BRAN 布兰

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. 晨色清冷，带著一丝寂寥，隐然暗示夏日将尽。

They set forth¹ at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. 为数二十人的队伍於破晓时分轻骑启程，布兰策马置身其间，满心焦虑又兴奋难耐。

This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king's justice done. 这次他年纪总算够大，可以与父兄同往刑场，目睹国王律法的执行。

It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran's life. 这是夏天的第九年，布兰现年七岁。

The man had been taken outside a small holdfast in the hills. 死囚已被领至小丘上的平房外，

Robb thought he was a wildling, his sword sworn to Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall. 罗柏认为他是个誓死效忠"境外之王"曼斯·雷德的野人。

It made Bran's skin prickle to think of it. He remembered the hearth² tales Old Nan told them. 布兰回想起老奶妈在火炉边说过的故事，不禁浑身起了鸡皮疙瘩。

The wildlings were cruel men, she said, slavers and slayers and thieves. 她说野人生性凶残蛮狠，个个都是贩卖奴隶、杀人放火的偷盗之徒。

They consorted³ with giants and ghouls, stole girl children in the dead of night, and drank blood from polished horns. 他们与巨人族和食尸鬼狼狈为奸，在暗夜里诱拐童女、以磨亮的兽角茹毛饮血。

And their women lay with the Others in the Long Night to sire terrible half-human children. 他们的女人则相传在远古的"长夜"里与异鬼苟合，繁衍半人半鬼的恐怖後代。

But the man they found bound hand and foot to the holdfast wall awaiting the king's justice was old and scrawny, not much taller than Robb. 然而眼前这个老人却削瘦枯槁，比罗柏高不了多少，手脚紧缚身後，静待国王意旨发落。

He had lost both ears and a finger to frostbite, and he dressed all in black, 他在酷寒中因冻疮失去了双耳和一根手指，全身衣著漆黑，

the same as a brother of the Night's Watch, except that his furs were ragged⁴ and greasy⁵. 与守夜人弟兄们的制服没有两样，只不过他的衣衫褴褛，而且脓疮四溢。