Producer’s Letter – May 2007

Names have power.
名字蘊含著力量。

It’s strange how the sound of a single word or the sight of a particular arrangement of letters on a page can instantly give rise to a wide array of feelings.
很難解釋，聽見一個字或是看到特殊字母的組合可以在一瞬間引發多深的情緒。

Some names have more power than others.
某些名字擁有比其他名字更多的力量。

Neriak.
奈瑞克。

It’s an exceptionally strong name. For me, at least, it’s in hearing it out loud. Three syllables that contain a sense of dark malevolence, raise tales of intrigues unending, and bring forth images of a race of people whose ambition is outmatched only by their ruthlessness and cunning.
這是一個特別有力的名字。至少對我來說，它聽起來是如此響亮。三個音節裡涵蓋了惡毒的思想，無止盡的陰謀，和只能靠著無情殘忍的狡猾伎倆來滿足自己野心的黑暗精靈一族。

There’s another name that may not be familiar, but it too plays a significant part in what’s coming.
另外一個不那麼為人所知，但在接下來要發生的事扮演著重要角色的名字。

Arasai.

It’s a lighter sound, which is fitting for what it describes. It also sounds as if that lightness has been twisted. Meticulously developed, or crafted, if you will. Like a fine weapon on display.
這名字聽起來如此輕盈，正合適於它所要表達出的樣子，又像是以往的明亮已被扭曲。它是被精心製造出來，或說是打造出來的。像是展示中的完美武器。

As many of you have no doubt guessed, I’m talking about the next major live content release for EverQuest II. We’ve talked a lot over the past year about our commitment to making sure there’s always something interesting going on in Norrath. What’s coming takes that even further.
就像很多人所預測的，我說的是EQ2即將到來的重大更新。我們在過去一年提過很多次，保證諾瑞斯上會不斷的進行著各式各樣有趣的事。即將到來的更新又進一步的實現了這個承諾。

With Echoes of Faydwer, we had hoped that people would enjoy a return to a more traditional MMO starting experience, and were pleased with the results. We got a lot of positive reaction by introducing the starting city of Kelethin inside of Greater Faydark, as well as a new race, the Fae.
隨著Echoes of Faydwer推出，我們期待大家會喜歡回歸傳統的MMO遊戲經驗，而且對最後的結果感到很滿意。玩家們對大菲達克裡的新城市凱拉辛和新種族Fae，都給了我們很多正面的回應。

Later this month, we’ll be releasing the largest free content addition that EQ2 has ever seen. The complement to that experience: The city of Neriak, the large outdoor zone of Darklight Wood, and a new playable race, the Arasai, one of the races who will be able to start there.
在這個月，我們會釋出EQ2營運以來最大量的免費內容，完整的內容包含了：新的城市奈瑞克，一個野外區域Darklight Wood，還有一個可以在奈瑞克開始遊戲的新種族Arasai。

These zones are another collaboration with our SOGA studio in Taiwan, the same studio that developed the characters and environments for The Fallen Dynasty. Their artists working in conjunction with our designers and artists have really brought Neriak back to life.
這些區域是再一次和台灣的SOGA studio合作的成果，在此之前我們曾經和SOGA studio通力完成The Fall Dynasty的角色和環境開發。他們的美術人員和我們的設計師一起工作，這些美術人員成功的將奈瑞克重現於世。

We decided to go this direction for a couple reasons. As we were developing the storyline for Faydwer, we saw the potential both in gameplay and story development for a dark, twisted shadow of the Fae, and we’ve wanted to explain a few important things about this area of the world for quite some time.
基於一些原因讓我們決定要往這個方向前進。在我們設計費朵的故事之時，我們發現Fae黑暗扭曲的另一面可以對遊戲和故事內容帶來的更多的可能性，我們也想要花時間去解釋關於這個區域的重要事件。

We pick up the story of Neriak 300 years ago.
讓我們從三百年前的奈瑞克說起。

It was no secret even then that Queen Cristanos Thex of Neriak was the embodiment of malevolent ambition. So close to the crown and ultimate power over her own kind, but it was destined to pass her by. When King Tearis’ time came, the empire would fall to the hands of her son, Prince Talvus Thex.
奈瑞克的王后Cristanos Thex是有著惡毒心腸的野心家早就不是秘密。即使她距離王冠以及暗精裡最大的權力如此接近，卻註定只能和這些擦身而過。因為一但國王Tearis的時間到了，整個帝國將會落入她的兒子Talvus Thex王子的手中。

While the War of the Fay raged, with the Crown Prince and his father otherwise occupied in Faydwer, the Queen saw her opportunity and exploited it mercilessly. It wasn’t long before both King Tearis and his son fell to mysterious circumstances in combat.
當War of the Fay慘烈的進行著，王子和他的父親分別佔領著費朵之時，王后毫不留情的善用了這個機會。不久之後國王Tearis和他的兒子雙雙的就在戰鬥時落入難以理解的情況。

Cristanos seized the power she had long desired, ending the Thex Dynasty in one final, brutal stroke.
Cristanos以無情的一擊結束了Thex王朝，獲得了長久以來她所渴望的權力。

(“Two, actually,” she would later recount to her most trusted priestess.)
(“事實上是兩擊”，她會對她最信任的女祭司這樣說。)

Neriak, however, would not remain unscathed for long under her rule.
然而她將不會統治如此完整的奈瑞克太久。

It’s not entirely certain what allowed the Leatherfoot Raiders of Rivervale to pose the threat that they did to Neriak. Some say it was assistance from foreigners from the outermost quarter of the city, others whispered that the Teir’Dal had been betrayed by those who remained loyal to the King, and yet others credit the assault on Nektulos by the Kithicor Rangers. In the end, it was no matter. The effect would be the same.
究竟是什麼讓河谷鎮的Leatherfoot Raider能夠對奈瑞克造成威脅，到現在還是眾說紛紜。有些人說是奈瑞克訪客區裡的外來者助他們一臂之力，私底下的傳言則是Teir’Dal被那些依然 效忠國王的人背叛了，也有些人歸功於基斯可遊俠們在奈克圖羅森林的突擊。只是不管是什麼原因，都不會影響到最終的結果。

At Cristanos’ order, the high priestess Tseralith made use of an artifact known as the Hand of Malice summoning forth a beast of great destruction to seal Neriak off from the invaders.
在Cristanos的命令下，女祭司Tseralith使用了Hand of Malice招喚來了有著毀滅性的巨大怪獸來保護奈瑞克不讓侵略者進入。

The surviving invaders gave the ruins that resulted the name “Fallen Gate,” and soon abandoned them to the spirits that rose from the destruction.
存活下來的侵略者將殘留的遺跡稱為Fallen Gate。從這場毀滅中產生的幽靈和這些遺跡，都一併的被遺棄了。

Unbeknownst to the attackers, however, the grand expanse of Neriak Proper was entirely spared.
攻擊者不知道的是，奈瑞克主城區的大部分區域都被完整的保留下來。

Sealed off from her enemies, her people and homeland assumed destroyed, Cristanos has had nothing but time. Freed from influences of the outside, Cristanos only grew more and more malicious, soon thinking of herself as the divine manifestation of Hate to her people – a god in her own right.
Cristanos什麼都失去了，除了擁有無止盡的時間，她的人民和家園都被認為被毀滅了，她並以此來躲避她的敵人。失去了外界的影響，Cristanos卻一日一日的更為狠毒，她開始認為她自己是仇恨的神聖象徵，對她的子民而言，她是全能的神。

To her, you see, the Dark Elves are the “correct” way that Elves should have developed, though most of the races of Norrath consider them a wicked perversion of High Elves.
對她而言，黑暗精靈才是精靈該被發展出來的”正確樣貌”，雖然大部分諾瑞斯上的種族都認為黑暗精靈是邪惡版本的高等精靈。

One day while toying with one of the captured Fae spirit buds she frequently tormented to amuse herself, she realized how perfectly fitting it would be to fix what the old gods had gotten wrong, and set the evolution of the Fae along their “correct” course as well.
有一天當她在玩弄捕捉到的Fae靈魂，折磨它來娛樂自己的時候，她忽然理解到如果她修正舊神所犯的錯誤，把Fae進化跟黑暗精靈一樣的”正確樣貌”，將會是多完美的一件事。

The screams, it is said, were legendary.
那尖叫聲，成為了人們口耳相傳的傳說。

If you’re interested in what happened next, you’ll just have to see it in game for yourself.
後來發生了什麼事，你有興趣知道的話，一切將由你在遊戲中自己發現。

We’ll see you there.
我們到時候見。

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原文連結