9. THE WIZARD'S TALE

CHAPTER 9 THE WIZARD'S TALE Drake, Jean, Worm, and Argent saw a man with a gray beard and gray eyes. In fact, his whole body was gray and sort of see-through.

德雷克、简、虫子和阿金特看见了一个灰胡子灰眼睛的人。 事实上，他的整个身体都是灰色的，有点透明。

Jean drew her sword and marched toward him. "Who are you, and what is this place?" she asked The man shook his head, as if waking from a dream. "The Shadow Realm is a world created by Chaya the Shadow Dragon," he replied. "It is a prison from which no one can..." His voice trailed off, and he started to walk away.

琼拔出剑，向他走去。 “你是谁，这是什么地方？”她问。男人摇了摇头，好像从梦中醒来。 “暗影王国是暗影巨龙查雅创造的世界。”他回答道。 “这是一座监狱，谁也不能从里面出来……” 他的声音变小了，开始走开。

Drake jogged after him. "Did Chaya send you here, too?" he asked. The man blinked. "Oh yes, sorry. I am Vanad, Aruna's wizard. What has happened to Aruna and Chaya is my fault." "Tell us what happened," Jean said, lowering her sword. "I will show you," Vanad said. He held up a finger. "I have a little magic left." He drew a circle in the air, and a faint light shimmered inside it. An image appeared—a golden flower with a red jewel in its center.

德雷克跟在他后面慢跑。“也是查雅派你来的吗？”他问。 那人眨了眨眼睛。“哦，是的，对不起。 我是瓦纳德，阿鲁纳的巫师。 阿鲁纳和查亚的遭遇都是我的错。” “告诉我们发生了什么事。”琼放下剑说。 “我来告诉你，”瓦纳德说。 他举起一根手指。“我还有一点魔法。” 他在空中画了一个圆圈，圆圈里闪烁着微弱的光芒。 一个图像出现了——一朵金色的花，中间镶着一颗红色的宝石。

"I come from a long line of wizards," Vanad began. As he spoke, his body flickered briefly, like a candle flame. "One thousand years ago, one of my ancestors discovered the sprout of a Balam flower. Every thousand years, this special flower produces one seed." In the image, the red jewel opened up to reveal a red seed. "The seed gives great power to the one who eats it," Vanad continued. "Every time a wizard uses magic, the Balam seed absorbs their power. The seed will keep absorbing power until all wizards lose their magic."

“我来自一个长长的巫师家族。”瓦纳德开始说。 他说话的时候，他的身体像蜡烛的火焰一样闪烁了一下。 “一千年前，我的一位祖先发现了巴兰花的芽。 每隔一千年，这种特殊的花就会结出一颗种子。” 在图像中，红色宝石打开，露出一颗红色的种子。 瓦纳德接着说：“吃这种子的人会有很大的能力。” “每次巫师使用魔法，巴兰种子就会吸收他们的力量。 种子会一直吸收能量，直到所有巫师都失去魔法。”

Drake gasped. "So whoever eats the seed would have all the magic in the world, and nobody else would have any!" Vanad stared at the flower. "I knew that the red jewel would open up during my lifetime. I counted down the days until I could be all-powerful. I told myself that I would do good things for the world. And while I waited for the seed, a Dragon Master came to train with me." An image of Aruna appeared. Her hair was black, not gray, and her eyes were brown, as Drake had briefly seen.

德雷克气喘吁吁地说。“所以谁吃了种子，谁就会拥有世界上所有的魔法，而其他人则没有！”Vanad盯着那朵花。 “我知道这颗红色的宝石会在我有生之年打开。 我数着日子，直到我变得无所不能。 我告诉自己，我要为世界做好事。 在我等待种子的时候，一位龙大师来和我一起训练。” 阿鲁纳的形象出现了。 她的头发是黑色的，不是灰色的，她的眼睛是棕色的，就像德雷克短暂看到的那样。

"Aruna was a good student. We had happy times working together," Vanad said. "But soon I became distracted by the flower. I was eager for the seed to appear. I sat by the flower for hours, then days. I did not eat." "Aruna must have been worried about you," Drake remarked. Vanad nodded. "She was. And she knew something that I did not: No one should eat the Balam seed. Too much power is dangerous and tempting. Aruna believed that such a seed had to be a tool of evil magic. That the power would curse whoever ate the seed."

“阿鲁纳是个好学生。 我们在一起工作过很多快乐的时光。” 但很快我就被这朵花吸引住了。 我渴望种子的出现。 我在花旁坐了几个小时，然后几天。 我没有吃东西。”“阿鲁纳一定很担心你。”德雷克说。 Vanad点点头。“她是。她知道一件我不知道的事，就是谁也不可吃巴兰的种子。 太多的权力既危险又诱人。 阿鲁纳相信这样的种子一定是邪恶魔法的工具。 这种力量会诅咒吃了种子的人。”