The Master of Arms: Kente

来源：http://mmh7.ubi.com/en/blog/post/view/the-master-of-arms-kente，以下由HeavenK翻译。

Well met, my fellow Shadow Councilors.

There is another member of Ivan’s Council I should tell you about: Ivan’s Master of Arms, the Orc Kente.

To understand Kente’s presence among Ivan’s council, we have to go back in time, to the 544th Year of the Seventh Dragon. When the young Duke of Griffin of that era, Slava, accepted to welcome the vagrant Orcs of the Whitespear tribe on his lands, a custom was established. The Whitespear Orcs would send one of their best warriors to Eastalon, to become the Duke’s Master of Arms. Of course, no Orc would ever serve a Human if not of his own free will. The new Master of Arms would always be a volunteer – the first of which was none other than Kraal, the Whitespears’ own chieftain.

要理解肯特为什么会出现在伊凡的议会中，就必须从七龙纪544年说起。那时，年轻的狮鹫大公接受并欢迎流浪的白茅氏族兽人来到他的领地。自那以后，白茅氏族建立了一个传统，他们会将氏族最优秀的战士派往伊斯塔伦，成为狮鹫大公的武技长。当然，没有兽人会愿意违背自己的意愿以服侍人类，所以每一任武技长都必须是自愿的，而他们中的第一任正是白茅氏族的酋长——克拉尔。

Throughout the centuries, the relationship between Orcs and Humans within the Griffin Duchy has been… uneven, to say the least. Nowadays, most Orcs are content to stay in their mountainous steppes and not interact with the “babyteeth”, as they call Humans, unless the need is dire. When Ivan became Duke, there had been no volunteer in decades, and the old custom was little more than a legend of days past.

随着岁月变迁，兽人与狮鹫公国人类之间的关系变得...至少是不那么平衡了。如今，大部分兽人情愿待在自己的山脉与草原，而不愿意插手这些被他们称为“幼齿”的人类之间的事务，除非事情真急到火上眉梢。于是，在伊凡成为大公之后的十来年内，始终没有自愿者出现，而这古老的传统如今基本也就是个旧日传说罢了。

Such was the state of things when Kente rode to Eastalon and, unexpectedly, offered his sword to the Duke of Griffin.

正是此时，肯特出人意料地前往伊斯塔伦，并向狮鹫大公献上自己的剑。

A direct descendant of the great chieftain Kraal, it is my understanding that Kente often communes with his Ancestors through dreams and meditations. It seems that these guardian spirits have warned him of a dark time to come, when “a Demon in the shape of a woman would paint the Empire in red, and the Orcs would be made slaves again”. When Empress Maeve was assassinated, Kente started to suspect this was the event he had foreseen. He immediately saddled his robust steppe horse, said goodbye to his mate and children, and went to Eastalon to fulfil his destiny.

作为伟大酋长克拉尔的直系后代，我认为这正是肯特常常会在梦境与冥想中与先知交流的原因。这些守护灵们警告肯特，一个黑暗的时代将要来临：“一个披着女人皮的恶魔将把帝国染成一片血红，而兽人们会再次成为奴隶”。当玫芙女皇被刺身亡后，肯特开始怀疑这正是他所预示到的事情。于是他立刻跨上自己那匹稳重的草原骏马，告别伴侣与孩子，出发前往伊斯塔伦履行自己的使命。

Kente is certain that Ivan has to become Emperor to prevent his vision from ever coming completely true. He also has hopes of rekindling the friendship that once united his people to the Griffin dynasty. That way, he believes, the spectre of slavery would never return to threaten his people. Sadly, not many Orcs share his views on these matters.

肯特确信只有伊凡成为皇帝才能阻止他所预示的未来变成现实。同时，他也期望着能够重新恢复他的人民与狮鹫王朝之间的友谊。他坚信，只有通过这种方式才能避免奴隶制死灰复燃威胁到他的人民。可悲的是，并没有多少兽人赞同他的观点。

In many ways, Kente is the opposite of the Orc stereotype of the bloodthirsty, mindless brute. His intelligence and military acumen are not to be underestimated, yet he is a strong advocate of peaceful solutions… which won’t prevent him from cutting his enemies in two if they’re asking for it. While not sparring or hunting with the Duke, Kente spends most of his time in Eastalon’s menagerie, tending to the dogs, horses and Griffins. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is also surprisingly popular with children. The little ones love to hear him recount tales of great heroes of the past, in the lively manner of his people. I believe all children in Eastalon now know the stories of characters such as Malathua, Kunyak, Batu or even Goink the handsomest Goblin.

从许多方面来看，肯特都是那种嗜血、无脑的传统兽人模板的对立面。他的聪慧与军事素养不容小觑，同时也是和平方案的坚定支持者，不过，这并不妨碍他将那些自找苦吃的敌人斩成两段。除了和大公对练或是外出打猎以外，肯特大部分时间都在伊斯塔伦的兽园里，与猎犬、骏马和狮鹫们待在一起。尽管他外表吓人，但是出人意料的是，他在孩子们之间的人气却不低。小家伙们很喜欢听他用兽人们的生动方式来讲述那些过去英雄们的传奇故事。我猜伊斯塔伦的小孩子们现在都已经熟知像是玛剌刹、库恩亚克、巴图，甚至是最帅地精戈印克的故事。

Kente is content to play the dumb Orc in the Humans’ presence, if that can help put them at ease. Only a few people – among them Ivan, Anastasya and of course myself – realize this is all an act. It’s something Kraal also used to do, which greatly amuses Anastasya.

在有外人出现时，肯特常常装傻，如果这能使那些人类放松的话。只有几个人，像是伊凡、安娜斯塔西娅，当然还有我，知道这不过是演技而已。克拉尔过去也常用这一手，这总是能让安娜斯塔西娅感到开心。