題名 † 
原題 †
- 16 Accords of Madness, v. IX
訳題 †
本文 †
原文 †
<div align="center"><font face=1><br>
<br><br>Sixteen Accords of Madness<br> Volume IX<br>
<IMG src="Book/fancy_font/v_63x62.dds" width=63 height=62>aermina's Tale<br>
<div align="left"><br>
<br>
Darius Shano found himself running as fast as he could.<br>
<br>
He had no idea what he was running from or towards, but he didn't care. The desire saturated his mind -- there was nothing in the world except flight. He looked around for landmarks, anything to place himself or to use as a target, but to no avail -- the featureless grasslands through which he was sprinting extended as far as the eye could see. "Just have to keep running", he thought to himself. "I have to run as fast as I can". On and on he ran, with no end in sight or in mind....<br>
<br>
Standing over Darius Shano while he lay quietly in his bed were his mistress, Vaermina the Dreamweaver, and the Madgod Sheogorath. Vaernima looked down with pride at this disciple of hers, and was boastful of her little jewel.<br>
<br>
"Such potential in this one! Through dreams of inspiration, I have nurtured literary talent into fruition, and now he stands in acclaim as an emerging bard and poet! He will gain much favor before I tire of him." Sheogorath, too, gazed at the young Breton artist and saw that he was indeed famous among the other mortals.<br>
<br>
"Hmmm," mused Sheogorath, "but how many are there who hate this mortal whom you have built? It is the hatred of the mortals which confirms greatness, and not their love. Surely you can accomplish this as well?"<br>
<br>
Vaernima's eyes narrowed. "Yes, the mortals are indeed often foolish and petty, and it is true that many of their most bold have been despised. Do not worry, mad one, for I have the power to achieve many forms of greatness with this one, hatred among them."<br>
<br>
"Perhaps, Dreamweaver, it would be amusing to show who has this power? Inspire foolish, arrogant hatred of this mortal for ten years, and then I will do the same. We shall see whose talents are most efficient, free of aid or interference from any of the Daedra."<br>
<br>
At this, she relaxed into confident pleasure. "The Madgod is indeed powerful, but this task is suited to my skills. The mortals are repulsed by madness, but rarely think it worthy of hate. I shall take pleasure in revealing this to you, as I bring the more subtle horrors out of this mortal's subconscious."<br>
<br>
And so, in the 19th year of his life, the dreams Darius Shano had been experiencing began to change. Fear had always been part of the night for him, but now there was something else. A darkness began to creep into his slumber, a darkness that sucked away all feeling and color, leaving only emptiness behind. When this happened, he opened his mouth to scream, but found that the darkness had taken his voice as well. All he had was the terror and the void, and each night they filled him with a new understanding of death. Yet, when he woke, there was no fear, for he had faith that his Lady had a purpose.<br>
<br>
Indeed, one night Vaernima herself emerged from the void. She leaned in close to whisper into his ear.<br>
<br>
"Watch carefully, my beloved!" With that, she pulled the void away, and for hours each night she would reveal to Darius the most horrible perversions of nature. Men being skinned and eaten alive by other men, unimaginable beasts of many limbs and mouths, entire populations being burned -- their screams filled his every evening. In time, these visions gnawed at his soul, and his work began to take on the character of his nightmares. The images revealed to him at night were reproduced on the page, and the terrible cruelty and hollow vice that his work contained both revolted and fascinated the public. They reveled in their disgust over every detail. There were those who openly enjoyed his shocking material, and his popularity among some only fed the hatred of those who found him abhorrent. This continued for several years, while the infamy of Darius grew steadily. Then, in his 29th year, without warning, the dreams and nightmares ceased.<br>
<br>
Darius felt a weight lifted, as he no longer endured the nightly tortures, but was confused. "What have I done to displease my Mistress?", he wondered aloud. "Why has she abandoned me?" Vaernima never answered his prayers. No one ever answered, and the restless dreams faded away to leave Darius in long, deep sleeps.<br>
<br>
Interest in the works of Darius Shano waned. His prose became stale and his ideas failed to provoke the shock and outrage they once had. As the memory of his notoriety and of his terrible dreams faded, the questions that raced in his mind eventually produced resentment against Vaernima, his former mistress. Resentment grew into hatred, from hatred came ridicule, and over time ridicule became disbelief. Slowly it became obvious -- Vaernima had never spoken to him at all; his dreams were simply the product of a sick mind that had righted itself. He had been deceived by his own subconscious, and the anger and shame overwhelmed him. The man who once conversed with a deity drifted steadily into heresy.<br>
<br>
In time, all of the bitterness, doubt, and sacrilege focused in Darius a creative philosophy that was threaded throughout all of his subsequent work. He challenged the Gods themselves, as well as the infantile public and corrupt state for worshiping them. He mocked them all with perverse caricatures, sparing no one and giving no quarter. He challenged the Gods in public to strike him down if they existed, and ridiculed them when no such comeuppance was delivered. To all of this, the people reacted with outrage far greater than they had shown his previous work. His early career had offended only sensibilities, but now he was striking directly at the heart of the people.<br>
<br>
His body of work grew in size and intensity. Temples, nobles, and commoners were all targets of his scorn. Finally, at age 39, Darius wrote a piece entitled "The Noblest Fool," ridiculing The Emperor God Tiber Septim for integrating into the pathetic Nine Divines cult. The local King of Daenia, who had been humiliated by this upstart in the past, saw his chance -- for his sacrilege against the Empire, Darius Shano was executed, with a ceremonial blade, in front of a cheering crowd of hundreds. His last, bitter words were gurgled through a mouthful of his own blood.<br>
<br>
20 years after their wager was first placed, Vaernima and Sheogorath met over Darius Shano's headless corpse. The Dreamweaver had been eager for this meeting; she had been waiting for years to confront the Daedric Prince over his lack of action.<br>
<br>
"I have been deceived by you, Sheogorath! I performed my half of the bargain, but during your ten years you never contacted the mortal once. He owes none of his greatness to you or your talents or your influence!"<br>
<br>
"Nonsense," croaked the Madgod. "I was with him all along! When your time ended and mine began, your whispers in his ear were replaced with silence. I severed his link to that from which he found the most comfort and meaning, and withheld the very attention the creature so desperately craved. Without his mistress, this man's character could ripen under resentment and hatred. Now his bitterness is total and, overcome by a madness fueled by his rage, he feeds me in my realm as an eternal servant."<br>
<br>
Sheogorath turned and spoke to the empty space by his side.<br>
<br>
"Indeed; Darius Shano was a glorious mortal. Despised by his own people, his kings, and even by the Gods he mocked. For my success, I shall accept three-score followers of Vaernima into my service. And the dreamers will awaken as madmen."<br>
<br>
And thus did Sheogorath teach Vaernima that without madness, there are no dreams, and no creation. Vaernima will never forget this lesson.<br>
<br>
訳文 †
【訳文記述エリア】
<div align="center"><font face=1><br>
<br><br>Sixteen Accords of Madness<br> Volume IX<br>
<IMG src="Book/fancy_font/v_63x62.dds" width=63 height=62>aermina's Tale<br>
<div align="left"><br>
<br>
Darius Shanoが気づいた時、彼はすでに走っていた。あらん限りの全速力であった。<br>
<br>
自分は何から逃げているのか？どこへ向かっているのか？何も分からなかった。だが彼にとってそんな事はどうでも良かったのだ。思考はただ一点、逃げおおせる事だけに集中していた。周囲を見回しても目印や居場所、目的地になるような物はいっさい存在しない。ただのっぺりとした草原が見渡す限りに広がるばかりで、その中を彼は駆けていた。『走り続けなければ。』彼は内心で呟いた。『少しだって足の動きを緩めてはならないのだ。』…しかし、進めども進めども終わりが見える気配は全く無い。きりが無いという点では彼の強迫観念もまた同様であった。<br>
<br>
同じ頃、ベッドに静かに横たわるDarius Shanoを見下ろす者がいた。一人は彼の主君たる女王こと夢紡ぎのVaermina。もう一人は狂神Sheogorathである。Vaerminaは自身の崇拝者を誇らしげに見つめた。その様子はまるで自慢の宝石を見せびらかしているかのようであった。<br>
<br>
『何という素晴らしい潜在力をこの子は秘めているのかしら！私の紡いだ刺激的な夢の数々は彼の文学の才能を開花させ、これまでにも結実して来たわ。今では新進気鋭の詩人にして歌い手、と喝采を浴びているのよ。私の飽きが来るまでにはきっと、ずいぶんと名を上げる事でしょうね。』Sheogorathもまたこの若きBretonの芸術家を凝視したが、確かに彼は他の人々の間でも名高い男なのだという事が見てとれた。<br>
<br>
『ふむ。』物思いに耽りながらSheogorathは続けた。『お前さんの仕立て上げたこの人間だが、こやつを嫌う者はどれほどいるかな？人の真価を裏打ちするのは憎悪なのだよ。愛などではない。今までは上手くやれてきたようだが、お前さんにこれが出来るかな？』<br>
<br>
Vaerminaは目を細めた。『当然のことよ。ときに人間は愚劣で卑小なもの。多くの勇者が蔑まれてきたこともまた事実だわ。心配無用よ、気狂い男さん。私にはこの子が多くの偉業を達成できるようにする力があるし、憎悪だって例外ではないの。』<br>
<br>
"Perhaps, Dreamweaver, it would be amusing to show who has this power? Inspire foolish, arrogant（傲慢な、無礼な） hatred of this mortal for ten years, and then I will do the same. We shall see whose talents are most efficient（手際がよい）, free of aid（援助、救済） or interference（邪魔、干渉） from any of the Daedra."<br>
<br>
At this, she relaxed into confident pleasure. "The Madgod is indeed powerful, but this task is suited to my skills. The mortals are repulsed（拒絶する、撃退する） by madness, but rarely think it worthy of hate. I shall take pleasure in revealing this to you, as I bring the more subtle（巧妙な） horrors（恐怖、恐ろしい人） out of this mortal's subconscious（潜在意識）."<br>
<br>
And so, in the 19th year of his life, the dreams Darius Shano had been experiencing began to change. Fear had always been part of the night for him, but now there was something else. A darkness began to creep into his slumber（眠り、まどろみ）, a darkness that sucked away all feeling and color, leaving only emptiness（空虚） behind. When this happened, he opened his mouth to scream, but found that the darkness had taken his voice as well. All he had was the terror and the void（空虚）, and each night they filled him with a new understanding of death. Yet, when he woke, there was no fear, for he had faith that his Lady had a purpose.<br>
<br>
Indeed, one night Vaernima herself emerged from the void. She leaned in close to whisper into his ear.<br>
<br>
"Watch carefully, my beloved!" With that, she pulled the void away, and for hours each night she would reveal to Darius the most horrible（恐ろしい、ひどく深いな、身の毛もよだつ） perversions（性的倒錯、変態、背徳、逸脱） of nature. Men being skinned（皮を剥ぐ） and eaten alive by other men, unimaginable beasts of many limbs（肢、翼、ひれ） and mouths, entire populations（全住民） being burned -- their screams filled his every evening. In time（そうこうするうちに）, these visions gnawed（〜を苦しめる、悩ます） at his soul, and his work began to take on（〜を帯びる、呈する） the character of his nightmares. The images revealed to him at night were reproduced（再生される） on the page, and the terrible（ひどくいやな、極度の） cruelty（残虐行為） and hollow（うつろな） vice（悪徳、不道徳） that his work contained both revolted（〜に嫌悪を抱かせる、むかむかさせる） and fascinated（〜を魅了する、悩殺する） the public（公衆）. They reveled in their disgust（嫌悪感） over every detail. There were those who openly enjoyed his shocking material（題材）, and his popularity（人気） among some only fed the hatred of those who found him abhorrent（大嫌いな）. This continued for several years, while the infamy（悪名） of Darius grew steadily（着々と、徐々に、間断なく）. Then, in his 29th year, without warning, the dreams and nightmares ceased（中断する、終わる）.<br>
<br>
Darius felt a weight lifted, as he no longer endured the nightly tortures, but was confused. "What have I done to displease（〜を不愉快にさせる、〜の不興を買う） my Mistress?", he wondered（疑問に思う） aloud（声に出して）. "Why has she abandoned me?" Vaernima never answered his prayers. No one ever answered, and the restless dreams faded away to leave Darius in long, deep sleeps.<br>
<br>
Interest（興味） in the works of Darius Shano waned（衰える、薄れる）. His prose（散文） became stale（気が抜けたような、新鮮味がない） and his ideas failed to provoke（〜を引き起こす） the shock and outrage（〜を激怒させる） they once had. As the memory of his notoriety（悪名） and of his terrible dreams faded, the questions that raced in（走りこむ） his mind eventually produced resentment（怒り） against Vaernima, his former mistress. Resentment grew into hatred, from hatred came ridicule（冷笑、愚弄、あざけり）, and over time ridicule became disbelief（不信）. Slowly it became obvious（明白な） -- Vaernima had never spoken to him at all; his dreams were simply the product of a sick mind that had righted（〜を正しい位置に戻す、〜を立て直す） itself. He had been deceived by his own subconscious, and the anger and shame overwhelmed him. The man who once conversed with（〜と話をする） a deity drifted steadily into heresy（異端）.<br>
<br>
In time（そうこうするうちに）, all of the bitterness（苦しみ、敵意）, doubt（疑問、疑念）, and sacrilege（冒涜、神性を汚す行為） focused in Darius a creative philosophy that was threaded throughout all of his subsequent（後にくる、その後の） work. He challenged the Gods themselves, as well as the infantile（子供っぽい、幼稚な） public and corrupt（〜堕落させる、腐敗させる） state for worshiping them. He mocked（〜を馬鹿にする、嘲り笑う） them all with perverse（邪悪な、あまのじゃくな） caricatures（風刺、パロディー）, sparing（〜を手放す、〜を容認する） no one and giving no quarter（寛大な措置）. He challenged the Gods in public to strike him down if they existed, and ridiculed them when no such comeuppance（天罰） was delivered. To all of this, the people reacted with outrage far greater than they had shown his previous work. His early career had offended only sensibilities（感覚、感受性）, but now he was striking directly at the heart of the people.<br>
<br>
His body of work grew in size and intensity（強烈さ）. Temples（寺院）, nobles（貴族）, and commoners（民衆） were all targets of his scorn（あざけり）. Finally, at age 39, Darius wrote a piece entitled "The Noblest Fool," ridiculing The Emperor God Tiber Septim for integrating into the pathetic（痛ましい、哀れをさそう） Nine Divines cult. The local King of Daenia, who had been humiliated（恥をかかせる、〜をさらし者にする） by this upstart（成り上がり者） in the past, saw his chance -- for his sacrilege（冒涜） against the Empire, Darius Shano was executed（刑場の露と消える）, with a ceremonial blade, in front of a cheering crowd（喝采をあげる民衆） of hundreds. His last, bitter words were gurgled（喉をならす） through a mouthful of his own blood.<br>
<br>
20 years after their wager（賭け） was first placed, Vaernima and Sheogorath met over Darius Shano's headless corpse. The Dreamweaver had been eager for（〜を熱望する） this meeting; she had been waiting for years to confront the Daedric Prince over his lack of（〜の欠如） action.<br>
<br>
"I have been deceived（だまされた） by you, Sheogorath! I performed my half of the bargain（契約、交渉、駆け引き、取引）, but during your ten years you never contacted the mortal once. He owes（〜に借りがある、〜返すべき義務を負っている） none of his greatness to you or your talents or your influence!"<br>
<br>
"Nonsense," croaked（しわがれた声で話す） the Madgod. "I was with him all along! When your time ended and mine began, your whispers in his ear were replaced with silence. I severed（〜を切断する、隔てる） his link to that from which he found the most comfort and meaning, and withheld（名前を伏せて） the very attention the creature so desperately（必死になって） craved（懇願する、強く望む）. Without his mistress, this man's character could ripen（成熟する） under resentment（怒り、憤慨、憤り） and hatred. Now his bitterness（苦痛） is total（完全な） and, overcome（克服する） by a madness fueled by his rage, he feeds me in my realm as an eternal servant."<br>
<br>
Sheogorath turned and spoke to the empty space by his side.<br>
<br>
"Indeed; Darius Shano was a glorious mortal. Despised（軽蔑される） by his own people, his kings, and even by the Gods he mocked. For my success, I shall accept three-score（60の？？） followers（信奉者） of Vaernima into my service（雇用？）. And the dreamers will awaken as madmen."<br>
<br>
And thus did Sheogorath teach Vaernima that without madness, there are no dreams, and no creation. Vaernima will never forget this lesson（実践的な知恵、授業、教え、貴重な経験）.<br>
<br>
