節(jié)慶淵源可追溯至1605年11月5日，蓋伊·福克斯和他的天主教教友們?cè)谧h會(huì)大廈地底的一個(gè)地下室內(nèi)存放大量炸藥，計(jì)劃在11月15日議會(huì)大幕當(dāng)天引爆炸藥炸死詹姆斯一世和其他議員，但被議會(huì)的保衛(wèi)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)抓獲，于次年2月10日在倫敦塔處死。為了紀(jì)念國(guó)家面臨的這個(gè)迫在眉睫的危機(jī)，詹姆斯一世決定將11月5日定為篝火之夜[1]。

該慶祝活動(dòng)也應(yīng)后來的殖民擴(kuò)張而傳播的世界各地，如英聯(lián)邦國(guó)家的澳大利亞、新西蘭、加拿大和一些加勒比地區(qū)的國(guó)家。加勒比地區(qū)的安提瓜和巴布達(dá)在20世紀(jì)90年底因?yàn)轭C布了煙花禁令而使得慶祝活動(dòng)不如以往那樣熱烈。

時(shí)至今日，在當(dāng)天被焚燒的假人變得多種多樣，甚至連薩達(dá)姆·侯賽因、前首相戈登·布朗、托尼·布萊爾等人也成為了假人。

戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)史：希臘火

HISTORY OF WAR: GREEK FIRE

?

?

“It is stern work, it is perilous work, to thrust your hand in the sun

And pull out a spark of immortal flame to warm the hearts of men:

But Prometheus, torn by the claws and beaks whose task is never done,

Would be tortured another eternity to go stealing fire again.”

‘The Proud Poet’, Joyce Kilmer (1917)

?

?

?

In all of human history, few discoveries have been as important as that of fire. Both a versatile tool and a deadly weapon, fire continues to shape the fortunes of humankind with its potential to create, sustain, and destroy. As the United Kingdom celebrates Bonfire Night on November 5 with fiery festivities, join us as we delve into the ancient history that inspired the fire-based weapons and units featured in Season V: Legacy of Fire!

?

Prior to the events of Season V, King John of the Kingdom of Empyros commissioned his alchemists to create the liquid hellfire in order to maintain superiority over the Symmachean Brotherhood. This deadly composition fuels the weapons of the Zykalian Militia and the Siphonarioi.

?

As history buffs may have guessed, hellfire is actually based on Greek fire, a historic invention used by the Byzantine Greeks starting in the 7th century CE. This incendiary substance remained an instrumental weapon for the Byzantine Empire for over seven centuries, and its value was said to be so great that Emperor Romanos II declared Greek fire one of three things, alongside imperial regalia and royal princesses, that should never be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

?

Byzantine ships primarily used Greek fire in naval battles. Using a complex propulsion system, crews would jettison streams of the substance at enemy ships to start blazes which water had no effect on. In defence of the city of Constantinople, uncrewed ships laden with Greek fire were reportedly even sent upwind into the heart of enemy fleets to cause chaos from within. Wood and flesh burned alike in the undying flames, and the Byzantines leveraged this infamy and destructive power to safeguard their empire and Constantinople from centuries of sieges and repeated naval attacks.

?

Portable versions of the propulsion system used on Byzantine ships, much like the cheirosiphon (Greek for ‘hand siphon’) carried by the Siphonarioi units in Conqueror’s Blade, were later developed for use on land. Certain innovations led to further portability, with clay grenades being filled with Greek fire and thrown at enemies. Indeed, tzykalia is the Greek word for ‘clay pot’, with this particular iteration of the Byzantine weapon serving as the inspiration for the Zykalian Militia grenadiers in Conqueror’s Blade.

?

The secrets of Greek fire are now lost, as the weaponised liquid all but disappeared into the pages of history following the Fourth Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople in 1204 CE. However, stories of its potency and power continue to burn just as brightly.

?

Zykalian Militia Unit Challenges are now available in Conqueror’s Blade. The Siphonarioi Unit Challenges will be active from November 9.

?

Further Reading: ‘Greek Fire’ by Mark Cartwright, Ancient History Encyclopedia: https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Fire

?

?

下面是機(jī)器翻譯

?

“這是嚴(yán)厲的工作，是危險(xiǎn)的工作，將手伸入陽(yáng)光下

拔出永生的火焰，溫暖人心：

但是普羅米修斯卻被永遠(yuǎn)無法完成的爪子和喙撕裂，

會(huì)遭受另一個(gè)永恒的折磨，再次去偷火?！?/p>

?

“驕傲的詩(shī)人”，喬伊斯·基爾默（Joyce Kilmer，1917年）

?

?

?

在整個(gè)人類歷史上，很少有發(fā)現(xiàn)像火一樣重要?；鸺仁且环N多功能工具，又是一種致命武器，它具有創(chuàng)造，維持和破壞的潛力，繼續(xù)塑造著人類的命運(yùn)。當(dāng)英國(guó)以熱烈的慶?；顒?dòng)慶祝11月5日的篝火之夜時(shí)，請(qǐng)加入我們，深入探討啟發(fā)第V季：火力傳承中以火為基礎(chǔ)的武器和單位的古老歷史！

?

在第V季之前，Empyros王國(guó)的約翰國(guó)王（King John）委托煉金術(shù)士制造液體地獄之火，以保持對(duì)Symmachean兄弟會(huì)的優(yōu)越性。這種致命的成分助長(zhǎng)了Zykalian民兵和Siphonarioi的武器。

?

正如歷史愛好者所猜測(cè)的那樣，地獄之火實(shí)際上是基于希臘大火，這是公元7世紀(jì)開始由拜占庭希臘人使用的歷史性發(fā)明。這種燃燒的物質(zhì)在七個(gè)多世紀(jì)以來一直是拜占庭帝國(guó)的工具武器，據(jù)說其價(jià)值是如此之高，以至于羅馬諾斯二世宣布希臘開火為三件事之一，除了帝國(guó)皇室和皇室公主外，絕對(duì)不允許這樣做。落入敵人之手。

?

拜占庭式戰(zhàn)艦主要在海戰(zhàn)中使用希臘大火。使用復(fù)雜的推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)，機(jī)組人員會(huì)在敵艦上拋棄該物質(zhì)流，以起火，而水對(duì)火沒有影響。據(jù)報(bào)道，為捍衛(wèi)君士坦丁堡市，滿載希臘大火的無人船甚至被順風(fēng)送入敵方艦隊(duì)的心臟，造成內(nèi)部混亂。木頭和肉在不間斷的火焰中燃燒著，拜占庭人利用這種臭名昭著的破壞力來保護(hù)自己的帝國(guó)和君士坦丁堡免遭數(shù)個(gè)世紀(jì)的圍攻和反復(fù)的海上攻擊。

?

拜占庭式艦艇上使用的便攜式推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)，就像征服者之刃的Siphonarioi部隊(duì)攜帶的cheirosiphon（希臘語為“手動(dòng)虹吸管”）一樣，后來被開發(fā)用于陸地。某些創(chuàng)新導(dǎo)致了進(jìn)一步的便攜性，粘土手榴彈被希臘大火充滿并向敵人投擲。的確，tzykalia是希臘語中的“煲”一詞，拜占庭式武器的這一特殊迭代為征服者之刃中的Zykalian民兵擲彈兵提供了靈感。

?

隨著第四次十字軍東征和公元1204年君士坦丁堡被解職之后，武器化的液體幾乎消失在歷史的記載中，希臘大火的秘密現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)消失了。然而，有關(guān)其效力和力量的故事仍在繼續(xù)燃燒。

?

征服者之刃現(xiàn)在可以提供Zykalian民兵部隊(duì)的挑戰(zhàn)。 Siphonarioi單位挑戰(zhàn)賽將從11月9日開始。

?

延伸閱讀：https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Fire