Chapter 28: The Fissure （裂痕）

　　　The cracks in the facade began to show. It started with small things. Borin would ask him to fetch a specific tool from the rack, and Leon would stare blankly, his mind momentarily lost in a memory of foraging for edible roots. He would flinch at sudden loud noises, his body reacting to a threat that wasn't there. He took to walking alone in the evenings, not towards the friendly edges of Elwynn, but to the quiet, empty fields to the east, where he could watch the sky darken without the chatter of the village.

　　表象上的裂痕开始显现。起初是些小事。博林会让他从架子上拿一件特定的工具，里昂会茫然地盯着看，思绪瞬间陷入寻找可食用根茎的记忆中。他会因突然的巨响而畏缩，身体对不存在的威胁做出反应。他开始在傍晚独自散步，不是去艾尔文森林友善的边缘，而是去东边安静空旷的田野，在那里他可以看着天空变暗，没有村里的喧闹。

　　His father watched him with a growing, unspoken concern. The initial joy of reunion was slowly being replaced by a bewildered anxiety. His son was home, but the boy he had known was not entirely present.

　　他父亲带着越来越深、难以言表的担忧观察着他。重逢的喜悦正慢慢被一种困惑的焦虑所取代。儿子回家了，但他所认识的那个男孩并没有完全回来。

　　The breaking point came on a market day. The square in Goldshire was bustling. Leon was helping his father sell newly forged horseshoes. A traveling minstrel had set up nearby and began to sing a ballad—a popular, romanticized tale of the Alliance's glory in the Second War. The song spoke of orcs as brutish, stupid foes, easily outwitted by human courage and dwarf ingenuity.

　　爆发点发生在一个赶集日。闪金镇的广场上熙熙攘攘。里昂在帮父亲卖新打的马蹄铁。一个旅行吟游诗人在附近摆开摊子，开始唱一首民谣——一首流行的、被美化的关于联盟在第二次战争中荣耀的故事。歌中把兽人描绘成野蛮、愚蠢的敌人，轻易被人类的勇气和矮人的智慧所战胜。

　　Leon listened, his blood running cold. The song was a lie. It reduced the terrifying, intelligent, and organized threat he had witnessed to a cartoonish caricature. It erased the cunning of the orc scout, the sheer menace of the worg pack. It made a mockery of his fear, of his survival.

　　里昂听着，血液都凉了。这首歌是个谎言。它把他亲眼所见的恐怖、智慧、有组织的威胁简化成了卡通漫画。它抹去了兽人斥候的狡猾、座狼群的十足威胁。它嘲弄了他的恐惧，他的生存。

　　Without thinking, he muttered under his breath, "It wasn't like that. They're not stupid."

　　Borin, who was counting coins, didn't hear him clearly. "What's that, son?"

　　A nearby farmer, a jovial man named Ol' Tom, overheard. "What's not stupid, lad? The orcs? Ha! Course they are! Big, green, and dumb as posts. That's why we beat 'em!"

　　他想都没想，低声咕哝道：“不是那样的。他们不蠢。”

　　正在数钱的博林没听清。“说什么，儿子？”

　　附近一个叫老汤姆的开朗农夫听到了。“什么不蠢，孩子？兽人？哈！当然蠢啦！又大又绿，蠢得像木头桩子。所以咱们才打败了他们！”

　　Something inside Leon snapped. The weeks of silence, of pretending, of feeling like an imposter in his own skin, boiled over. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he said, his voice rising louder than he intended. "They're smart! They hunt in packs! They have scouts and... and they're strong! A single one could tear this whole market apart!"

　　里昂内心的某种东西突然断裂了。几周来的沉默、伪装、感觉自己像个冒牌货的情绪爆发了。“你根本不知道你在说什么！”他的声音比预想的大。“他们很聪明！他们成群结队地狩猎！他们有斥候，而且……而且他们很强壮！一个兽人就能把整个集市撕碎！”

　　The market square fell silent. The minstrel stopped singing. All eyes turned to Leon. Ol' Tom's jovial face hardened. "Now see here, boy. That's dangerous talk. We fought those monsters. We lost good people to them. You'll show some respect."

　　集市广场安静下来。吟游诗人停止了歌唱。所有的目光都转向里昂。老汤姆开朗的脸沉了下来。“听着，小子。这话很危险。我们跟那些怪物打过仗。我们为他们失去了好人。你放尊重点。”

　　Borin stepped in front of Leon, his face pale with shock and embarrassment. "Leon! Apologize to Master Tom. You don't know what you're saying. The war is over."

　　博林挡在里昂面前，脸色因震惊和尴尬而苍白。“里昂！向汤姆先生道歉。你不知道你在说什么。战争已经结束了。”

　　But Leon was trembling, his fists clenched. The images flashed behind his eyes: the orc pauldron in the mud, the guttural shouts from the Sepulcher, the red eyes of the worg. "It's not over! It's not! They're out there! And you're all just sitting here, singing songs like it's a game!"

　　但里昂在发抖，拳头紧握。画面在他眼前闪现：泥地里的兽人肩甲，瑟伯切尔传来的粗哑喊叫，座狼的红眼睛。“没结束！没有！他们就在外面！而你们全都坐在这里，唱着歌，好像那是游戏一样！”

　　He turned and ran, pushing through the stunned crowd, ignoring his father's calls. He ran past the smithy, past the edge of the village, and into the empty fields. He didn't stop until his lungs burned and the sounds of Goldshire were far behind him. He collapsed under a lone oak tree, gasping for air, hot tears of frustration and isolation streaming down his face. He had tried to come home, but home had rejected the truth he carried. The fissure between his two worlds had cracked wide open, and he was falling into the abyss.

　　他转身跑开，挤过惊呆的人群，不顾父亲的呼喊。他跑过铁匠铺，跑过村边，跑进空旷的田野。他一直跑到肺像火烧一样，闪金镇的声音远远抛在身后。他瘫倒在一棵孤零零的橡树下，喘着粗气，挫败和孤独的热泪流下脸颊。他试图回家，但家拒绝接受他所带来的真相。他两个世界之间的裂痕已经大开，他正坠入深渊。