落在地上。[原著这里说的是趴在地上不动，影视剧里面直接就是分尸的惨烈场面]
Royce似乎不太相信野人就这么死了，转头问Gared会是什么东西杀了他们
Gared认为是寒冷，他是经历过北境的冬天的人，知晓寒冷的可怕
"I saw men freeze last winter, and the one before, when I was half a boy. Everyone talks about snows forty foot deep, and how the ice wind comes howling out of the north, but the real enemy is the cold. It steals up on you quieter than Will, and a first you shiver and your teeth chatter and you stamp your feet and dream of mulled like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don`t have the strength to fight it. It`s easier just to sit down or go to sleep. They say you don`t feel any pain toward the end. First you go weak and drowsy(半睡的), and everything starts to fade, and then it`s like sinking into a sea of warm milk. Peaceful, like."
Gared讲述完后，Royce却无动于衷，反倒讽刺他口才好。"I never suspected you had it in you." (一个很地道的表达：我从来没想到你还会这个)
两人互撕一会，Royce虽然年轻气盛，可并不傻，他问Will最近有没有站岗
"Have you drawn any watches this past week, Will?"(最近有没有站岗)
"Yes, m`lord."There never was a week when he did not draw a dozen bloody watches. What was the man driving at?"(哪个星期没收到这该死的站岗签，这家伙想说什么？)
"And how did you find the Wall?"(你觉得长城现在怎么样？)
"Weeping," Will said, frowning. He saw it clear enough, now that the lordling had pointed it out. "They couldn't have froze. Not if the Wall was weeping. It wasn't cold enough."
长城还滴着水呢，Will心里很清楚，只是他没想到Royce会指出这个，看来长官没那么好蒙混过去。
Royce下令让Will带路，他一定要亲眼看看那些死人。
The order had been given, and honor bound then to obey. 两个老兵很无奈，只好走向明知不妙的死地。
快接近野人领地时，Will让Royce下马步行靠近，Royce不太情愿的下来了。树枝茂密，长剑容易被挡住，Will建议带小刀前行，Royce不耐烦被一个士兵指手画脚。"If I need instruction, I will ask for it,"
Royce接着下令Gared在这里看守马匹，Gared正要去找东西生活，Royce严词厉色"How big a fool are you, old man? If there are enemies in this wood, a fire is the last thing we want."
接下来又是一阵互怼，最终士兵还是不得不服从军令，其中有一个小细节描写的非常好
Gared's hood shadowed his face, but Will could see the hard glitter(闪光) in his eyes as he started at the knight. For a moment he was afraid the older man would go for his sword. It was a short, ugly thing, its grip(剑柄) discolored by sweat, its edge nicked from hard use, but Will would not have given an iron bob for the lording's life if Gared pulled it from its scabbard.(若盖瑞真的拔剑，Will知道那公子哥必死无疑)
Will带领着Royce继续向前摸进，终于看到野人领地前面那块高地，还有那个哨兵树(sentinel).
Will几乎是贴着雪地匍匐爬上那块高地，将下面的情景收入眼底，顿时他的心脏好像停止跳动了一般
Moonlight shone down on the clearing, the ashes of the firepit, the snow-covered lean-to(依靠山坡搭建的披屋), the great rock, the little half-frozen steam. Everything was just as it had been a few hours ago.
They were gone. All the bodies were gone.
Will脑子一片空白，说不出话来。Royce的在旁边戏谑说看来死人转移到其他营地去了。
Royce可不想第一次出巡就以失败告终，立刻对Will说，快爬到树上看看那些家伙跑到哪去了
Will只好找一颗哨兵树爬上去，一边爬一遍害怕"Fear filled his gut like a meal he could not digest."他把匕首抽出来衔在嘴里，空出两只手向上爬，钢铁的冰冷透过舌头传入身体，倒让他感觉舒服了点。
“是谁在那？”树下的长官突然喝道，Will停止攀爬，竖起耳朵，往下面张望，却什么都没看到。
他的余光扫到一抹白色影子向树林里飘去，他转过头，瞥见黑暗中好像有个白色的影子，就一瞬间，又消失不见了。这里有一段对Will内心活动的描述
Will opened his mouth to call down a warning, and the words seemed to freeze in his throat. Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps it had only been a bird, a reflection on the snow, some trick of the moonlight. What had he seen, after all?
"Will, where are you?" "Can you see anything?" Royce在树下焦虑地转圈圈，手中紧紧地握着长剑。"Answer me! Why is it so cold?"
是啊，为什么这么冷，Will战战发抖，他紧贴着树干，脸都被树干分泌的汁液黏住了。
一个身影从黑暗的树林中显现出来，站在Royce面前。它体型高大，像一幅坚硬的枯骨，肉体苍白得如同牛奶。它的铠甲看起来会随着他的移动改变颜色，现在白得像刚下的雪，而之前却暗得如同阴影。
Will heard the breath go out of Ser Waymar Royce in a long hiss(倒吸一口冷气)."Come no farther," the lordling warned. His voice cracked like a boy's.
对方无视Royce的警告，一步一步地向他逼近。这里有一段对异鬼之剑的描写
In its hand was a longsword like none that Will had ever seen. No human mental had gone into the forging(锻造) of that blade. It was alive with moonlight, translucent(透亮的), a shard of crystal so thin was a faint blue shimmer(闪闪发光) to the thing, a ghost-light that played around its edges, and somehow Will knew it was sharper than any razor.
Ser Waymar 鼓起了勇气"来跟我战斗吧。" 他将长剑举过头顶，作出挑战的姿态。他的手因长剑的重量微微有些颤抖，也可能是因为寒冷。至少在此刻，Will觉得他不再是个boy，而是man of Night's Watch.
对方突然停住脚，Will看到它的眼睛，那是一双比任何人类的眼睛都更深的蓝色眼睛，像是冰。它的眼睛停留在空中颤抖着的长剑上，注视着那流转在金属上的月光。那一刻，Will觉得或许还有转机。(For a heartbeat he dared to hope.)
它们静悄悄地从阴影中出现，两个，三个，四个，五个……Ser Waymar所感觉到的寒冷就来自于它们，但是他从来没见过也没听过它们。Will想出声警告Royce，这是他的义务。但是一旦这样做，他也死定了。他颤抖着，抱紧大树，沉默下去。
短兵交接，却没有听到金属撞击的铿锵声，只听见一个音调极高的，接近人类听觉边缘的，如同动物痛苦的嘶鸣声。Royce且战且退。
在他的四周，其他的异鬼面无表情的冷眼旁观。
Royce躲闪不及，被长剑从腋下贯穿了护甲，年轻的长官痛的喊出了声。鲜血涌出，洒在雪地上像火焰一样。Royce伸出手按住，他的鼹鼠皮手套立刻被鲜血浸湿。
其他异鬼用一种Will听不懂的语言交谈着，他们的声音像是冬天结冰的湖面破碎的声音，言语中充满了嘲弄。
Ser Waymar终于愤怒了，他大喊着"为了罗伯特国王！"，双手挥舞这那把布满冰霜的长剑，用尽力气侧身削去。对方却好像懒得躲避。
两刃乍一接触，钢铁之剑被击碎了。
一个刺耳的声音响彻森林的夜晚，长剑碎做上百片，四散飞射犹如针雨。Royce跪在地上，闭着眼睛尖叫着，鲜血涌上双手。
其他异鬼一拥而上，手中的长剑起起落落，动作安静的可怕。这是一场屠杀，苍白得利刃轻而易举的洞穿护甲，就像划破丝绸一样。Will闭上眼睛，屏住呼吸，他只能听见他们的声音，笑的十分刺耳，好像冰柱在撞击。
当他终于有勇气睁眼时，已经过去很长一段时间，下面的山脊上已经空无一人。他待在树上，仍然不敢喘口气，月亮慢慢地爬上漆黑的夜空。直到他的肌肉都抽经了，手指冻得发麻，他才从树上爬下来。
Royce面朝下趴在雪中，一条胳膊向外翻。那件厚厚的貂皮大衣被削成了碎片。他就这样躺在那里，看起来那么年轻，像个孩子。
他在几尺之外找到断剑的残骸，扭曲的像一颗被闪电击中的树干。Will跪在地上，警惕地环顾四周，捡起那把剑作为他的证据。Gared会知道怎么做，就算他不知道，熊老莫尔蒙或者伊蒙学士也一定知道。Gared是不是还在等着他呢？他得抓紧了
Will起身，Ser Waymar Royce正站在他面前！[变成异鬼了！]
他原本好好地衣服变得像破布条，整个脸也面目全非。他左眼的瞳孔被长剑的碎片刺穿。右眼是睁开的，瞳孔里看起来像是燃烧着蓝色火焰。
残剑从Will无力的手指见掉落，他闭上眼睛祈祷着，过了很久，一双优雅的手拂过他的脸颊，然后紧紧地掐住他的喉咙。那是一双裹着鲜血的精美的鼹鼠皮手套，但是却像冰一样冷酷。
[序曲 完]
天哪，我生生把一篇领读变成了原文翻译，原本打算一天写完，结果用了一周时间。
为了弥补印象中序曲的空白，专门又看了一遍权利的游戏第一季第一集，发现在剧中序曲只占了20分钟。情节严重被压缩，一边感慨HBO节奏快，一边欣慰，看原版还能加戏！
下面是Bran视角，下一期就来讲讲冰与火之歌独特的多视角叙事手法吧。
