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The squire Whitebeard, standing by the figurehead with one lean hand curled about his tall hardwood staff, turned toward them and said,
那个侍从白胡子起初站在精雕的船首像边上，用消瘦的手拄着长长的硬木拐杖，此刻转过身来，
“Balerion the Black Dread was two hundred years old when he died during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator.
“黑死神贝勒里恩在仲裁者杰赫里斯一世统治时期方才死去，共活了两百岁。
He was so large he could swallow an aurochs whole.
他大得出奇，可一口吞下整只野牛。
A dragon never stops growing, Your Grace, so long as he has food and freedom.”
陛下，龙是不会停止生长的，只要拥有食物和自由。”
His name was Arstan, but Strong Belwas had named him Whitebeard for his pale whiskers, and most everyone called him that now.
他本名阿斯坦，因为满脸白胡须，所以被壮汉贝沃斯起了个绰号叫白胡子，这个绰号也很快被大家所接受。
He was taller than Ser Jorah, though not so muscular;
他虽不及乔拉爵士肌肉结实，却比后者高大，
his eyes were a pale blue, his long beard as white as snow and as fine as silk.
眼睛是浅蓝色，长长的雪白胡子如丝绸一样顺滑。
“Freedom?” asked Dany, curious.
“自由？”丹妮略感不解，
“What do you mean?”
“什么意思？”
“In King’s Landing, your ancestors raised an immense domed castle for their dragons.
“在君临，您的先祖为他们的龙盖了一栋圆顶巨堡，
The Dragonpit, it is called. It still stands atop the Hill of Rhaenys, though all in ruins now.
称为‘龙穴’，迄今仍矗立在雷尼丝丘陵顶，只是早成废墟。
That was where the royal dragons dwelt in days of yore, and a cavernous dwelling it was,
昔日，王室的龙就在那居住，好像一个大洞穴，
with iron doors so wide that thirty knights could ride through them abreast.
外面有非常宽阔的铁门，里面可容三十个骑士骑马并肩通过。
Yet even so, it was noted that none of the pit dragons ever reached the size of their ancestors.
即便如此，龙穴里的龙却从没长到他们祖先的大小。
The maesters say it was because of the walls around them, and the great dome above their heads.”
学士们都说，这是墙和圆顶的关系。”
“If walls could keep us small, peasants would all be tiny and kings as large as giants,” said Ser Jorah.
“见鬼，假如墙能限制体积，那农民该像侏儒，而国王该像巨人，”乔拉爵士说，
“I’ve seen huge men born in hovels, and dwarfs who dwelt in castles.”
“事实恰恰相反，茅屋里往往生出大个子，城堡中住的却是矮子。”
“Men are men,” Whitebeard replied.
“人是人，”白胡子回答，
“Dragons are dragons.”
“龙是龙。”
Ser Jorah snorted his disdain.
乔拉爵士哼了一声以示轻蔑，
“How profound.”
“还真把自己当那么回事。”
The exile knight had no love for the old man, he’d made that plain from the first.
被放逐的骑士不喜欢这个老人，打一开始就表现得很明显。
“What do you know of dragons, anyway?”
“那有劳你给我们介绍一下龙的知识，怎么样呢？”
“Little enough, that’s true.
“不，我也不甚了解。
Yet I served for a time in King’s Landing in the days when King Aerys sat the Iron Throne,
但好歹我当初在君临生活期间，铁王座上坐的是伊里斯国王，
and walked beneath the dragonskulls that looked down from the walls of his throne room.”
有幸见过悬挂在王座厅墙上的巨龙头骨。”
“Viserys talked of those skulls,” said Dany.
“韦赛里斯对我提起过那些头骨，”丹妮道，
“The Usurper took them down and hid them away.
“据说篡夺者把它们取下来收藏，
He could not bear them looking down on him upon his stolen throne.”
因为不堪忍受它们日日俯瞰他坐着偷来的王座。”
She beckoned Whitebeard closer.
她招手示意白胡子靠近。
“Did you ever meet my royal father?”
“你见过我的父王吗？”
King Aerys II had died before his daughter was born.
国王伊里斯二世在他女儿出生前就死了。
“I had that great honor, Your Grace.”
“我很荣幸地见过他，女王陛下。”
“Did you find him good and gentle?”
“他是否善良温和？”
Whitebeard did his best to hide his feelings, but they were there, plain on his face.
白胡子尽力掩饰自己的感受，但那些感受其实清清楚楚地写在他的脸上。
“His Grace was … often pleasant.”
“陛下他……通常很和善。”
“Often?” Dany smiled.
“通常？”丹妮微笑，
“But not always?”
“不是一直？”
“He could be very harsh to those he thought his enemies.”
“对于心目中的敌手，他会非常残酷。”
“A wise man never makes an enemy of a king,” said Dany.
“明智的人决不会成为国王的敌手，”丹妮说，
“Did you know my brother Rhaegar as well?”
“那么，你也了解我哥哥雷加吗？”
“It was said that no man ever knew Prince Rhaegar, truly.
“据说没有人真正了解雷加王子。
I had the privilege of seeing him in tourney, though, and often heard him play his harp with its silver strings.”
我只在比武会上见过他，也听他弹过银弦竖琴。”
Ser Jorah snorted.
乔拉爵士嗤之以鼻，
“Along with a thousand others at some harvest feast.
“只怕是和成千人一起参加丰收宴会时听的吧，
Next you’ll claim you squired for him.”
亏你还没宣称自己是他的侍从。”
“I make no such claim, ser.
“我当然不敢如此夸口，爵士。
Myles Mooton was Prince Rhaegar’s squire, and Richard Lonmouth after him.
雷加王子的第一任侍从是米斯 慕顿，接下来是瑞卡德 隆莫斯。
When they won their spurs, he knighted them himself, and they remained his close companions.
他俩后来都被他亲手册封为骑士，并成为他终身的伙伴。
Young Lord Connington was dear to the prince as well, but his oldest friend was Arthur Dayne.”
除此之外，王太子殿下还有许多密友，包括年轻的克林顿伯爵，以及老朋友亚瑟 戴恩。”
“The Sword of the Morning!” said Dany, delighted.
“拂晓神剑！”丹妮愉快地喊道，
“Viserys used to talk about his wondrous white blade.
“韦赛里斯跟我说过那把不同寻常的白剑，
He said Ser Arthur was the only knight in the realm who was our brother’s peer.”
他还说亚瑟爵士是全国上下惟一可与我哥匹敌的骑士。”
Whitebeard bowed his head.
白胡子低头，
“It is not my place to question the words of Prince Viserys.”
“我没资格质疑韦赛里斯王子的话。”
