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美国著名科幻奇幻小说家乔治·R·R·马丁（George R. R. Martin）所著的《冰与火之歌》（A Song of Ice and Fire）于1996年刚一问世，便以其别具一格的结构、浩瀚辽阔的视野、错落有致的情节和生动活泼的语言迅速席卷欧美文坛。《权力的游戏》（A Game of Thrones）为此系列的第一卷。艾德·史塔克是临冬城主兼北境统领，其妻凯特琳对他的私生子琼恩非常憎恶（当时私生子的地位相当卑贱），但一家人的生活还算平静。国王的到来打破了这一切，艾德应国王的邀请不得不出任这个岌岌可危的国家的首相之职，一家人由此各奔东西：长子罗柏陪伴母亲和最小的弟弟
瑞肯留守临冬城；艾德决定带着两个女儿姗莎和艾莉亚以及次子布兰前往南方赴任；琼恩将加入绝境长城的守夜人部队，这是他背负私生子这一烙印的唯一出路。不幸的是，就在离别前夕，布兰因窥见王后的秘密而被推下楼，奄奄一息，致使本就悲伤的离别更添一份沉重的阴霾。本文节选自第一卷的第十章，讲述琼恩离开前与重伤昏迷的布兰以及罗柏告别。
当离别来临，命运的齿轮开始转动，六个兄弟姐妹朝着不同的方向前行。对于年幼的他们来说，未来的路还很漫长，只希望他们在这场权力的游戏中不至于泯灭自我，还能保留着最初那份对彼此源于血缘的牵挂和关爱。
Jon climbed the steps slowly, trying not to think that this might be the last time ever. Ghost注1
padded[走] silently beside him. Outside, snow swirled through the castle gates, and the yard was all noise and chaos, but inside the thick stone walls it was still warm and quiet. Too quiet for Jon’s liking.
He reached the landing and stood for a moment, afraid. Ghost nuzzled[用鼻掘] at his hand. He took
courage from that. He straightened, and entered the room.
Lady Stark was there beside his bed. She had been there, day and night, for close on a fortnight[两周]. Not for a moment had she left Bran’s side. She had her meals brought to her there, and chamber pots[夜壶] as well, and a small hard bed to sleep on, though it was said she had scarcely slept at all. She fed him herself, the honey and water and herb mixture that sustained life. Not once did she leave the room. So Jon had stayed away.
But now there was no more time.
He stood in the door for a moment, afraid to speak, afraid to come closer. The window was open. Below, a wolf howled. Ghost heard and lifted his head.
Lady Stark looked over. For a moment she did not seem to recognize him. Finally she blinked[眨眼]. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a voice strangely flat and emotionless.
“I came to see Bran,” Jon said. “To say good-bye.”
Her face did not change. Her long auburn[赤褐色] hair was dull and tangled[缠结的]. She looked as though she had aged 20 years. “You’ve said it. Now go away.”
Part of him wanted only to flee, but he knew that if he did he might never see Bran again. He took a nervous step into the room. “Please,” he said.
Something cold moved in her eyes. “I told you to leave,” she said. “We don’t want you here.”
Once that would have sent him running. Once that might even have made him cry. Now it only made him angry. He would be a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch注2 soon, and face worse dangers than Catelyn Tully Stark. “He’s my brother,” he said.
“Shall I call the guards?”
“Call them,” Jon said, defiantly[挑衅地]. “You can’t stop me from seeing him.” He crossed the room, keeping the bed between them, and looked down on Bran where he lay.
She was holding one of his hands. It looked like a claw[爪]. This was not the Bran he remembered. The flesh had all gone from him. His skin stretched tight over bones like sticks. Under the blanket, his legs bent in ways that made Jon sick. His eyes were sunken deep into black pits; open, but they saw nothing. The fall had shrunken[收缩] him somehow. He looked half a leaf, as if the first strong wind would carry him off to his grave.
Yet under the frail[脆弱的] cage of those shattered[粉碎的] ribs, his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath.
“Bran,” he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come before. I was afraid.” He could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks. Jon no longer cared. “Don’t die, Bran. Please. We’re all waiting for you to wake up. Me and Robb and the girls, everyone…”
Lady Stark was watching. She had not raised a cry. Jon took that for acceptance. Outside the window, the direwolf howled again. The wolf that Bran had not had time to name.
“I have to go now,” Jon said. “Uncle Benjen is waiting. I’m to go north to the Wall. We have to leave today, before the snows come.” He remembered how excited Bran had been at the prospect of the journey. It was more than he could bear, the thought of him leaving him behind like this. Jon brushed away his tears, leaned over, and kissed his brother lightly on the lips.
“I wanted him to stay here with me,” Lady Stark said softly.
Jon watched her, wary[机警的]. She was not even looking at him. She was talking to him, but for a part of her, it was as though he were not even in the room.
“I prayed for it,” she said dully. “He was my special boy. I went to the sept[围起来作专用的区域] and prayed seven times to the seven faces of god that Ned注3 would change his mind and leave him here with me. Sometimes prayers are answered.”
Jon did not know what to say. “It wasn’t your fault,” he managed after an awkward silence.
Her eyes found him. They were full of poison. “I need none of your absolution[赦免], bastard[私生子].”
Jon lowered his eyes. She was cradling one of Bran’s hands. He took the other, squeezed[轻轻地捏] it. Fingers like the bones of birds. “Good-bye,” he said.
He was at the door when she called out to him. “Jon,” she said. He should have kept going, but she had never called him by his name before. He turned to find her looking at his face, as if she were seeing it for the first time.
“Yes?” he said.
“It should have been you,” she told him. Then she turned back to Bran and began to weep, her whole body shaking with the sobs. Jon had never seen her cry before.
It was a long walk down to the yard.
Outside, everything was noise and confusion.
Wagons were being loaded, men were shouting, horses were being harnessed[上马具] and saddled[给……装鞍] and led from the stables. A light snow had begun to fall, and everyone was in an uproar[喧闹] to be off.
Robb was in the middle of it, shouting commands with the best of them. He seemed to have grown of late, as if Bran’s fall and his mother’s collapse had somehow made him stronger. Grey Wind was at his side.
“Uncle Benjen is looking for you,” he told Jon. “He wanted to be gone an hour ago.”
“I know,” Jon said. “Soon.” He looked around at all the noise and confusion. “Leaving is harder than I thought.”
“For me too,” Robb said. He had snow in his hair, melting from the heat of his body. “Did you see him?”
Jon nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
“He’s not going to die,” Robb said. “I know it.”
“You Starks注4 are hard to kill,” Jon agreed. His voice was flat and tired. The visit had taken all the strength from him.
Robb knew something was wrong. “My mother…”
“She was...very kind,” Jon told him.
Robb looked relieved. “Good.” He smiled. “The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black.”
Jon forced himself to smile back. “It was always my color. How long do you think it will be?”
“Soon enough,” Robb promised. He pulled Jon to him and embraced him fiercely. “Farewell,
Snow注5.”
Jon hugged him back. “And you, Stark. Take care of Bran.”
“I will.” They broke apart and looked at each other awkwardly. “Uncle Benjen said to send you to the stables if I saw you,” Robb said finally.
“I have one more farewell to make,” Jon told him.
“Then I haven’t seen you,” Robb replied. Jon left him standing there in the snow, surrounded by wagons and wolves and horses. It was a short walk to the armory[军械库]. He picked up his package and took the covered bridge across to the Keep[城堡的要塞].
注1：白灵是琼恩的冰原狼。冰原狼（direwolf）也是史塔克家族的家徽。艾德的六个孩子每人收养了一只冰原狼，它们都有各自的名字并秉承了其主人的脾性，是孩子们的守护者。下文的灰风
（Grey Wind）则是罗柏的冰原狼。
注2：守夜人是一直负责驻守王国最北绝境长城（the Wall）的部队，因身着黑衣，以防止长城外的异鬼和各种恐怖生物入侵为职。琼恩的叔叔班扬·史塔克为守夜人中一员。
注3：艾德·史塔克的小名。
注4：此处琼恩用“你们史塔克”的说法，可见他很有自知之明地把自己排除在艾德的子嗣之外。
注5：雪诺是琼恩的姓，这个姓氏专门用来指那些在北方出生、却不幸没有父亲或不能冠父姓的私生子。
Know More
《冰与火之歌》主要描述了在一片虚构的中世纪大陆上发生的一系列相互联系的宫廷斗争、疆场厮杀、游历冒险和魔法抗衡的故事。故事由国王劳勃·拜拉席恩前往北地拜访好友艾德·史塔克开始，渐渐展示了这片国度的全貌。单纯的国王、耿直的首相、各怀鬼胎的大臣、拥兵自重的四方诸侯——全国仅靠着一根细弦维系着表面的和平，而当弦断之时，国家再度陷入无尽的战乱之中。而更让人惊悚的是那些远古的传说和早已灭绝的生物正重新回到这片土地。全书共七卷（包括未出的各卷），依次为《权力的游戏》（A Game of Thrones）、《列王的纷争》（A Clash of Kings）、《冰雨的风暴》（A Storm of Swords）、《群鸦的盛宴》（A Feast of Crows）、《魔龙的狂舞》（A Dance with Dragons）、《凛冬的寒风》（The Wind of Winter）、《春晓的梦想》（A Dream of Spring）。书名“冰与火”，分别代表主要角色立场——北国的“冰”与龙王一族的“火”。
作者乔治·R·R·马丁（1948-）出生于美国新泽西州的贝约恩，他从1971年开始陆续在主要科幻杂志上发表短篇作品，并很快以感伤怀旧的浪漫笔触、略带歌特气息的荒凉氛围以及糅合恐怖小说元素的科幻作品征服了读者。这一时期他的代表作有中短篇小说《莱安娜之歌》（A Song for Lya）、《沙王》（Sandkings）、《十字架与龙》（The Way of Cross and Dragon），长篇小说《光逝》（Dying of the Light）、《热夜之梦》（Fever Dream）、《末日狂歌》（The Armageddon Rag）等。而在此后的十年中，马丁转向影剧界发展，担任了多部电视剧集的编剧工作。直到上世纪90年代，马丁才退出影剧界，转而投入《冰与火之歌》的创作。
瑞肯留守临冬城；艾德决定带着两个女儿姗莎和艾莉亚以及次子布兰前往南方赴任；琼恩将加入绝境长城的守夜人部队，这是他背负私生子这一烙印的唯一出路。不幸的是，就在离别前夕，布兰因窥见王后的秘密而被推下楼，奄奄一息，致使本就悲伤的离别更添一份沉重的阴霾。本文节选自第一卷的第十章，讲述琼恩离开前与重伤昏迷的布兰以及罗柏告别。
当离别来临，命运的齿轮开始转动，六个兄弟姐妹朝着不同的方向前行。对于年幼的他们来说，未来的路还很漫长，只希望他们在这场权力的游戏中不至于泯灭自我，还能保留着最初那份对彼此源于血缘的牵挂和关爱。
Jon climbed the steps slowly, trying not to think that this might be the last time ever. Ghost注1
padded[走] silently beside him. Outside, snow swirled through the castle gates, and the yard was all noise and chaos, but inside the thick stone walls it was still warm and quiet. Too quiet for Jon’s liking.
He reached the landing and stood for a moment, afraid. Ghost nuzzled[用鼻掘] at his hand. He took
courage from that. He straightened, and entered the room.
Lady Stark was there beside his bed. She had been there, day and night, for close on a fortnight[两周]. Not for a moment had she left Bran’s side. She had her meals brought to her there, and chamber pots[夜壶] as well, and a small hard bed to sleep on, though it was said she had scarcely slept at all. She fed him herself, the honey and water and herb mixture that sustained life. Not once did she leave the room. So Jon had stayed away.
But now there was no more time.
He stood in the door for a moment, afraid to speak, afraid to come closer. The window was open. Below, a wolf howled. Ghost heard and lifted his head.
Lady Stark looked over. For a moment she did not seem to recognize him. Finally she blinked[眨眼]. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a voice strangely flat and emotionless.
“I came to see Bran,” Jon said. “To say good-bye.”
Her face did not change. Her long auburn[赤褐色] hair was dull and tangled[缠结的]. She looked as though she had aged 20 years. “You’ve said it. Now go away.”
Part of him wanted only to flee, but he knew that if he did he might never see Bran again. He took a nervous step into the room. “Please,” he said.
Something cold moved in her eyes. “I told you to leave,” she said. “We don’t want you here.”
Once that would have sent him running. Once that might even have made him cry. Now it only made him angry. He would be a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch注2 soon, and face worse dangers than Catelyn Tully Stark. “He’s my brother,” he said.
“Shall I call the guards?”
“Call them,” Jon said, defiantly[挑衅地]. “You can’t stop me from seeing him.” He crossed the room, keeping the bed between them, and looked down on Bran where he lay.
She was holding one of his hands. It looked like a claw[爪]. This was not the Bran he remembered. The flesh had all gone from him. His skin stretched tight over bones like sticks. Under the blanket, his legs bent in ways that made Jon sick. His eyes were sunken deep into black pits; open, but they saw nothing. The fall had shrunken[收缩] him somehow. He looked half a leaf, as if the first strong wind would carry him off to his grave.
Yet under the frail[脆弱的] cage of those shattered[粉碎的] ribs, his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath.
“Bran,” he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come before. I was afraid.” He could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks. Jon no longer cared. “Don’t die, Bran. Please. We’re all waiting for you to wake up. Me and Robb and the girls, everyone…”
Lady Stark was watching. She had not raised a cry. Jon took that for acceptance. Outside the window, the direwolf howled again. The wolf that Bran had not had time to name.
“I have to go now,” Jon said. “Uncle Benjen is waiting. I’m to go north to the Wall. We have to leave today, before the snows come.” He remembered how excited Bran had been at the prospect of the journey. It was more than he could bear, the thought of him leaving him behind like this. Jon brushed away his tears, leaned over, and kissed his brother lightly on the lips.
“I wanted him to stay here with me,” Lady Stark said softly.
Jon watched her, wary[机警的]. She was not even looking at him. She was talking to him, but for a part of her, it was as though he were not even in the room.
“I prayed for it,” she said dully. “He was my special boy. I went to the sept[围起来作专用的区域] and prayed seven times to the seven faces of god that Ned注3 would change his mind and leave him here with me. Sometimes prayers are answered.”
Jon did not know what to say. “It wasn’t your fault,” he managed after an awkward silence.
Her eyes found him. They were full of poison. “I need none of your absolution[赦免], bastard[私生子].”
Jon lowered his eyes. She was cradling one of Bran’s hands. He took the other, squeezed[轻轻地捏] it. Fingers like the bones of birds. “Good-bye,” he said.
He was at the door when she called out to him. “Jon,” she said. He should have kept going, but she had never called him by his name before. He turned to find her looking at his face, as if she were seeing it for the first time.
“Yes?” he said.
“It should have been you,” she told him. Then she turned back to Bran and began to weep, her whole body shaking with the sobs. Jon had never seen her cry before.
It was a long walk down to the yard.
Outside, everything was noise and confusion.
Wagons were being loaded, men were shouting, horses were being harnessed[上马具] and saddled[给……装鞍] and led from the stables. A light snow had begun to fall, and everyone was in an uproar[喧闹] to be off.
Robb was in the middle of it, shouting commands with the best of them. He seemed to have grown of late, as if Bran’s fall and his mother’s collapse had somehow made him stronger. Grey Wind was at his side.
“Uncle Benjen is looking for you,” he told Jon. “He wanted to be gone an hour ago.”
“I know,” Jon said. “Soon.” He looked around at all the noise and confusion. “Leaving is harder than I thought.”
“For me too,” Robb said. He had snow in his hair, melting from the heat of his body. “Did you see him?”
Jon nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
“He’s not going to die,” Robb said. “I know it.”
“You Starks注4 are hard to kill,” Jon agreed. His voice was flat and tired. The visit had taken all the strength from him.
Robb knew something was wrong. “My mother…”
“She was...very kind,” Jon told him.
Robb looked relieved. “Good.” He smiled. “The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black.”
Jon forced himself to smile back. “It was always my color. How long do you think it will be?”
“Soon enough,” Robb promised. He pulled Jon to him and embraced him fiercely. “Farewell,
Snow注5.”
Jon hugged him back. “And you, Stark. Take care of Bran.”
“I will.” They broke apart and looked at each other awkwardly. “Uncle Benjen said to send you to the stables if I saw you,” Robb said finally.
“I have one more farewell to make,” Jon told him.
“Then I haven’t seen you,” Robb replied. Jon left him standing there in the snow, surrounded by wagons and wolves and horses. It was a short walk to the armory[军械库]. He picked up his package and took the covered bridge across to the Keep[城堡的要塞].
注1：白灵是琼恩的冰原狼。冰原狼（direwolf）也是史塔克家族的家徽。艾德的六个孩子每人收养了一只冰原狼，它们都有各自的名字并秉承了其主人的脾性，是孩子们的守护者。下文的灰风
（Grey Wind）则是罗柏的冰原狼。
注2：守夜人是一直负责驻守王国最北绝境长城（the Wall）的部队，因身着黑衣，以防止长城外的异鬼和各种恐怖生物入侵为职。琼恩的叔叔班扬·史塔克为守夜人中一员。
注3：艾德·史塔克的小名。
注4：此处琼恩用“你们史塔克”的说法，可见他很有自知之明地把自己排除在艾德的子嗣之外。
注5：雪诺是琼恩的姓，这个姓氏专门用来指那些在北方出生、却不幸没有父亲或不能冠父姓的私生子。
Know More
《冰与火之歌》主要描述了在一片虚构的中世纪大陆上发生的一系列相互联系的宫廷斗争、疆场厮杀、游历冒险和魔法抗衡的故事。故事由国王劳勃·拜拉席恩前往北地拜访好友艾德·史塔克开始，渐渐展示了这片国度的全貌。单纯的国王、耿直的首相、各怀鬼胎的大臣、拥兵自重的四方诸侯——全国仅靠着一根细弦维系着表面的和平，而当弦断之时，国家再度陷入无尽的战乱之中。而更让人惊悚的是那些远古的传说和早已灭绝的生物正重新回到这片土地。全书共七卷（包括未出的各卷），依次为《权力的游戏》（A Game of Thrones）、《列王的纷争》（A Clash of Kings）、《冰雨的风暴》（A Storm of Swords）、《群鸦的盛宴》（A Feast of Crows）、《魔龙的狂舞》（A Dance with Dragons）、《凛冬的寒风》（The Wind of Winter）、《春晓的梦想》（A Dream of Spring）。书名“冰与火”，分别代表主要角色立场——北国的“冰”与龙王一族的“火”。
作者乔治·R·R·马丁（1948-）出生于美国新泽西州的贝约恩，他从1971年开始陆续在主要科幻杂志上发表短篇作品，并很快以感伤怀旧的浪漫笔触、略带歌特气息的荒凉氛围以及糅合恐怖小说元素的科幻作品征服了读者。这一时期他的代表作有中短篇小说《莱安娜之歌》（A Song for Lya）、《沙王》（Sandkings）、《十字架与龙》（The Way of Cross and Dragon），长篇小说《光逝》（Dying of the Light）、《热夜之梦》（Fever Dream）、《末日狂歌》（The Armageddon Rag）等。而在此后的十年中，马丁转向影剧界发展，担任了多部电视剧集的编剧工作。直到上世纪90年代，马丁才退出影剧界，转而投入《冰与火之歌》的创作。