Yes, my lord, Jon said. Ghost's head lifted. He seemed to taste the air. In the blink of an eye he was off, racing across the broad, weed-choked field to vanish in the trees.
“是的,大人。”琼恩说。白灵抬起头,似乎在体验塞外的空气。然后,只一眨眼功夫他便冲了出去,驰骋过野草蔓生的广阔平原,转瞬间消失在远方的树林里。
Once they had entered the forest, they were in a different world. Jon had often hunted with his father and Jory and his brother Robb. He knew the wolfswood around Winterfell as well as any man. The haunted forest was much the same, and yet the feel of it was very different.
一进森林,他们就恍如置身另一世界。从前琼恩常跟父亲、乔里和罗柏一道外出打猎。对临冬城外的狼林了若指掌。鬼影森林在样貌上大致相同,但却有种极端殊异的氛围。
Perhaps it was all in the knowing. They had ridden past the end of the world; somehow that changed everything. Every shadow seemed darker, every sound more ominous. The trees pressed close and shut out the light of the setting sun. A thin crust of snow cracked beneath the hooves of their horses, with a sound like breaking bones. When the wind set the leaves to rustling, it was like a chilly finger tracing a path up Jon's spine. The Wall was at their backs, and only the gods knew what lay ahead.
这或许就是一种感觉罢。想到已经越过世界的尽头,一切便都不一样了。同样的影子,此地更显阴暗,同样的声音,此地更觉不祥。树与树之间靠得很近,遮蔽了渐落的斜射阳光。地表的薄雪在马蹄下碎裂,声音脆如断骨。朔风吹拂,落叶沙沙作响,像有无数根冰凉手指沿着背脊缓缓而上。长城已在后方,前路一片迷离,诸神才知通往何方。
The sun was sinking below the trees when they reached their destination, a small clearing in the deep of the wood where nine weirwoods grew in a rough circle. Jon drew in a breath, and he saw Sam Tarly staring.
当他们抵达目的地时,夕阳已没入树梢。这是森林深处的一小块空地,九棵鱼梁木长在一起,粗略组成一个圆。琼恩深吸一口气,抬头发现山姆也睁大了眼睛。