Asha, he thought, confounded. She was three years older than Theon, yet still... “A woman may inherit only if there is no male heir in the direct line,” he insisted loudly. “I will not be cheated of my rights, I warn you.” His uncle
grunted1. “You warn a servant of the Drowned God, boy? You have forgotten more than you know. And you are a great fool if you believe your lord father will ever hand these holy islands over to a
Stark2. Now be silent. The ride is long enough without your
magpie3 chatterings.” Theon held his tongue, though not without struggle. So that is the way of it, he thought. As if ten years in Winterfell could make a Stark. Lord Eddard had raised him among his own children, but Theon had never been one of them. The whole castle, from Lady Stark to the lowliest kitchen scullion, knew he was hostage to his father’s good behavior, and treated him accordingly. Even the
bastard4 Jon Snow had been accorded more honor than he had. Lord Eddard had tried to play the father from time to time, but to Theon he had always remained the man who’d brought blood and fire to Pyke and taken him from his home. As a boy, he had lived in fear of Stark’s stern face and great dark sword. His wife was, if anything, even more distant and suspicious. As for their children, the younger ones had been mewling babes for most of his years at Winterfell. Only Robb and his baseborn half brother Jon Snow had been old enough to be worth his notice. The bastard was a
sullen5 boy, quick to sense a slight, jealous of Theon’s high birth and Robb’s regard for him. For Robb himself, Theon did have a certain affection, as for a younger brother... but it would be best not to mention that. In Pyke, it would seem, the old wars were still being fought. That ought not surprise him. The Iron Islands lived in the past; the present was too hard and bitter to be borne. Besides, his father and uncles were old, and the old lords were like that; they took their dusty
feuds6 to the grave, forgetting nothing and forgiving less. It had been the same with the Mallisters, his companions on the ride from Riverrun to Seagard. Patrek Mallister was not too ill a fellow; they shared a taste for wenches, wine, and
hawking7. But when old Lord Jason saw his heir growing overly fond of Theon’s company, he had taken Patrek aside to remind him that Seagard had been built to defend the coast against reavers from the Iron islands, the Greyjoys of Pyke chief among them. Their Booming Tower was named for its immense bronze bell, rung of old to call the townsfolk and farmhands into the castle when longships were sighted on the western horizon. “Never mind that the bell has been rung just once in three hundred years,” Patrek had told Theon the day after, as he shared his father’s cautions and a
jug8 of green-apple wine. “When my brother stormed Seagard,” Theon said. Lord Jason had
slain9 Rodrik Greyjoy under the walls of the castle, and thrown the ironmen back into the bay. “If your father supposes I bear him some enmity for that, it’s only because he never knew Rodrik.” They had a laugh over that as they raced ahead to an
amorous10 young miller’s wife that Patrek knew. Would that Patrek were with me now Mallister or no, he was a more
amiable11 riding companion than this sour old priest that his uncle Aeron had turned into. The path they rode wound up and up, into bare and
stony12 hills. Soon they were out of sight of the sea, though the smell of salt still hung sharp in the damp air. They kept a steady
plodding13 pace, past a shepherd’s croft and the abandoned workings of a mine. This new, holy Aeron Greyjoy was not much for talk. They rode in a gloom of silence. Finally Theon could suffer it no longer. “Robb Stark is Lord of Winterfell now,” he said. Aeron rode on. “One wolf is much like the other.” “Robb has broken
fealty14 with the Iron Throne and crowned himself King in the North. There’s war.” “The maester’s
ravens15 fly over salt as soon as rock. This news is old and cold.” “It means a new day, Uncle.” “Every morning brings a new day, much like the old.” “In Riverrun, they would tell you different. They say the red comet is a
herald16 of a new age. A messenger from the gods.” “A sign it is,” the priest agreed, “but from our god, not theirs. A burning brand it is, such as our people carried of old. It is the flame the Drowned God brought from the sea, and it proclaims a rising tide. It is time to
hoist17 our sails and go
forth18 into the world with fire and sword, as he did.” Theon smiled. “I could not agree more.” “A man agrees with god as a raindrop with the storm.” This raindrop will one day be a king, old man. Theon had suffered quite enough of his uncle’s gloom. He put his spurs into his horse and
trotted19 on ahead, smiling. It was nigh on sunset when they reached the walls of Pyke, a crescent of dark stone that ran from cliff to cliff, with the gatehouse in the center and three square towers to either side. Theon could still make out the scars left by the stones of Robert Baratheon’s catapults. A new south tower had risen from the ruins of the old, its stone a paler shade of grey, and as yet unmarred by patches of
lichen20. That was where Robert had made his
breach21,
swarming22 in over the
rubble23 and
corpses24 with his warharnmer in hand and Ned Stark at his side. Theon had watched from the safety of the Sea Tower, and sometimes he still saw the torches in his dreams, and heard the dull thunder of the
collapse25. The gates stood open to him, the
rusted26 iron portcullis
drawn27 up. The guards atop the battlements watched with strangers’ eyes as Theon Greyjoy came home at last. Beyond the curtain wall were half a hundred acres of headland hard against the sky and the sea. The stables were here, and the
kennels28, and a
scatter29 of other outbuildings. Sheep and swine
huddled30 in their pens while the castle dogs ran free. To the south were the cliffs, and the wide stone bridge to the Great Keep. Theon could hear the crashing of waves as he swung down from his saddle. A stableman came to take his horse. A pair of gaunt children and some
thralls31 stared at him with dull eyes, but there was no sign of his lord father, nor anyone else he recalled from boyhood. A
bleak32 and bitter homecoming, he thought. The priest had not dismounted. “Will you not stay the night and share our meat and
mead33, Uncle?” “Bring you, I was told. You are brought. Now I return to our god’s business.” Aeron Greyjoy turned his horse and rode slowly out beneath the muddy
spikes34 of the portcullis. A bentback old crone in a shapeless grey dress approached him
warily35. “M’lord, I am sent to show you to
chambers36.” “By whose bidding?” “Your lord father, m’lord.” Theon pulled off his gloves. “So you do know who I am. Why is my father not here to greet me?” “He awaits you in the Sea Tower, m’lord. When you are rested from your trip.” And I thought Ned Stark cold. “And who are you?” “Helya, who keeps this castle for your lord father.” “Sylas was
steward37 here. They called him Sourmouth.” Even now, Theon could recall the winey stench of the old man’s breath. “Dead these five years, m’lord.” “And what of Maester Qalen, where is he?” “He sleeps in the sea. Wendamyr keeps the ravens now.” It is as if I were a stranger here, Theon thought. Nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed. “Show me to my chambers, woman,” he commanded. Bowing stiffly, she led him across the headland to the bridge. That at least was as he remembered; the ancient stones slick with spray and
spotted38 by lichen, the sea
foaming39 under their feet like some great wild beast, the salt wind clutching at their clothes. Whenever he’d imagined his homecoming, he had always pictured himself returning to the
snug40 bedchamber in the Sea Tower, where he’d slept as a child. Instead the old woman led him to the
Bloody41 Keep. The halls here were larger and better furnished, if no less cold nor damp. Theon was given a
suite42 of
chilly43 rooms with ceilings so high that they were lost in gloom. He might have been more impressed if he had not known that these were the very chambers that had given the Bloody Keep its name. A thousand years before, the sons of the River King had been
slaughtered44 here,
hacked45 to bits in their beds so that pieces of their bodies might be sent back to their father on the mainland. But Greyjoys were not murdered in Pyke except once in a great while by their brothers, and his brothers were both dead. It was not fear of ghosts that made him glance about with distaste. The wall hangings were green with
mildew46, the
mattress47 musty-smelling and
sagging48, the rushes old and
brittle49. Years had come and gone since these chambers had last been opened. The damp went bone deep. “I’ll have a basin of hot water and a fire in this hearth,” he told the crone.
点击
收听单词发音
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1
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 |
参考例句： |
- She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
- She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
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2
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 |
参考例句： |
- The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
- He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
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3
magpie
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| n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者 |
参考例句： |
- Now and then a magpie would call.不时有喜鹊的叫声。
- This young man is really a magpie.这个年轻人真是饶舌。
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4
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 |
参考例句： |
- He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
- There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。
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5
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 |
参考例句： |
- He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
- Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。
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feuds
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| n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- Quarrels and feuds between tribes became incessant. 部落间的争吵、反目成仇的事件接连不断。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
- There were feuds in the palace, no one can deny. 宫里也有斗争，这是无可否认的。 来自辞典例句
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7
hawking
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| 利用鹰行猎 |
参考例句： |
- He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
- We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 |
参考例句： |
- He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
- She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) |
参考例句： |
- The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
- His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。
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amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 |
参考例句： |
- They exchanged amorous glances and clearly made known their passions.二人眉来眼去，以目传情。
- She gave him an amorous look.她脉脉含情的看他一眼。
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 |
参考例句： |
- She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
- We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。
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12
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 |
参考例句： |
- The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
- He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。
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13
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way |
参考例句： |
- They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
- He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。
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fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 |
参考例句： |
- He swore fealty to the king.他宣誓效忠国王。
- If you are fealty and virtuous,then I would like to meet you.如果你孝顺善良，我很愿意认识你。
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ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句
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16
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 |
参考例句： |
- In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
- Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 |
参考例句： |
- By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
- Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗！
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18
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 |
参考例句： |
- The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
- He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
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19
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 |
参考例句： |
- She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
- Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
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20
lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 |
参考例句： |
- The stone stairway was covered with lichen.那石级长满了地衣。
- There is carpet-like lichen all over the moist corner of the wall.潮湿的墙角上布满了地毯般的绿色苔藓。
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21
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 |
参考例句： |
- We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
- He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。
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22
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 |
参考例句： |
- The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
- The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。
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23
rubble
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| n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾 |
参考例句： |
- After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
- After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
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24
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 |
参考例句： |
- The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
- The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
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rusted
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| v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 |
参考例句： |
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
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28
kennels
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| n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场 |
参考例句： |
- We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
- He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 |
参考例句： |
- You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
- Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。
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30
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） |
参考例句： |
- We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
- We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
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31
thralls
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| n.奴隶( thrall的名词复数 )；奴役；奴隶制；奴隶般受支配的人 |
参考例句： |
- He was accused of stirring up the thralls against their masters. 有人指责他鼓动奴隶反抗主人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He forced his thralls into hard labour. 他逼迫他的奴隶们干苦役。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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32
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 |
参考例句： |
- They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
- The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。
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33
mead
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| n.蜂蜜酒 |
参考例句： |
- He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
- He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。
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34
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 |
参考例句： |
- a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
- There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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35
warily
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| adv.留心地 |
参考例句： |
- He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
- They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。
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36
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 |
参考例句： |
- The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
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37
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 |
参考例句： |
- He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
- He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。
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38
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 |
参考例句： |
- The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
- Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
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39
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 |
参考例句： |
- He looked like a madman, foaming at the mouth. 他口吐白沫，看上去像个疯子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He is foaming at the mouth about the committee's decision. 他正为委员会的决定大发其火。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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40
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 |
参考例句： |
- He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
- She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。
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41
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 |
参考例句： |
- He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
- He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
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42
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 |
参考例句： |
- She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
- That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。
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43
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 |
参考例句： |
- I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
- I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。
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44
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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45
hacked
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| 生气 |
参考例句： |
- I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
- I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。
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46
mildew
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| n.发霉；v.（使）发霉 |
参考例句： |
- The interior was dark and smelled of mildew.里面光线很暗，霉味扑鼻。
- Mildew may form in this weather.这种天气有可能发霉。
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47
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 |
参考例句： |
- The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
- The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。
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48
sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 |
参考例句： |
- The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
- We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。
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49
brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 |
参考例句： |
- The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
- She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。
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