羊頭人 khazra

  The khazra (colloquially known as "goatmen") were long thought to be natural inhabitants of our world, akin to the lacuni "panther-men" tribes of the desert and mountain regions, but I have recently discovered evidence revealing that nothing could be further from the truth. The history of the khazra is much more complex and disturbing than has been previously imagined.

     Khazra (俗稱「羊頭人」) ，是一個存在我們世界擁有長久歷史的種族，與生活在沙漠和山丘地帶的Lacuni「豹人」屬同一種族。 但是我最近發現的一些證據表示，羊頭人(khazra)的歷史比我們之前想像的複雜許多。

     According to ancient carvings that I have succeeded in translating, the khazra were originally human, part of the umbaru race found in the thick Torajan jungles in the Teganze region of the eastern continent. At some point in the distant past, the five clans that would come to be known as the khazra migrated to higher elevations and began developing along different lines than the clansmen they left behind. They lived in relative peace and began the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to a farming one. This state of affairs changed dramatically when they encountered the Vizjerei about two thousand years ago (if my translations prove to be correct).

     根據我最近成功翻譯的古代雕刻指出，羊頭人原本是人類，屬於在東部大陸特蓋茲(Teganze)地帶的茂密叢林發現的安巴姆(umbaru)部族。 在很久以前，五個部族遷移在一起並在各個方面發展成為一個大的羊頭人部族。他們和睦相處，並且開始從狩獵社會轉變為農作社會。在大約兩千年前，他們遇到了維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)，因此他們的社會也發生了巨大的變化(如果我的翻譯正確的話)。

     This was the height of the Mage Clan Wars, and even the mighty Vizjerei mage clan was showing signs of stress brought about by the prolonged struggle. A faction of the Vizjerei resolved to construct an army using demon-possessed victims, and the peaceful umbaru clans seemed to fit the Vizjerei's needs. It is unknown how the clans first came into contact with the Vizjerei, but within the span of a decade or so, some of the future khazra clans had turned from their peaceful existence to all-out warfare with the Vizjerei. This was surely the result of seeing their brothers being painfully transformed into savage goat-like creatures by the Vizjerei.

     這是魔法部族戰爭的最激烈的時候，即使最有實力的維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)魔法部族也承受著因長期的戰爭所帶來的壓力。其中一個維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)的部族利用惡魔上身的受難者來組建軍隊，而和平的安巴姆(umbaru)部族正好適合維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)的需要。不知道他們是怎樣接觸到維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)的，但是從一個世紀之前開始，一些羊頭人(khazra)的部族慢慢從和平生活轉變為頻頻與維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)發動戰爭。這想必是他們不堪看到自己的兄弟被維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)痛苦地變為兇猛的羊形生物的結果。

     Though they were primitive by the standards of the Vizjerei, the umbaru clans held the powerful mages at bay through familiarity with the terrain and sheer ferocity. But this state of affairs could not hold forever. As decades of savage warfare took their toll on the umbaru's culture and minds, the clans began to search for any means to prevail over their enemies. In fact, they lost sight of anything else.

     安巴姆(Umbaru)是維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)的遠古部族，生活在海灣的他們不但熟悉當地的地形，卻擁有非常強大的魔法而且十分英勇善戰，但是這些不可能永遠不會改變。幾個世紀的殘酷戰爭使他們在思想和文化上付出了沉重的代價，這個部族開始尋找戰勝敵人的辦法。實際上，他們已經迷失自我了。

     Exact details on what transpired next are scarce, but I have ascertained that at some point during the next two hundred years they decided to use the Vizjerei's strength against them. To this end, the clans actively sought to capture a mage to do their bidding. Eventually they succeeded in violently coercing one of their captives to help them not only gain control over their transformed clan mates, but to have themselves transformed as well in order to fully drive the Vizjerei out of the Teganze.

     沒有人確切知道後來發生了什麼事，但是我可以肯定在接下來的兩百年裡，他們決定用維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)的力量來對抗維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)。他們捕捉魔法師來執行他們所下達的命令。最後，他們不但暴力地強迫被俘虜的法師來控制變身了的同伴，還讓自己變身來把維斯傑瑞(Vizjerei)趕出特蓋茲(Teganze)。


     Their strategy worked, but it was not without its price. They found themselves bound in servitude to the demon Zagraal in exchange for their cursed power (note that I neither endorse nor dismiss theories of a "Burning Hell" by the use of the term demon; it is simply used here in its original intent: to describe a being of malevolent or loathsome origin). They became furious marauders, driven to raid villages and caravans to sate their bloodlust and procure sacrificial victims for their demonic master. This is also when they became known as khazra, which roughly translates as "demon" or "devil" in the umbaru tongue.

     他們的策略非常成功，但是也因此付出了慘痛的代價。他們為了得到惡魔Zagraal被詛咒的力量而成了它的奴役(注意：在使用惡魔這個詞上，我既沒有承認和也沒有否認「燃燒地獄」的理論；它原來是用來描述一個惡毒的和令人討厭的生物)。他們變成暴躁的掠奪者，襲擊村莊和商隊來滿足他們的殺戮慾並將被害者獻祭給他們的惡魔領袖。從這時開始，他們被成為羊頭人(khazra)，意思大概就是將惡魔翻譯為安巴姆(umbaru)語言。



     After years of this terror, their previous brothers, the umbaru of the lower Teganze, sent their sacred witch doctor warriors to eradicate the khazra's threat to the region. Filled with otherworldly power, the witch doctors cut a swath of destruction through the khazra until they confronted Zagraal himself. In a now-legendary battle, the valiant heroes fought to the last man before finally bringing Zagraal down.

     經過多年令人恐懼的生活後，他們以前的部族同胞，那些生活在特蓋茲(Teganze)低層的安巴姆(umbaru)部族派遣神聖的巫醫戰士來剷除羊頭人(khazra)在這個地區的威脅。擁有另一個世界力量的巫醫軍團成功阻止羊頭人(khazra)繼續地大肆破壞，直到他們遇到Zagraal。這場傳奇般的戰爭中，他們最終擊殺了Zagraal，但是卻只剩下一個人了。

     The khazra continued to wage war on humanity, but without a source of demonic power to draw from, they became weak. Despite a slight unexplained resurgence twenty or so years ago, their fury steadily drained from them until they became the sluggish and muddled beings we know today.

     羊頭人(Khazra)現在仍然繼續與人類鬥爭，但是沒有得到惡魔的力量支援，他們被削弱許多。除了二十年前原因不明的變故，他們的狂怒逐漸消失，直到變成現在我們所認識反應遲鈍和痴呆的生物。

 Addendum: While researching the various hostile wildlife that adventurers regularly encounter in their work, I have been informed that the khazra have regained some of their lost vim and vigor and are once again ferociously attacking humans. As of this writing, such reports remain uncorroborated by reliable sources.

附錄：研究野生動物的冒險者經常遭遇襲擊，而我被告知羊頭人(khazra)重新獲得了一些力量和邪惡的思想並且再次兇猛地攻擊人類。而當我寫下這篇文章時，這些傳聞還沒有得到可靠消息的證實。

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abd al-Hazir is a renowned gentleman, historian, and scholar. He has recently taken up the unprecedented task of investigating, researching, and compiling information about the unique locales and denizens of our world.

作者簡介

阿卜杜勒‧阿哈茲(Abd al-Hazir)是一個著名的紳士、歷史學家和學者。他對我們世界所有相關的獨特語言環境和居民們採取了前所未有的調查、研究和編制工作。