Sun Ce
Ruler of Wu
The Blazing Spear that is Wu shall never fade from history, rather diminish into it
Posts: 140
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Post by Sun Ce on Jun 29, 2009 16:00:30 GMT -5
The young assassin stood with Zhou Yu overlooking the scene. It was brutal, it was grotesque, and all at the same time, it was beautiful. It was as moving as the orange and violet sunsets of dusk. With each one, a new beginning was only hours away. In this regard, as Wan's government fell to the gallows, Zhou Yu and his men would resume command and his ascendance to rule would be complete.
"Unbelievable. Truly magnificent. Thou art a wonderful mind, Master Zhou Yu. How thou gained such information that saw this day a possibility is a wonder," The young swordsman spoke, blood clinging to his robes by the arms and chest, "And perhaps this would be the best time, as thy insurrection comes to a glorious and victorious end. I would like to lay down my sword in thy hand, pledging my life to the completion of thy dreams. The dreams of a murdered man, the dreams I also wish to see realized. Will thou cast me aside, or shall my blade forever be at thy side?"
The young swordsman dropped to a knee, pledging his service to Zhou Yu. This, to anyone who knew this man before, would have been expected. His history, though unknown to almost the entire country, was one of sorrow, and the greatest enemies he had were Wei, its emperor, and the betrayals of so many that claimed all he once held close to heart. To have so much stolen from him, even though indirectly from the hands of the emperor of Wei, it was no surprise that only a day earlier he was in the palace of Luo Yang tempting the life of Cao Pi, and this day on a knee pledging his life to Zhou Yu at the peak of his insurrection.
An insurrection that was done with no regard for the lives they took the night before.
The young swordsman had just returned from Luo Yang, battered from attack of a tiger and the weariness of failure. Taking a night's rest, he and his apprentice would find solitude in a single night without the battering of steel. The following day was one of great preparation. Zhou Yu had obtained a document that listed hundreds of officials that ruled Wan under order of Cao Pi himself. The bottom of the list was nothing, those men were pawns that held no authority when it came down to it. They skipped to the top of the list. The prefects, the governor, the captains and generals that drilled and commanded the garrisons. These were the men that would not awake the next morning with blood beating through their heart and veins and air flowing through their lungs. They would be dead on the waking morrow.
As the sun set, the young swordsman left his company, parting them with the following words.
"Upon the rising sun, we shall be kings. But for now, let our revolt hit the corners of the country with a thunderous reply and a hollow recourse. We depart, gentlemen, and we must not return until our blades turn dull."
Zhao An Ding and his master stalked the streets of Wan for a while, mapping out their routes. Their first victim was the prefect of the estates, the richest of the prefects whose governance fell over the wealthy folk. Slipping into his quarters through the cover of night, the assassins bound him, cut off his tongue, and simply walked out the front door, leaving the two guards that stood watch dead before they could even draw their swords.
The next person on the list was the commander that Cao Pi himself stationed in Wan. He was a swordsman of some respect, but he was known for leading his men before fighting himself. The assassin crept silently through his wing in the palace, systematically taking down each individual guard that roamed the halls. The commander awoke at the sound of the guards at his door screaming, being thrown up against his door, and their throats being cut. The assassin broke down the door, and the commander fled. To the streets he ran, but the assassin chased him. With no sword in hand, the assassin drew closer and closer, and Zhao An Ding reached to his waist. He took his own sword, following as close behind as he could, and flung it forward. Though it did not hit the commander, it landed close to his master, who picked it up, and leapt the the commander's back, driving the sword through his spine, not mortally wounding him, but ensuring his death the following morning.
The final visit would be to the captain of the guard. He slept in the barracks, thus proving a silent strike would be useless. Instead, they walked straight into the barracks with a lantern, using it to light the sleeping quarters, and waking up the guards.
"I have come for the captain of the guard," The assassin boldly spoke, "You are wanted at the gallows at dawn."
The guards, unsure of what exactly was happening, stumbled forward to arrest the assassin, but with his broadsword he slew them. The captain stepped ahead, answering his challenger with a sword of his own, but he was truly no match. The assassin, a legendary swordsman in his own right, at first only toyed with the captain. He derailed the sword from his hand, and instead of driving it into his opponent, he'd only slash his wrist or thigh or body. Only when the captain's body was tattered after many minutes of the torturous duel was he battered with the back end of the assassin's sword, and dragged out of the barracks the same time the sun began to rise.
The guards who followed could only stand in disgusted awe at the events that had begun as soon as their captain fell unconscious. They remembered the swordsman's words, "You are wanted at the gallows at dawn," and could understand why. Officials of the city were being hanged, including those that the assassin had captured earlier. The captain of the guard joined the commander of the army and the governor of Wan as the last to be executed, and that is when the young swordsman joined Zhou Yu overlooking the event, and pledged his life to the former Wu strategist.
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Xu Zhu
Warrior of Wei
Goddamn birds always start singing when the sun comes up!
Posts: 144
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Post by Xu Zhu on Jun 30, 2009 7:09:49 GMT -5
"Fine."
That is all Ganja said to Zhou Yu when he heard his offer. He understood what was asked and so wasted no time to chatter with his new 'friends'. He had to make preparations for a big shift of power. If there was something Ganja had learned from studying the history of his own beloved China, it was that with the dissolution of the stability held by an Emperor of warlord in charge, comes blood, destruction and glory. And in order to accomplish their new government, the newly formed clan would have to gain popular support, weapons of war and able bodied men to use them. With Wan being his hometown, Ganja Man was set to accomplish those goals. Thus he turns away and heads home.
At his home, in which the Man family had lived in since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Ganja Man finds his mother and father sitting in the living room. Both are in their late fifties and are completely rely on the care of their son Ganja. "Hi, my boy! You're too late for dinner. About two days..." his mother says while Ganja rushes past them and dives into a closet. "That's your son, Daila, you raised him to become like this! Hiding away for his own deeds. I told you he should ha..."
Suddenly their is silence and she falls with her head on the table. Ganja's father, Daila Man can clearly see a dart sticking out of his wife's neck. "Why do you always do that to her? I'm starting to notice her mind is clearly being affected by your crazy mixtures." his father says while holding his wife's head back so she doesn't die in her own spit. 'Sorry dad, but I have important business to take care off. The town is about to be couped! I need to rally up the rest and prepare to unleash hell upon the Wei soldiers. Finally we can write our own history!"
And before his father can even reply, Ganja has assembled all of his weapons, important belongings, food and water in a small bag that he keeps on his back. In his hands he holds some cash and gives it to his father and heads outside, not saying goodbye. Ganja hates to say goodbye, especially since he hardly ever leaves Wan. Maybe one day he'll ever say goodbye to his folks. Either when they die, or when he leaves Wan.
With most of his loyal friends being neighbours in Wan and also never really capable of leaving Wan to find their luck elsewhere, Ganja Man has easily mustered some 1,000 strong men that can fight any battle. Having met on a small square not far away from the city center, Ganja stands with his best friend, Fa Cka, overlooking the men. They both fear the possibility of death, but also enjoy the adrenaline rush this whole event gives them.
"Okay. MY FRIENDS! TODAY WE WILL THROW OFF THE BURDEN OF WEI! LET US EMBRACE FA QIU AND CLAIM OUR PLACE IN HISTORY!!!"
"Ho, YEAH!"
Satisfied by the reply from 'his' warriors, Ganja Man looks one last time at Fa Cka, "Remember, you will secure the tollbooths of the East, West and Southern Gates. I will take my 100 men and secure the stables and the Northern Gate. No man may leave the city!" and with both men nodding to each other they both turn their own ways.
With the chaos set loose and the first victims already fallen thanks to the planning of Zhou Yu, Fa Cka notices his 3 groups of 300 men have little trouble clearing the their respective gates. Though this was expected, as no important roads lay to these directions, it is still odd that Ganja agreed to take way less men with him to secure more important goals. What if reinforcements came?! Fa Cka looks to the North from his position a little south from the center of the city as if he has awoken powerful Wei Armies to come from north only by thinking about them. Chinese men are really suberstitious...
Meanwhile, Ganja realized he first had to help Fa Cka seal off the city before he could even think about dispatching men to the stables. So he and his men hastily get to the Northern Gate and find little resistance. Some 15 guards help defend the guard captain and the money he keeps in his chamber. However, they fail to keep out long enough for any help to arrive. However, 2 of the guards do manage to exit the city and quickly running to the north. With his spear cleaving through the gate captain's head, Ganja notices the 2 cowards fleeing.
With his men already having had their instructions as to how to secure the gate and where to bring the money, Ganja throws down his spear and reaches for his bow and arrow. Quickly looking at the height and distance, he fires some 25 arrows in the air within 5 minutes. As the final arrow plunges down it hits the last remaining refugee in the neck. "Nobody leaves."
With the operation only 2 hours old, Ganja Man and Fa Cka and their friends have sealed off the city and anyone to leave or enter the city is to report to the Fu Qiu Clan. Upon arriving at the stables, Ganja and 25 of his men find the horses already gone. Someone else must have stolen them before they could... But they must still be inside the city! Angered, Ganja goes to see Fa Cka and they both decide how to divide the men among the gates. After having dealt with this, Ganja Man goes to find Zhou Yu...
He finds him, along with another warriors which he had never seen before. It mattered little as Ganja paid little attention to the man and turned only to Zhou Yu.
"All four gates are ours. Nobody will enter or exit the city without us knowing. Found some cash to support our organization around there too. Lost the horses of the city, but know they can't be very far. What now, on to Luo Yang?"
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Kyle
Rebel Warrior
Your skin is something that I stir into my tea.
Posts: 81
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Post by Kyle on Jun 30, 2009 7:40:31 GMT -5
"Well, well Taichu, it looks like you actually accomplished something this time 'round. It's about time, we've only been stagnating for what seems like forever, you know." Taichu and two other scholarly figures were standing behind Zhou Yu and a man unknown to Taichu, or his comrades. What had just happened before them was indeed a gruesome sight, but it was one that was welcomed by the three scholars, of course, the first one to speak up would be He Yan, the cynical man that he was. Xun Can had not yet spoken, nor would he likely do so, he was a political philosopher, a man of the mind, he did not enjoy bloodshed, even if it was used to accomplish something better, something that he desired.
Taichu could only shake his head at this rude comrade's words. They were not unexpected, but that didn't stop them from amusing Taichu. "Pingshu, your words are as crude as ever." Xuan said with a a small chuckle. He Yan had the habit of either greatly offending, or greatly enraging most people he came into contact with, his lineage didn't help him much either, being the grandson of He Jin, one marginally considered to be a failure. Xuan and Xun Can, were two of the very few people that actually liked the tactless man Yan was. His views on the government and how it should be run were farseeing, and wise, despite his mannerisms and bloodline. "Are you feeling as confident about this as Pingshu here obviously is, Can?"
"...I suppose not. Then again, violence doesn't appease me so easily as it does Pingshu. I believe your question is more for you to answer than I, would you not agree, Taichu?" Xuan nodded knowingly, as with his other comrade, Can's response was one that was expected of him. Unlike He Yan, Xun Can came from the very famous and respected Xun family, better yet, he was the youngest son of the great Wei advisor, Xun Yu. Not unlike the rest of the men of his family, Can possessed a great mind, though; he was not an ambitious man, thus his intelligence was viewed as wasted, his father not approving of such, nor was the rest of the world. Despite his unwillingness to strive for the greatness achieved by many other members of his family; Can's political philosophies were very sound and could do much good to the Middle Kingdom, much like He Yan's.
And that is how they all tied in together, He Yan and Xun Can were both brilliant men, with progressive ideals that could work if implemented. But as fate would have it, neither of them had the character to accomplish their goals. That's where Xiahou Xuan came into the picture, he possessed social skills capable of getting people to listen to him, and he was a man willing to strive to meet his goals; so he balanced out the trio; despite being younger than both of his comrades, they accepted him as a leader of sorts, with their hopes resting on him.
"Yes, I suppose you are right, Can, as you usually are. As for my answer to my own question, I cannot say for sure. I know Gongjin is a capable man, my father can account to that, having fought against Wu several times in his life. But... the men he seems to be surrounding himself with, seem questionable at the very least. If anything, we certainly know that they aren't afraid to shed blood for their beliefs, though; I'm not entirely sure if that's a good or bad thing currently. In any case, they have successfully procured a city for the base of our operations. The closeness to the Capital worries me, though."
Xun Can nodded in agreement with Xuan's closing point. "Indeed, The Empress certainly won't let this occupation go unchallenged, especially with the close proximity to Luo Yang. We are now the biggest threat to the Wei Empire. These men of action better be able to defend themselves, and us...." As Can finished speaking, Yan butted in before Xuan could respond. "Oh, please. You two were all for supporting these guys, and now that they've accomplished what you wanted, you're ready to criticize. Besides, it's not like between the three of us we don't have enough connections in Wei as it is. What we need to do now, is focus on gathering support outside of Wan; we'll need an army to hold off The Imperial Couple's wrath."
Yan paused for a moment, looking over at Zhou Yu and his unknown accomplice and sighed impatiently. "Well? Are we just going to stand back here talking about them, or are we going to go and congratulate them on getting a city, an act that may very well cause the demise of everyone within in the city, including ourselves. I say we go talk to them, considering that we'll be working very closely with them if we want to accomplish our goals in all of this." Xuan sighed in return, one of weariness due to thinking of all the trials to come very soon. He was not looking forward to it, nor was he looking forward to getting acquainted with the men who followed Zhou Yu.
"I guess you're right Pingshu, I'll do the talking, all you seem to do is just piss people off. And Can doesn't talk to people anyway." So the robed trio made their way over to Zhou Yu and the now two others speaking with him, Xuan leading the way. He was unsure of what to say, but Xuan knew he could figure something out while he closed the gap which was now only a few feet. Suddenly it was time to speak, and Xuan did just that. "Looks like you've succeeded in obtaining the city, Gongjin. I'm glad to see that you're as capable as ever. We'll have a lot more to deal with very soon, sooner than anyone would like, most likely. I hope you are prepared to deal with such. I speak of course about the Wei counterattack that will no doubt come our way, considering the location we've chosen to rebel at."
Xuan paused for a moment, looking around at the men before him, he decided that was a bad place to leave his entry into the conversation, so he continued. "On a lighter note, two close friends of mine, men of greater intelligence than I, have decided to also support you. He Yan, a man of poor etiquette but great knowledge." Xuan said as he motioned toward the taller man to his left. "And this is Xun Can, scion of Xun Yu, and no less the genius that his father is." Xuan motioned toward the the small figure of Can to his right as he concluded his introductions.
"With these two with us, I can guarantee that the territory we manage to amass will be well governed. We can be of little to no help with military affairs, though; I'm afraid. But that's what yourself and the two men with you are for, I would imagine."
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Lyle
Warrior of Wei
Posts: 105
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Post by Lyle on Jun 30, 2009 10:11:30 GMT -5
Zhou Yu admired the qualities of the young assassin who had taken to his organization, his loyalty seemed undying, and his courage was unrivaled. It would be blatantly ignorant for him to not accept him into his forces, especially since without his help none of this could have been possible.. Zhou Yu smiled the warrior, teling him to raise himself from his knees and the beginning..
"Today is not a day for any in Fa Qiu to sit, today we all stand and stand together. I gladly accept your blade, swordsman." Just as Yu finished behind him came Ganja, his costume as comical as ever, yet Zhou Yu knew better than to laugh. Zhou Yu smiled instead, and then spoke loudly, praising both his new companions, "Brilliant, general! With Wan sealed our ascent to the throne will go much smoother, but for now, we must prepare troops on the walls and initiate a guard before night falls. Lou Yang indeed will come soon, too my general, but before we run, we must keep walking."
Then, another voice spoke from behind, Zhou Yu recognized it as the young Xiahou, and turned, bowing to his new companions and introducing himself properly, along with his other generals. "Another soul I can count on. I will find your skills invaluable in this conflict with Wei, as they surely will be coming soon, and it will be the power of both our spears but our minds that prevent them from erasing all of our progress."
With that Zhou Yu made his way into the palace.
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Cao Pi
King of Wei
Emperor of China
Posts: 233
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Post by Cao Pi on Jun 30, 2009 13:19:32 GMT -5
Rewards
(Okay that took forever, seriously. I do have a few serious issues with all of this though, the first one doesn’t apply since we agreed Wan is yours, but this sort of god-modding will get you all killed if it’s done without an admins consent, and since we allow you to do this only once or twice depending on the circumstances, it is incredibly unlikely we’ll be allowing you guys to do this again. The second and most important issue is...this
STOP WITH THE FUCKING ‘WEI IS EVIL’ CLICHE THAT EVERY SINGLE EFFING KINGDOM HAS DONE. Can you all not be a little imaginative PLEASE!, this is sickening, every post I reward, every post i read it’s all about how the people are suffering, how Wei suck and how it’s all going to pot. It’s old, boring and far too cliché. Please be more creative – and this applies to everyone using this annoying cliché.)
Lyle
Tags: General Story Telling – 100 gold || Torture/Execution - +2 Fame || War - +2 Fame, 100 gold and 20 Upgrade Points || Fighting/duelling – +3 Fame
Total rewards: 400 Gold +6 Fame 40 Upgrade Points
(Positive Increase – Brilliant story telling Lyle, I had to lower the fame a little since you didn’t fully meet all of the criteria for them, but you still get away with 6 which is 60 gold a week extra. I did like your posts, but do remember that god-modding isn’t acceptable under normal circumstances, I enjoyed your posts a lot though.)
The Young Swordsman
Tags: General Story Telling - 100 gold || Torture/Execution - +2 Fame || Assassinating - +4 Fame
Total rewards: 200 Gold +5 Fame
(Positive Increase – Great story telling, interesting assassinations/executions and generally just a damn good read. I must warn you that you can’t go around god-modding your way into killing city offials but as this city was agreed to be Lyle’s I allow the god-modding.)
Kyle
Tags: General Story Telling – 100 gold
Total Rewards: 200 Goold
(Positive Increase – your posts are always good, but you don’t meet many criteria’s when you post between your 3 characters. You did add some good moments though, if it wasn’t for your posts I’d probably have died by the cliché bullshit that seems to feed the sites members with how evil Wei is, at least your reasoning was a little more.....interesting)
Ma Chao
Tags: General Story Telling – 100 gold
Total Rewards: 200 Gold
(Positive Increase – you do good posts but you seem too have died early on in this story. I hope you return again and continue supporting Lyle. good job anyway.)
Ganja Man
Tags: General Story Telling - 100 gold || War - +2 Fame, 100 gold and 20 Upgrade Points
Total rewards: 250 Gold +1 Fame 20 Upgrade Points
(I didn’t find the name of your NPC amusing at all. In fact the whole childish (let’s just conveniently name things to sound like swear words) is getting really old, really boring and somewhat annoying now. Still, your posts were good so you get an increase in gold. You fame was reduced because you killed refugees and you didn’t meet the criteria enough to get the full rewards.)
Wan has fallen to the Fa Qiu. Its garrison of 5,500 after the fighting has also agreed to join you. I will be taking away 500 troops from the city statistics to show this. Congrats on your victory.
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Lyle
Warrior of Wei
Posts: 105
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Post by Lyle on Jun 30, 2009 14:45:49 GMT -5
Zhou Yu stood at the edge of a balcony high up in the palace. From his right he produces a beer, cracks it open and raises it to the north before taking a hearty sip. He wondered what his opponent, the Emperor, was doing at such times. Zhou Yu doubted the taking of Wan would panic the Emperor, it would probably do the exact opposite... entice him.
He smiled, the sun fading in the west, he would be there.. eventually.
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Post by stepphy on Jun 30, 2009 17:09:47 GMT -5
The sun shon down on her as she made her way though a city, her hair blowing aroun din the gusts of wind. A smile curved across her slender lips as she stopped in front of the place before speaking in a gentle mono-tone "who may i speak to abou tjoining you....." she spoke to the guards...
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Post by darkphoenix on Jun 30, 2009 18:06:49 GMT -5
((Well, Ma Chao would have a reason to hate Wei and think them evil, after all, did not Cao Cao kill Ma Teng? And, yes I am still here, I had internet problems.))
He looked out, over the heads of those officials and city members who seemed to watch everything with a sense of worry and dread. Yet Ma Chao could feel that many had a renewed strength in them, as though they felt that the course of events was soon to change, and perhaps for the good. In that, Ma Chao himself was not certain, for he knew that Wei would not sit idly by and let the city of Wan, so close to Lou Yang, be so ignored. His only hope, rather, was that Wei would soon have to many enemies to deal with, and in that, Ma Chao was hopeful. But even with that, the rebels would undoubtedly have the problem of those same rebels coming up against them.
And in that structure, who was to say the those rebels and brigands would not be worse the Wei. Who is to say that one of them will not be the next Dong Zhou, a man who’s own reputation was far worse than anything Wei could conjure in horror. As such, would not Ma Chao, and his new lord, Zhou Yu, now have to be ever diligent not to allow those who wish to rise in that fashion, to kill and eliminate them? Was it not now their self proclaimed crusade to fight against tyranny, in all it’s forms? From Cao Pi down to whoever thought they could prey upon those weaker than themselves? Ma Chao knew for certain that it was his, for Justice, he knew, never slept, and neither did Corruption.
He was forced to smile, in spite of the darker thoughts he had running through his head, for these people before him would be part of something greater, both of themselves as well as in China as a whole, for this rise would be seen as the starting point from which the greater good could rise, from which Justice would be seen as a guiding light, and beacon of hope for the less fortunate, for those that had never felt what it was like to be someone else, someone who was not so abused by the system. Ma Chao could feel it in him that things would be different.
How, though, would those joining under Zhou Yu act, would they see something that they could pervert and destroy, and could Zhou Yu himself hold himself above the evil of Wei and those who wished to follow it’s example. Or would he fall into the lust of power like so many leaders before him? It was to early to say, to be sure, yet, he could only hope. And if Zhou Yu and his generals did become minions of evil, what would Ma Chao do? How would he act? Would he become like them? Trading Justice for Retribution? Or would he walk away and leave? He knew right now he could, but later, when he became involved, would he be able too?
It was clear, though, that he simply could not know, he could not be aware of everything that would happen, for good or for ill, he could not see the future like a zen master, for he was simply who he was, and the future was never explained to men such as him, he could only forge ahead, and hope that it was better than what it looked like right now, for this coming war and devastation would undoubtedly shake China to it’s core, and perhaps ignite the entire world in flames, for who could truly say what was in for them.
He was ready, though, he was not scared, no matter what came. “Men, brothers of Wan. Many know me, or at the very least, know of me. I am Ma Chao, son of Ma Teng who had been asked by the former Emperor of Han to save the Han from Cao Cao. Cao Cao had him killed, and I swore revenge against the monster.” It still hurt to think about what had been done to his father. Had it been his fault? “I come before you as nothing more than a man who has seen to much vile hatred, and abuse of power. Power is given to men by the gods so that they might improve the betterment of those who are not as fortunate as themselves. Those who seek to make themselves better rather than those who they lord over deserve nothing more than death. And I aim to make sure this happens. I aim to bring to Justice all those who thought their greed would never be their end. It will though, and when my spear pierces their hearts, they will know that even their blacks hearts can die. This I vow to you, not just people of Wan, but every man, woman, and child in China. If I shall fail, it is because I am dead, if I am dead, it because China does not want Justice.” Ma Chao simply bowed his head after speaking, lowering his spear which he had raised skyward before. And then he heard something happen, something he was not sure he expected from such a short speech. Clapping, and cheering, as though they had finally found a man who could perhaps be their savior. Ma Chao felt something just then, something that made him feel as though he was indeed that person. So he could only wonder, what indeed waited in store for himself.
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