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幽魂之母
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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
幽魂之母
在北部的诺德传说中，没有哪个比“幽魂之母”更加出名了：她是个幽灵般的女人，把不小心的旅行者引诱致他们的末日，偷窃儿童，报复那些生前冤枉、虐待过她们的人。
相似传说横跨整个泰瑞尔：海中女巫引诱船只驶向危险的浅滩，以耗尽船员的灵魂。黑沼泽阴险的查拉斯，威木省的阿莫纳尔，都是这个故事的衍生版本。
不过不像某些神秘的生物，大多数的学者认为幽魂之母是真实存在的。尽管稀少，但是可靠的目击报告还是频繁到无法让人忽略。
于此，这里提供一份此生物的概要，大概内容包括：从省内传说收集到的信息、以及一些解释“这到底是什么”这一问题的主流理论。
关于“幽魂之母”
大多数的传说都遵循着几个要点：1、她们总是以女性形态出现。2、她们的形象来源于人类（也有人说是精灵）灵魂，身上被迷雾和烂袍子包裹。3、她们和冰系魔法有着某种联系，很少出现于气候温暖的地区。
不过除此之外，传说的其他部分大相径庭。有些说她们是等待安息的亡魂。其他的则说，她们是曾经统治整个天际的“雪精灵”。有些说，他们的老家在哈尔马奇，不过其他传说则提到她们出现在一些被遗忘的地方，在远离杰瑞尔山脉的山巅。
绝大多数有名望的学者对那些传说不屑一顾，他们偏向于最近几年的一些目击报告。从而诞生了两种主流理论。
基于他对于亡灵巫术领域的研究以及帝都附近的亚历德文化，萨德伦大师提出了他的假设：
“幽魂之母”们其实是亡灵形态，一种亡灵巫术，起源于某个现在已经被人遗了的第一纪元文化。在他的理论下，她们不仅仅只是鬼魂——她们是一大批强大的女巫，已精通亡灵巫术达到了永生的目的。
不同的是，教会的琳达特有不同的主张：
“幽魂之母”压根就不是什么亡灵，而是自然界元素脱出奈恩本身的显现。通过记录斯皮肯和冰雪幽魂的一些相似之处，她力主这样的说法：“幽魂之母”本质上是某种自然元素的化身，这种元素可能是雪，也可能是雾。她们挥洒着与生俱来的、来自于他们所属元素的能力，而不是通过驾驭某种魔法。
幽魂
在大多数描述中，最初把受害者拉到“幽魂之母”旁的是一些闪闪发光的、幽灵般的亮光。尽管这些东西一开始表现得很被动，但是这些生物后来会与“幽魂之母”一起攻击，搔扰受害者，并吸食他们的魔法。
流行的传说坚持认为，这些光球是“幽魂之母”之前受害者的灵魂，这些灵魂强化了“幽魂之母”，所以想要杀灭掉“幽魂之母”的人必须要先释放这些被杀害的灵魂。
对于学者们来说，这个描述立即就让他们回忆起了“鬼火”或者是“幽光”，一种稀少，但是却很危险的泰瑞尔南部沼泽居民。但奇怪的是，赛瑞迪尔的传说里却总是提到“幽光”是种独行的掠食者，然而这些则显然和他们的同类存在着某种形式的“共栖”关系。
对此，琳达特说：
这些“幽魂”其实是“幽光”的亚种生物，他们是清道夫，同时也引诱猎物到“幽魂之母”跟前，在她杀戮的同时分享被释放出的生命能量。作为一种共同行动的清道夫与他们的掠食者“表亲”相比，缺少令人生畏的防御力量，这导致他们很容易受到伤害。
与之不同的是，萨德伦做出这样的推断：
这些所谓的“幽魂”，只不过是“幽魂之母”释放出的咒术能量，他们是不能自主生存的。这个推断是根据一份报告得来，报告上说，有位冒险家直接除掉了一个“幽魂之母”，结果居然看到剩余的“幽魂”立即瓦解，尽管这份报告被认为高度不真实。
总结来说，学者关于幽魂之母和幽魂的意见存在着严重的分歧，而且看来这分歧还要持续很久。不过所有资料来源都认同至关重要的一点，那就是——这是一种高度危险的敌人，无论如何应该避免与之冲突。
The Wispmother
Among the folk tales from the northern reaches of Skyrim, few subjects are as popular as the Wispmother: ghostly women who lure unsuspecting travelers to their doom, steal children, and takes vengeance on those who wronged them in life.
Similar tales exist throughout Tamriel: The Melusanae of Stros Mkai, who lure ships to wreck on jagged shoals, then consume the souls of those aboard. The serpentine Chalass of Black Marsh. The Amronal of Valenwood.
But unlike these mythic creatures, most scholars concede that Wispmothers actually exist. Though rare, credible reports of their sightings are simply too frequent to be ignored. Herein, a synopsis of what can be gleaned from provincial legends, and the dominant theories on what they may actually be.
Wispmothers
Most tales agree on only a few basic facts about Wispmothers. They are always female. They take the form of human (some say Elven) spirits, wreathed in mist and decaying rags. They have an affinity for frost magic, rarely appearing in more temperate climes.
But beyond that, the tales differ wildly. Some say they are ghosts, waiting to be laid to rest. Others, that they are all that remains of the Snow Elves who once ruled Skyrim. Some say they are native to Hjaalmarch (or the north more generally), but other tales mention them in forgotten places, on mountaintops as far away as the Jeralls.
Most reputable scholars dismiss these stories, preferring instead to focus on the few documented sightings from recent years. From these, two dominant theories have emerged:
Based on his extensive research into necromancy and Cyrodiil's Ayleid culture, Master Sadren Sarethi posits that Wispmothers are a necrologic state, a type of lich-dom developed by a now-forgotten First Era culture. Under his theory, these are no mere ghosts - they are a cult of powerful sorceresses who achieved eternal life through undeath.
Alternately, Lydette Viliane of the Synod contends that Wispmothers are not undead at all, but rather elemental manifestations arising out of Nirn itself. By noting several similarities to Spriggans and Ice Wraiths, she contends that the Wispmothers are essentially elemental personifications of snow or mist, innately wielding the power of their element, instead of manipulating it through conventional sorcery.
Wisps
In most accounts, the victim is initially drawn to the Wispmother by glowing, ghostly lights. Although initially passive, these creatures later attack in tandem with her, distracting the victim and draining their energy.
Popular legend holds that these are the spirits of the Wispmother's previous victims. These spirits strengthen her, so anyone hoping to destroy her must first release the souls of those she has killed.
To scholars, this description immediately recalls the Will-o-the-Wisp, a rare and dangerous swamp denizen of southern Tamriel. Oddly, Cyrodillic legends invariably refer to Wisps as lone predators, while these appear to exist in some sort of symbiotic relationship with others of their kind.
Viliane argues that these Wisps are a sub-species of true Wisps, scavengers that lure prey to the Wispmother and share in the psychoetherial energy released by her kills. As co-dependent scavengers, they most likely lack the formidable defenses of their predatory cousins, rendering them far more vulnerable.
Alternately, Sarethi posits that these "Wisps" are merely emanations or conjurations of the Wispmother, and not free-living creatures. This is supported by one incident in which an adventurer reportedly killed a Wispmother directly, only to observe the remaining Wisps immediately perish as well, though the source is considered highly unreliable.
In summary, scholarly opinion about Wispmothers and Wisps is sharply divided, and is likely to remain so for some time. But all sources agree on one crucial point: these are highly dangerous foes, and should be avoided at all costs.
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