《家园卡拉克沙漠》远征指南翻译 剧情与历史介绍

二、破风者计划

　　北方联盟与破风者计划

　　在萨祖卡（Saju-Ka）毁灭，加奥森基斯撤入沙漠之后的几十年里，剩余的基斯自然地倾向于团结一致。最初，他们通力合作，安置萨祖卡的幸存者，而后又进行军事上的合作，共同抵抗加奥森一次次对水和补给品的劫掠行动。

　　接下来的350年中，加奥森劫掠者渐渐地不再只是个吓唬小孩的睡前故事，而松散的互相依赖的联盟则成为记忆……但还没有被人们完全忘记。

　　曾经的紧急合作机制现在变成了一个贸易与发展的联络体系。基斯间的竞争仍然是卡拉克社会的主题之一，而基于互利的不稳定结盟关系则成为北方经济政治生活的重要组成部分。

　　当新的威胁抬头，并且任何基斯凭借一己之力都无法处理的时候，这种生活方式使得新的联盟成为可能。

　　1057年，斯叶特（S'jet）基斯召集了一次提尔戴阿米德（Daiamid）全体会议，讨论他们根据对北部沙漠流动模式的全面分析得出的结果，以及可能的毁灭性后果（原文注解：提尔的戴阿米德会议，由纳巴基斯建立，旨在各基斯开会并通过演讲辩论，讨论政策，解决分歧）。斯叶特基斯关于沙子流动和天气类型的调研还认为，保护北极地区的大屏障山脉（Great Barrier mountain range），虽然人们在过去的几个世纪都认为风沙是无法越过的，但如果不采取行动，该山脉在一百年之内将会失守。（原文注解：大屏障山脉，在太空轨道上可见，自然形成，绵延数百公里，横贯卡拉克地表，发挥隔绝风沙的天然屏障作用）。

　　北部基斯联合了起来，决定采取的措施是建立一座巨大的挡沙墙，宽度达一公里，犹如山脊一般，仿佛一条腰带沿着大屏障山脉整个下半面建造。“破风者计划”指的就是建立几千公里长的铜墙铁壁，拯救北方文明。

　　斯叶特基斯负责建筑规划和系统设计，而纳巴则重回戴阿米德政治中心，负责为如此宏达的项目提供工程学支持。赫拉尔（Hraal）的工业专精和建筑设备为预加工部门提供了保障。整个项目进行期间，索托瓦基斯（Somtaaw）的采矿效率翻了一番，保持着对赫拉尔工厂的供应。西蒂姆（Siidim）军团负责安保工作，保护着来来往往绵延不绝的运输车队。虽然基斯成员之间还是存在紧张关系，也有不稳定因素，但马南（Manaan）基斯的金钱和政治才能使得破风者计划可以不断地被推向前进。

　　破风者之墙的建设耗时十年，而在此期间，加奥森基斯藏匿于赤道废土几个世纪之后，开始重新为世人所知（原文注释：Great Banded Desert，大沙海，由沙漠和岩石组成，在赤道地带温度通常达到水的沸点，很少有物种生活在该地区）。起初，加奥森的卷土重来只体现在各种贴在建筑工地的公报上，或者通过极地通讯转播的祷告演讲。但是无论通过何种方式，传递的信息是一致的：凡人基斯没有资格违抗神的意志（原文注释：The Great Maker Sajuuk，造物主萨祖克，传说中将基斯流放到卡拉克的神灵。也被称作“一手创造了一切的存在”）。如果北方继续执迷不悟，挡沙墙将会倒塌，正如萨祖卡的围墙倒塌了一样。当发现这番言论没有造成恐慌，人们不服从，加奥森基斯-萨就对北方发动了圣战，而这种状态一直持续至今。

　　针对建筑工地，开始有了小规模的袭击行动。从历史的角度看，很明显加奥森的现代军事战略在这一时期日臻完善。学习如何对更多分散的敌人造成最大的伤害，是加奥森人的目标所在。随着时间的推移，袭击越来越猖狂，对建设进度造成了越来越大的干扰（原文注释：破风者计划受挫，指的是由于加奥森的施压，为了赶工期，最终墙体的某些部分使用了劣质材料）。时间流逝，沙子也越堆越高，移动越来越快。

　　当然，加奥森不是唯一学习并完善了战争技巧的基斯。筑墙的人们并没有忘记过去。破风者不止是构筑屏障。初生的联盟军事部门坚持认为，这个项目所防御的应该不止是风沙，所以墙壁上嵌入了一系列的重火力点以及作为指挥中心的加固堡垒。初期这些防御设施粉碎了多次加奥森袭击，让数百名臭名昭著的“神之拳”（Fist of God）战士血洒沙场。在那之后的几个月里，相对比较和平，筑墙进度加快，完工指日可待。但是加奥森基斯-萨认识到，挡沙墙工程一旦完成，几十年内都不可能再对提尔形成威胁了。因此，他命令开展“Siifar Kor'shesh”行动——即“火焰匕首之夜”行动（the Night of Fiery Daggers）。

　　1074年新年伊始，一万名加奥森神拳战士对守卫挡沙墙主要入口的双子堡垒发动了袭击，企图摧毁堡垒，通过入口进入山谷，开进富饶的内地。守城的堡垒尚未完工，但驻扎有500名战士以及600名技师和劳工。

　　凶悍的交叉火力消灭了数百名疯狂的加奥森战士，但随着黎明将至，北方守军渐渐寡不敌众。破晓的第一缕光辉照耀大地，战场转移到了大门内部。勇敢的西蒂姆战士，斯叶特技师和赫拉尔劳工并肩作战，坚守阵线，直到最后一滴血流干。

　　当最后一名待命的加奥森士兵也被派上了战场，时机终于成熟了，纳巴-萨下令收网。

　　大门的通讯塔回荡着一个声音

　　“启动红色信号”

　　随后，整整两个军团的索班（Sobani）雇佣兵从沙地上现身，将加奥森部队逼至大门的石墙边剿灭。纳巴牺牲了很多生命，就为了引诱敌人进入圈套，以确保加奥森整整一代人的部队都被消灭。计划成功了。

　　破风者计划安全了，北方联盟也随之深深扎根于磐石当中。

　　世界再一次改变了。

提尔现在是北方的首都。最初纳巴基斯在此地崛起，结束了异端战争。

实时卫星遥感测绘图像，由一个近期部署的卫星传回

唯独加奥森基斯适应了赤道废土的恶劣环境

旗帜上的加奥森基斯家族标志

II. Project Stormbreaker

　　The Northern Coalition and ProjectStormbreaker

　　In the decades after the destruction ofSaju-Ka and Kiith Gaalsien's retreat into the desert, there was a naturaltendency for the remaining kiithid to pull together. First, they worked tochannel and settle the survivors of Saju-Ka, and later they joined in militaryco-operation against the Gaalsien raids for water and supplies.

　　Over the next 350 years, as Gaalsienmarauders became little more than a bedtime story to tell children who refusedto obey their elders, the loose coalition of mutual dependencies faded intomemory… but was never totally forgotten.

　　What had once been a network of emergencyco-operation became a system of trade and development links. While inter-kiithcompetition remained a factor in Kharakid society, a system of shiftingalliances based on mutual benefit became an organic part of economic andpolitical life in the north.

　　This way of life made a new Coalitionpossible when a new threat reared its head that was too big for any singlekiith to handle.

　　During the last triad of 1057, Kiith S'jetcalled a meeting of the full Daiamid of Tiir（The Daiamid of Tiir，Establishedby Kiith Naabal, the Daiamid is where kiithid gather to debate policy andsettle disputes through rational discourse.） to discuss theresults of their first full analysis of the northern desert flow patterns, andtheir devastating implications. Their investigation of sand flow and weatherpatterns revealed that the Great Barrier mountain range（GreatBarrier Mountain Range，Visible from orbit, this natural formation spans hundreds ofkilometers across the surface of Kharak, acting as a natural sand baffle） thatprotected the northern polar region, which had seemed insurmountable to stormand sand for centuries, would be overwhelmed within a hundred years unlesssomething changed.

　　The necessary change was brought about bythe combined power of the Northern kiithid in the form of building a giantridge of sand baffle walls, a full kilometer wide, girdling the entire lowerface of the Barrier Mountains. Project Stormbreaker was a wall thousands ofkilometers long, designed to save civilization in the North.

　　Architectural planning and system designwas provided by Kiith S'jet, while Naabal returned to the forefront of Daiamidpolitics to provide the engineering expertise for such a massive project. Hraalindustrial know-how and construction equipment produced and placed the massiveprefabricated sections. Kiith Somtaaw doubled their mining output for theentire duration of the project in order to keep the Hraal factories supplied,and Siidim Legionnaires provided security to the endless stream of convoys.Manaan money and statesmanship kept the project moving forward, despite thetensions between its member kiithid, and all the things that could go wrong.

　　The Stormbreaker wall took nearly a decadeto complete, and during that time, Kiith Gaalsien began to make itself knownagain after centuries of hiding in the equatorial wastes(Great Banded Desert,Temperaturesin the equatorial band regularly reach the boiling point of water. Comprised ofdesert sand and rock, few species live there). At first, their return wasmarked only by communiques plastered all over construction sites and prayerspeeches tight-cast from the wastes into the polar comm relays. But no matterwhat the medium, the message was the same: mortal kiithid had no right ormandate to oppose God's will（The Great Maker Sajuuk，The deity that was said to have cast down the kiithid to Kharak.Also known as "He Whose Hand Shapes What Is."）. If theNorth continued on this path, then this wall would fall, just as the one aroundSaju-Ka had once fallen. When words failed to inspire fear and obedience, theGaalsien Kiith-Sa declared holy war against the North, a state of affairs whichcontinues to this very day.

　　Small raids began against constructionsites. From an historical viewpoint, it is clear that the Gaalsien wereperfecting their modern military tactics at the time. Learning how to inflictthe maximum amount of damage against more numerous but scattered enemies wastheir goal. Strikes became more ambitious over time, and caused more seriousdisruption to the construction schedule（Project StormbreakerSetbacks，Gaalsien pressure ultimately resulted in the use of weaker materialsin certain sections of the Wall to reach the targeted completion date）. Everytriad, the sands flowed higher and faster.

　　Of course, the Gaalsien were not the onlykiith learning and perfecting their warcraft. The wall builders had notforgotten the past. Stormbreaker was more than towering baffles and redirectionnets. The fledgling alliance military branches had insisted that the projectdefend against more than sandstorms, and the Wall was fitted with a series ofnested firebases and fortified command centers. The early activation of thesedefensive structures shattered a dozen Gaalsien raids and left hundreds of theirinfamous "Fist of God" warriors dead on the sand. For months after,there was peace, and the Wall sped towards completion... but the Gaalsien-Sa atthe time could see that if the Wall were completed, it would break any chanceof threatening Tiir for decades. For this reason, he ordered a full commitmentto "Siifar Kor'shesh": the Night of Fiery Daggers.

　　On the first night of the year 1074, tenthousand Gaalsien Fists hit the twin gate wall forts guarding the main accessvalley to the interior, hoping to raze them and drive on into the rich landsbeyond. The Guardian forts were still incomplete, but manned by 500 warriorsand another 600 technicians and laborers.

　　Withering cross-fire took down the fanaticsby the hundreds, but as the night passed, the Northern defenders were slowlywhittled away. By the first ripples of dawn, the fighting had entered the maingates. The last of the Siidim warriors fought and died side by side with S'jettechnicians and Hraal laborers who bravely sacrificed themselves to hold theirposition.

　　When the last of the Gaalsien reserves hadbeen called into the breach, it was finally time for Naabal-Sa to give theorder to close the trap.

　　One signal echoed out from the comm towersof the gate.

　　"Bring the Red"

　　And with that, two full legions of Sobanimercenaries rose up from the desert floor and broke the Gaalsien army againstthe stones of the gate. The Naabal had spent many lives to lure them in andmake sure the Gaalsien would be stripped of their army for a full generation…and it had worked.

　　Stormbreaker held, and the NorthernCoalition was anchored in stone.

　　The world had changed yet again.

更多相关内容请关注：家园：卡拉克沙漠专区

责任编辑：克己律人