Will heard the breath go out of Ser Waymar Royce in a long hiss¹. 威尔只听威玛·罗伊斯爵士倒抽一口冷气。

Come no farther, the lordling warned. His voice cracked like a boy's. 不要过来！贵族少爷警告对方，声音却小得像个孩童。

He threw the long sable² cloak back over his shoulders, to free his arms for battle, and took his sword in both hands. 他将那件长长的貂皮大衣翻到背后，空出活动空间，双手持剑。

The wind had stopped. It was very cold. 风已停，寒彻骨。

The Other slid forward on silent feet. In its hand was a longsword like none that Will had ever seen. 异鬼安静地向前滑行，手中握着长剑，威尔从没见过类似的武器。

No human metal had gone into the forging of that blade. 那是把半透明的剑，材质完全不是人类所使用的金属，

It was alive with moonlight, translucent³, a shard⁴ of crystal so thin that it seemed almost to vanish when seen edge-on. 更像是一片极薄的水晶碎片，倘若平放刃面，几乎无从发现。

There was a faint blue shimmer⁵ to the thing, a ghost-light that played around its edges, 它与月光相互辉映，剑身周围有股淡淡而诡异的蓝光。

and somehow Will knew it was sharper than any razor. 不知怎地，威尔明白这柄剑比任何剃刀都要锋利。

Ser Waymar met him bravely. Dance with me then. 威玛爵士勇敢地迎上前去。既然如此，我们就来较量较量罢。

He lifted his sword high over his head, defiant⁶. 他举剑过头，语带挑衅。

His hands trembled from the weight of it, or perhaps from the cold. 虽然他的手不知因为重量或是酷寒而颤抖，

Yet in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night's Watch. 威尔却觉得在那一刻，他已经不再是个软弱怯懦的少年，而成了真正的守夜人男子汉。

The Other halted. Will saw its eyes; blue, deeper and bluer than any human eyes, a blue that burned like ice. 异鬼停住脚步。威尔看到了它的眼睛，那是一种比任何人眼都要湛蓝深邃的颜色，如玄冰一般冷冷燃烧。

They fixed⁷ on the longsword trembling on high, watched the moonlight running cold along the metal. 它把视线停留在对方高举的颤抖着的剑上，凝视着冷冷月光在金属剑缘流动。

For a heartbeat he dared to hope. 那一刹那，威尔觉得事情还有转机。