알라산: 제1장

시대에 이름이 붙고 숫자로 해를 세기 전에는, 우리 민족은 영광스럽고 영원했으며 불변했다. 마치 거대한 떡갈나무처럼, 그들은 전통을 지키며 튼튼히 뿌리내린 채 하늘을 향해 뻗어 나갔다.

그들은 영생을 누렸기에 언제나 서두르지 않았다. 그들은 신을 숭배하는 데 수 개월의 시간을 쏟았다. 수십 년의 토론 이후에야 결정을 내렸으며, 이를 채용하는 데에도 몇 년이 걸렸다. 우리 조상들은 때때로 수 세기 동안 잠에 빠지곤 했지만, 이것은 죽음이 아니었다. 우리가 알기로 그들은 꿈속에서 영계를 여행했다.

그 시대에 우리 민족은 모든 땅을 엘브헤난이라고 불렀는데, 옛말로는 '우리 민족의 장소'라는 뜻이다. 그리고 세상의 중심에는 위대한 도시인 알라산이 서 있었다. 그곳은 지식과 토론의 장소였다. 고대 엘프 중에서도 최고의 인재들이 지식을 나누고, 오랜 친구를 맞이하며, 수 천 년 동안 이어진 논쟁을 해결하는 곳이었다.

그러나 우리 조상들이 끝없는 시대의 순환에 사로잡혀, 오늘날의 우리로서는 참을 수 없을 만큼 느린 속도로 삶을 떠도는 동안, 무성한 숲과 고목 밖의 세상은 변하고 있었다.

시작은 북쪽의 파 볼렌에서 온 인간들이었다. 고대인들에 의해 솀렌, 즉 "빠른 것들"이라고 불린 이 인간들은 찰나를 살아가는 불쌍한 생명체였다. 엘프와의 첫만남에 인간들은 무모하고 호전적으로 굴었고, 쉽게 화를 냈으며 싸움을 일으키는 데 거리낌이 없었다. 그들은 엘프 식 외교의 느긋한 속도에도 인내심을 보이지 못했다.

그러나 인간들은 전쟁보다 더 나쁜 것들을 가져왔다. 우리 조상들은 인간의 질병에 취약했고, 역사상 처음으로 엘프들이 자연사하기 시작했다. 게다가, 인간과 물물교환이나 협상을 하며 시간을 보낸 엘프들은 인간들의 경솔하고 조급한 삶의 병폐로 더럽혀져 늙어가기 시작했다. 많은 엘프가 옛 신들이 그들을 영생의 자격이 없다고 판단하여 찰나의 삶을 사는 생명 사이로 추방해 버렸다고 믿었다. 마치 지금 인간들이 우리 민족을 바라보듯이, 우리 선조들은 인간을 기생충으로 여기게 되었다. 고대 엘프는 이 변화가 문명을 붕괴시킬 것을 우려했고, 즉시 인간으로부터 엘브헤난을 고립시켰다.

—데일스 엘프 랠러피린 부족의 수호자, 기샤렐의 이야기를 바탕으로 한 알라산의 멸망에서 발췌

 

Arlathan: Part One

Before the ages were named or numbered, our people were glorious and eternal and never-changing. Like the great oak tree, they were constant in their traditions, strong in their roots, and ever reaching for the sky.

They felt no need to rush when life was endless. They worshipped their gods for months at a time. Decisions came after decades of debate, and an introduction could last for years. From time to time, our ancestors would drift into centuries-long slumber, but this was not death, for we know they wandered the Fade in dreams.

In those ages, our people called all the land Elvhenan, which in the old language means "place of our people." And at the center of the world stood the great city of Arlathan, a place of knowledge and debate, where the best of the ancient elves would go to trade knowledge, greet old friends, and settle disputes that had gone on for millennia.

But while our ancestors were caught up in the forever cycle of ages, drifting through life at what we today would consider an intolerable pace, the world outside the lush forests and ancient trees was changing.

The humans first arrived from Par Vollen to the north. Called shemlen, or "quicklings," by the ancients, the humans were pitiful creatures whose lives blinked by in an instant. When they first met the elves, the humans were brash and warlike, quick to anger and quicker to fight, with no patience for the unhurried pace of elven diplomacy.

But the humans brought worse things than war with them. Our ancestors proved susceptible to human diseases, and for the first time in history, elves died of natural causes. What's more, those elves who spent time bartering and negotiating with humans found themselves aging, tainted by the humans' brash and impatient lives. Many believed that the ancient gods had judged them unworthy of their long lives and cast them down among the quicklings. Our ancestors came to look upon the humans as parasites, which I understand is similar to the way the humans see our people in the cities. The ancient elves immediately moved to close Elvhenan off from the humans, for fear that this quickening effect would crumble the civilization.

—The Fall of Arlathan, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves