优先遵循ANK汉化
嫁妆
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2022-11-14更新
最新编辑:Lu_23333
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更新日期：2022-11-14
最新编辑：Lu_23333
嫁妆
耶纳雷是冈纳最富有的地主，他存了几年的钱，作他女儿杰妮弗的嫁妆。当她到了谈婚论嫁的年龄，她就把钱藏起来好好保管，并对外招女婿。她是个美丽的少女，也是一位学者和体育家，但她不苟言笑。然而，这一性格缺点并没有影响她的追求者们，他们更注意到她优秀的一面。他们都知道，如果自己成为杰妮弗的丈夫，耶纳雷的女婿，那万贯家财就是他的了。这笔钱已经足够支付上百次庭审的开庭费。
“娶我女儿的人”耶纳雷对这些人说，“不能纯粹为了钱。他必须展示自我价值来赢得我的赏识”
这短短的一句话就打消了一大部分追求者的念头，他们知道自己卑微的身份不会被地主看中。仍有几十人几天后回来了，他们穿着银缎的高贵服装，带着奇异的仆人，坐着华丽的四轮马车。在这些巴结耶纳雷的人中，威林·纳伊瑞利克是最华贵的。人们从来没听说过这个人，他乘坐者由几头龙拉的黑檀车，穿着珍稀的衣服，带着一大群冈纳人从未见过的奇异的仆人。男仆们头上四面都长了眼睛，女仆们浑身上下长着精致的宝石。
但这些对耶纳雷来说还不够。
“娶我女儿的人必须先证明自己很聪明，我不想招一个笨蛋当我的女婿和商业伙伴”他宣布。
这又淘汰了一大部分腰缠万贯的追求者，他们虽然过着奢侈的生活，但不根本需要经常思考。可仍有一些人几天后找上门，来展示他们的才智，引用、谈论那些圣人，表达自己对玄学和炼金术的独到见解。威林·纳伊瑞利克也来了，并邀请耶纳雷到他在城外租的别墅里吃饭。在那里，地主看到成群的研究员在翻译亚历德的文献，津津有味地听着这位年轻人些许冒犯但十分有趣的言语。
虽然耶纳雷十分赏识威林·纳伊瑞利克，但他又提了一个要求。
“我太爱我的女儿了”耶纳雷说，“我希望娶她的男人能让她开心。如果你们中谁能让她笑，她和嫁妆就是你的了”
追求者们排了好几天的队，轮流给她唱歌，对她告白，吟诗赞美她的美丽。而杰妮弗只是还以厌恶和忧郁的眼神。站在一旁的耶纳雷都快绝望了。追求者们都失败了，最后轮到威林·纳伊瑞利克了。
“我会让令千金笑的”他说，“我保证，但您得先同意我们结婚。如果她在订婚后一小时内她不开心了，我们的婚姻就结束了”
耶纳雷转向女儿。她没笑。但从她的眼中可以看出，她对这个年轻男人有了病态的好奇心。由于其他的追求者从未令她那么好奇，他同意了。
“嫁妆在你们正式结婚前不会给你”耶纳雷说，“光订婚是不够的”
“那我能看看这笔嫁妆吗？”威林问道。
这笔钱如此机密，而这个年轻人将最有可能成为这笔钱的拥有者，于是他同意了。他十分欣赏威林。在他的安排下，威林、耶纳雷、闷闷不乐的杰妮弗和城寨主，钻入幽深的冈纳地堡中。第一道门需要触碰一系列的符文才能打开，如果其中一个碰错了，密密麻麻的毒箭将射向盗贼。最令耶纳雷自豪的是第二道机关，那里有十八处机关刺，需要同时转动三把钥匙才能打开门。如果谁妄图撬其中一个锁，机关刺将会把他刺穿。最后，他们来到了储藏室。
那里空空如也。
“洛可罕啊，钱被偷了！”耶纳雷大叫，“但这是怎么做到的？又是谁做的？”
“一个卑微的，也许很有才能的偷盗者”威林说，“在很远的地方，有个男人爱慕你的女儿好几年了，但他没有魅力和学识来赢得她的心。直到作她嫁妆的那笔钱给了我这个机会”
“你？”耶纳雷咆哮道，他简直不敢相信这是真的。
紧接着，更不可思议的事情发生了。
杰妮弗笑了。她从未想过像这个小偷一样的男人。她当着愤怒的老爸的面，投进了威林的怀抱。然后，耶纳雷也大笑起来。
杰妮弗和威林当月就结婚了。虽然他实际上很穷、没多少学识，但耶纳雷惊奇的发现，自从有了这么一个女婿和商业伙伴，他的财富大幅增加。他只是一直记着从不去问这一大笔钱是哪里来的。
出版商注：
一个年轻人为了追求一个姑娘接受其父亲（通常是富人或者国王）的考验是一个很常见的故事。比如最近流传的乔尔·约依维斯写的《贝妮塔的四个求婚者》。这里面人物的行为看起来很不符合矮人的特征，而且我们对于他们的婚俗一无所知，甚至都不知道他们到底有没有婚姻。
关于锻莫人的消失，马罗巴·苏尔在本篇和一些其他的故事里有提及一个理论。据说锻莫人根本没有消失，他们没有离开奈恩世界，甚至连泰姆瑞尔都没有离开。他们就在我们中间，只不过伪装起来了。这些学者讲述了阿祖拉与宝盒的故事来说明锻莫人很害怕阿祖拉，他们永远无法掌握后者的脾气，因此他们换上了奇莫或者傲尔特莫的外衣来躲避阿祖拉。
Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, Part X: The Dowry
The Dowry Ancient Tales of the Dwemer Part X
Ynaleigh was the wealthiest landowner in Gunal, and he had over the years saved a tremendous dowry for the man who would marry his daughter, Genefra. When she reached the age of consent, he locked the gold away for safe-keeping, and announced his intention to have her marry. She was a comely lass, a scholar, a great athlete, but dour and brooding in aspect. This personality defect did not bother her potential suitors any more than her positive traits impressed them. Every man knew the tremendous wealth that would be his as the husband of Genefra and son-in-law of Ynaleigh. That alone was enough for hundreds to come to Gunal to pay court.
"The man who will marry my daughter," said Ynaleigh to the assembled. "Must not be doing so purely out of avarice. He must demonstrate his own wealth to my satisfaction."
This simple pronouncement removed a vast majority of the suitors, who knew they could not impress the landowner with their meager fortunes. A few dozen did come forward within a few days, clad in fine killarc cloth of spun silver, accompanied by exotic servants, traveling in magnificent carriages. Of all who came who met with Ynaleigh's approval, none arrived in a more resplendent fashion that Welyn Naerillic. The young man, who no one had ever heard of, arrived in a shining ebon coach drawn by a team of dragons, his clothing of rarest manufacture, and accompanied by an army of the most fantastical servants any of Gunal had ever seen. Valets with eyes on all sides of their heads, maidservants that seemed cast in gemstones.
But such was not enough with Ynaleigh.
"The man who marries my daughter must prove himself a intelligent fellow, for I would not have an ignoramus as a son-in-law and business partner," he declared.
This eliminated a large part of the wealthy suitors, who, through their lives of luxury, had never needed to think very much if at all. Still some came forward over the next few days, demonstrating their wit and learning, quoting the great sages of the past and offering their philosophies of metaphysics and alchemy. Welyn Naerillic too came and asked Ynaleigh to dine at the villa he had rented outside of Gunal. There the landowner saw scores of scribes working on translations of Aldmeri tracts, and enjoyed the young man's somewhat irreverent but intriguing intelligence.
Nevertheless, though he was much impressed with Welyn Naerillic, Ynaleigh had another challenge.
"I love my daughter very much," said Ynaleigh. "And I hope that the man who marries her will make her happy as well. Should any of you make her smile, she and the great dowry are yours."
The suitors lined up for days, singing her songs, proclaiming their devotion, describing her beauty in the most poetic of terms. Genefra merely glared at all with hatred and melancholia. Ynaleigh who stood by her side began to despair at last. His daughter's suitors were failing to a man at this task. Finally Welyn Naerillic came to the chamber.
"I will make your daughter smile," he said. "I dare say, I'll make her laugh, but only after you've agreed to marry us. If she is not delighted within one hour of our engagement, the wedding can be called off."
Ynaleigh turned to his daughter. She was not smiling, but her eyes had sparked with some morbid curiosity in this young man. As no other suitor had even registered that for her, he agreed.
"The dowry is naturally not to be paid 'til after you've wed," said Ynaleigh. "Being engaged is not enough."
"Might I see the dowry still?" asked Welyn.
Knowing how fabled the treasure was and understanding that this would likely be the closest the young man would come to possessing it, Ynaleigh agreed. He had grown quite found of Welyn. On his orders, Welyn, Ynaleigh, glum Genefra, and the castellan delved deep into the stronghold of Gunal. The first vault had to be opened by touching a series of runic symbols: should one of the marks be mispressed, a volley of poisoned arrows would have struck the thief. Ynaleigh was particularly proud of the next level of security -- a lock composed of blades with eighteen tumblers required three keys to be turned simultaneously to allow entry. The blades were designed to eviscerate any who merely picked one of the locks. Finally, they reached the storeroom.
It was entirely empty.
"By Lorkhan, we've been burgled!" cried Ynaleigh. "But how? Who could have done this?"
"A humble but, if I may say so, rather talented burglar," said Welyn. "A man who has loved your daughter from afar for many years, but did not possess the glamour or the learning to impress. That is, until the gold from her dowry afforded me the opportunity."
"You?" bellowed Ynaleigh, scarcely able to believe it. Then something even more unbelievable happened.
Genefra began to laugh. She had never even dreamed of meeting anyone like this thief. She threw herself into his arms before her father's outraged eyes. After a moment, Ynaleigh too began to laugh.
Genefra and Welyn were married in a month's time. Though he was in fact quite poor and had little scholarship, Ynaleigh was amazed how much his wealth increased with such a son-in-law and business partner. He only made certain never to ask from whence came the excess gold.
Publisher's Note:
The tale of a man trying to win the hand of a maiden whose father (usually a wealthy man or a king) tests each suitor is quite common. See, for instance, the more recent "Four Suitors of Benitah" by Jole Yolivess. The behavior of the characters is quite out of character for the Dwemer. No one today knows their marriage customs, or even if they had marriage at all.
One rather odd theory of the Disappearance of the Dwarves came from this and a few other tales of "Marobar Sul." It was proposed that the Dwemer never, in fact, left. They did not depart Nirn, much less the continent of Tamriel, and they are still among us, disguised. These scholars use the story of "Azura and the Box" to suggest that the Dwemer feared Azura, a being they could neither understand nor control, and they adopted the dress and manner of Chimer and Altmer in order to hide from Azura's gaze.
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