- Pronouns
- He/Him
We could probably try that, yeah. I'll add it to next turn's planning...maybe we can get more info about Bram Ironjaw out of it as well.
NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
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- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
We could probably try that, yeah. I'll add it to next turn's planning...maybe we can get more info about Bram Ironjaw out of it as well.
Yeah, fair enough, the versatility is nice.
Flashfire Cleave is prolly my favourite Trick too tbh, it's got a cool name and doing a big flamey sword slash is very cool.
on that note... should we also ask when writing "The guide of the modern Norseman"? Steinar might be a forgetfull teacher, but he traveled far and is an exemplary Dreng. He must know a lot of stuff about being a good Norseman.
And it could also help us piece together stuff "that are so evident you don't even need to mention."
...Perhaps, ask Gabriel for tutoring about something like that around the Wessex trip too?
- Location
- some computer lab
I'm partial to FTB myself, big climactic beam struggles are pretty cool in my book.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think we should consult with just about everybody we can (at least in terms of family and friends...well, not Abjorn's dad, but otherwise) when writing the book. We'll see how many people that actually is.
Oh yeah, if we're talking all attacks rather than just Trick Attacks, then it's gotta be Flame-Tending Blade by a country mile.
Speaking of next turn's plan, what do you think about doing the armour so that we'll have it ready as a gift for Abjorn at Yule? Seems like a pretty awesome present to me.
(I'd say we should think of stuff for our other friends too, but that gets quite expensive in actions quite fast, IDK if we've got the time unless it was something we could do in bulk... But we should definitely do it for Abjorn I think.)
Relatedly, do we know whether Ironjaw was one of the guys who killed Blackhand or not?
(Yes, I know they were sorta-friends, and Blackhand thought he was pretty decent for a Steelfather, and he apparently looked after Steinarr. But I don't think any of that necessarily precludes him also having been one of Blackhand's killers if it's an "honourable rivals" situation, or Ironjaw felt his hand was forced somehow.)
- Location
- Bretonnia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Uh, no. We know that it was the Jomsvikings who ganked Hallr, presumably because Rainmaker - one of their elders - had beef with him. Ironjaw doesn't seem to be apart of the Jomsvikings from what we know, given how he killed Rainmaker and all that.
Also, I wouldn't really call them friends? The impression I got was that they respected each other, but Hallr's public slander of all Steelfather's and the fact that Ironjaw tried to kill Hallr at some point in time leads me to believe that they weren't friends. I don't think Hallr actually Ironjaw like he does most Steelfathers, though.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
It was specifically the Jomsvikings that did it, by throwing literally all of their Steelfathers at him while he was presumably low on Orthstirr from working on The Weapon.
TBH, it's still shocking to me that the Jomsvikings apparently had about half of all the Steelfathers alive under their banner. Given the fact the Enemy apparently used them as a giant chess piece to knock Hallr off the board too, I wonder if that's an actual connection? Which makes Ironjaw ganking one of their surviving Steelfathers and finally bringing them to a level where they can be threatened by other major warbands (Rather than being able to casually take on two or three of their closest competitors at once and still maintain normal operations) a firecracker that's going to enable an age of Great Upheaval (And also Great Opportunity, more moving parts means the Enemy is going to have a harder time keeping track of any individual piece that isn't already big enough to warrant him keeping an eye on them all the time on principle)
TBH, it's still shocking to me that the Jomsvikings apparently had about half of all the Steelfathers alive under their banner. Given the fact the Enemy apparently used them as a giant chess piece to knock Hallr off the board too, I wonder if that's an actual connection? Which makes Ironjaw ganking one of their surviving Steelfathers and finally bringing them to a level where they can be threatened by other major warbands (Rather than being able to casually take on two or three of their closest competitors at once and still maintain normal operations) a firecracker that's going to enable an age of Great Upheaval (And also Great Opportunity, more moving parts means the Enemy is going to have a harder time keeping track of any individual piece that isn't already big enough to warrant him keeping an eye on them all the time on principle)
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sadly, I think we need to do Sagaseeker first for a host of reasons and doing two attempted Realizations in one turn is way too expensive for my blood.
Nah, we know that it was very specifically the Jomsvikingar who killed Blackhand, and we know from context that Bram isn't one of them since he just killed one of their Steelfathers and it was referred to as a huge blow to them, not internecine strife. We know Bram tried to kill him at least once, but it wasn't the time that stuck.
- Location
- Bretonnia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If I had to guess, given how Hallr said he could take them if he had time to prepare, I imagine he didn't have the necessary tricks equipped, and his hugareida probably weren't geared for the moment, either. Probably some other preparations too, I imagine, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
I'm purposefully being vague on numbers of Steelfathers as I would very much like to not limit myself in that way. But, for the sake of discussion and theorizing, we'll say that there are very roughly 30 to 50 Steelfathers in existence right now, with a healthy margin for error.
Huh, for some reason I thought that the nine Steelfathers who jumped Blackhand were a sorta "Fuck Blackhand!" coalition from an assortment of factions rather than just the Jomsvikingar.
What kinda reasons?
I admit I leaned this way myself at one point, but after thinking about it, I think that if we end up not Realising the armour, it's great but not terrible, whereas messing up with Sagaseeker would be a lot worse, so having what is effectively a trial run for that might be good.
(Also I have some Thoughts RE: Sagaseeker and stuff for reforging it, for whenever you wanna discuss that.)
What kinda reasons?
I admit I leaned this way myself at one point, but after thinking about it, I think that if we end up not Realising the armour, it's great but not terrible, whereas messing up with Sagaseeker would be a lot worse, so having what is effectively a trial run for that might be good.
(Also I have some Thoughts RE: Sagaseeker and stuff for reforging it, for whenever you wanna discuss that.)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Mostly thematic. It'd be rather thematically off if we favored some brand new item over one we've already put so much time and effort into. And specifically, IF has agreed that thematically, Sagaseeker deserves to be first. We're invested in Sagaseeker and favoring getting other stuff Realized over it is tonally bad.
I don't think we need a trial run? Like, the only thing to screw up, based on what we understand, is rolling too low and doing it first or second doesn't change the odds of that. We can also specifically consult with Sten on the best methodology to use and all that sort of thing...I'm pretty much positive he knows that information.
Sure. Whenever you like is fine.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I don't see any reason to? It's straightforward and we know it works. New phrases are always a bit of a gamble. We certainly need to use one if making something new, but not so much when using tried and tested runework.
Hmmm, okay, fair point. I do like doing stuff for thematic reasons.
This was sorta what I had in mind.
Or more specifically, I know we wanted to add Crowfeeder's runes, but as far as I'm aware, those were never given to us as a sentence, right, Halla just knows them in-story? Which gives us some leeway. And then it occurred to me that there are two flat sides of the blade, so I thought what would make sense is if one side would be replicating the Crowfeeder effect but maybe punching it up a bit, and the other side is more like more drawing from the thematics of the name "Sagaseeker".
So for the Crowfeeder side of the blade:
I have the soul of a warrior, my edge forever sharpens for battle without dimming.
And the other:
I love honour and hate evil, let the worthy take heart and the unworthy burn at my touch.
If we're giving our weapon a soul and an intelligence and intending to hand it down to our heirs, then some sort of sense of moral purpose seems like a good idea to avoid "cursed ancestral weapon that hungers for blood". The effect I'm going for here is enhanced damage against servants of the enemy/generally Bad Dudes, as well as it literally burning to the touch if an enemy tried to pick it up and use it against us, or someone tried to do use it to stab orphans in the back or something else ontologically bad.
Also, on a related note, when we're reforging it we should ensure the blade profile is roughly the same length as a a shortsword (which it is probably pretty close to already), and lengthen/reinforce the tang a bit at the base so that the blade could be remounted with a hilt to make a sword if needed. This will provide a lot more flexibility to our descendants if one of them might prefer to use it as a sword, or just if the shaft gets broken during Halla or one of her descendants' deaths, and a future descendant finds the weapon years later.
Lastly, we've talked a lot about the blade, but what about the shaft itself? It feels like carving runes into the wood is another arena where we could add some neat effects; assuming that wood can take runes of course. Pretty open to ideas here.
AeonIlluminate
The power of friendship and aggressive landscaping
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Wood can take runes, its just not as good as metal/stone as wood is a lot less permanent than them, and therefore it is less powerful.
Gabriel Spar 2.1
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] Plan Saying Hi To Gabriel
-[X] Before we actually show up for the spar, swap our Ignition Hugareida slots all to damage (+4 Damage total), and remove a Fast Creation, adding another Fast-Twitch Muscles, and rearrange our stored Frenzy so we have one Fast slot to store our 3Fold IAT (our only Fast-stored Trick). Also, switch out Beaconlight for Fireside Barrage in our Capacity.
-[X] Invest 2 Orthstirr in Hugr, 1 in Composure, 3 in Tactics, 3 in Scouting (-9 Orthstirr)
-[X] Formally introduce ourselves to Gabriel with "I am Halla, of Clan Volsung, called Skyfire and Longstrider, whose ancestor was Sigurdr Fáfnirsbane, and I have taken the first steps to composing my own Saga."
-[X] 49d6 Attack (43d6 tricks)
-[X] 37d6 Defense (37d6 tricks)
-[X] 0d6 Intercept
-[X] Activate Stoker State Stage 2 (-6 Orthstirr)
-[X] Put up a 30d6+9 (w/Hugareida) Atgeir Bodyguard (-14 Orthstirr)
-[X] Activate Slipstream (-16 Orthstirr) immediately and Mire Ward (-6 Orthstirr) as soon as we perform our first Flashfire Cleave anyway...if we need to break it to Flashfire Cleave a second time, we will, and then reinstate another Mire Ward afterwards (-6 Orthstirr again). Use Ember-Wing Cloak (-6 Orthstirr) to retreat from melee if necessary and regroup.
-[X] Make a 42d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Sharpened x8 Lightning-Charged Flashfire Cleave attack using Puncture (-24 Orthstirr) followed up buy a free Sword Strike (-8 Orthstirr), followed by six 8d6+5 Honedx7 Lightning-Charged Basic Attacks (-8 Orthstirr each), then one 32d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Orthstirr-Enhanced x13 Kindle Spinner using Puncture (-24 Orthstirr) followed up by another Sword Strike (-8 Orthstirr each) if we're in melee at the time.
-[X] For one of our early defenses (the first that breaks Atgeir Bodyguard if that happens early, around the second attack otherwise), use Contested Movement enhanced with the use of our Stoker State dice (-3 Orthstirr, 19d6+5) instead using a Sharpened Lightning-Enhanced Flashfire Cleave w/Puncture as our counterattack (-17 Orthstirr). If that defense fails, fall back on Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr).
-[X] When not using Contested Movement, by default use Atgeir Bodyguard to defend against everything. In response to anything that gets through Atgeir Bodyguard use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr), and if something gets through that use up to eight 30d6+9 Honed x7 Reinforced x22 Hefty-Halter Chop defenses (-32 Orthstirr each).
-[X] Stoke Frami if we go down below 100 Orthstirr or so
-[X] Tactics – The plan is to introduce ourselves, get our most basic buff and defense going, then attack aggressively with Flashfire Cleave, trap him with us via Mire Ward and use basic attacks, and then one Kindle Spinner to cover our retreat if needed (or just to hit him with something new and different if retreat is not warranted).
-[X] Before we actually show up for the spar, swap our Ignition Hugareida slots all to damage (+4 Damage total), and remove a Fast Creation, adding another Fast-Twitch Muscles, and rearrange our stored Frenzy so we have one Fast slot to store our 3Fold IAT (our only Fast-stored Trick). Also, switch out Beaconlight for Fireside Barrage in our Capacity.
-[X] Invest 2 Orthstirr in Hugr, 1 in Composure, 3 in Tactics, 3 in Scouting (-9 Orthstirr)
-[X] Formally introduce ourselves to Gabriel with "I am Halla, of Clan Volsung, called Skyfire and Longstrider, whose ancestor was Sigurdr Fáfnirsbane, and I have taken the first steps to composing my own Saga."
-[X] 49d6 Attack (43d6 tricks)
-[X] 37d6 Defense (37d6 tricks)
-[X] 0d6 Intercept
-[X] Activate Stoker State Stage 2 (-6 Orthstirr)
-[X] Put up a 30d6+9 (w/Hugareida) Atgeir Bodyguard (-14 Orthstirr)
-[X] Activate Slipstream (-16 Orthstirr) immediately and Mire Ward (-6 Orthstirr) as soon as we perform our first Flashfire Cleave anyway...if we need to break it to Flashfire Cleave a second time, we will, and then reinstate another Mire Ward afterwards (-6 Orthstirr again). Use Ember-Wing Cloak (-6 Orthstirr) to retreat from melee if necessary and regroup.
-[X] Make a 42d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Sharpened x8 Lightning-Charged Flashfire Cleave attack using Puncture (-24 Orthstirr) followed up buy a free Sword Strike (-8 Orthstirr), followed by six 8d6+5 Honedx7 Lightning-Charged Basic Attacks (-8 Orthstirr each), then one 32d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Orthstirr-Enhanced x13 Kindle Spinner using Puncture (-24 Orthstirr) followed up by another Sword Strike (-8 Orthstirr each) if we're in melee at the time.
-[X] For one of our early defenses (the first that breaks Atgeir Bodyguard if that happens early, around the second attack otherwise), use Contested Movement enhanced with the use of our Stoker State dice (-3 Orthstirr, 19d6+5) instead using a Sharpened Lightning-Enhanced Flashfire Cleave w/Puncture as our counterattack (-17 Orthstirr). If that defense fails, fall back on Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr).
-[X] When not using Contested Movement, by default use Atgeir Bodyguard to defend against everything. In response to anything that gets through Atgeir Bodyguard use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr), and if something gets through that use up to eight 30d6+9 Honed x7 Reinforced x22 Hefty-Halter Chop defenses (-32 Orthstirr each).
-[X] Stoke Frami if we go down below 100 Orthstirr or so
-[X] Tactics – The plan is to introduce ourselves, get our most basic buff and defense going, then attack aggressively with Flashfire Cleave, trap him with us via Mire Ward and use basic attacks, and then one Kindle Spinner to cover our retreat if needed (or just to hit him with something new and different if retreat is not warranted).
"I am Gabriel Blackstone, Squire on the Third Bead of the Fourth Decade."
You grin as Gabriel's words hang in the air like a tapestry on the wall. Cracking your knuckles one after the other, you settle into a combat stance of your own. "I'm Halla of Clan Volsung, called Skyfire and Longstride, whose ancestor was Sigurdr Fáfnirsbane, and I have taken the first steps in the composition of my own Saga."
You don't get much in the way of reaction from Gabriel, though a flash of curiosity-mixed-with-confusion sparks in his eyes. He dashes it a heartbeat later, but you saw it all the same.
You go to tease him over it.
He doesn't let you.
Sparrowflight erupts in black flame while whistling towards your head as you throw it back and laugh. He's very fast! Easily as swift as you are with Slipstream active, no less!
Still, you grin as wind streaks off your limbs and a ghostly atgeir springs to life, he'll have to do better than that if he wants to touch you!
(Basic Attack: 90+15=105 vs Atgeir Defense: 91+9=100, Attacker Wins!)
Try harder he does as Sparrowflight's flames devour your ghostly atgeir. Time slows to a crawl as the black fire-clad blade carves a dark path through the air.
(Gabriel's Soma: 29 vs Halla's Hamr: 22+5=27, Gabriel Wins! 6 Armor Damage! Armor Pierced! 1 Frenzy Damage!
You dodge back, abandoning your ill-fated attack to focus on defense, but it's not quick enough. The flames melt through your armor as the sword draws a line of blood across your brow. Your smile grows ever wider at the realization that this isn't going to be a regular battle.
You felt it when you clashed just now, a sense of true equality.
'To have a true rival is a rare and precious thing. Few are the men who can truly match you blow for blow and fewer still are the men who would do so in a friendly manner.'
So he's your equal, is he? You let loose a joyous laugh as your backpaddle finds solid footing in the fresh-fallen snow. If he's your equal, then you'll have to test him to make sure!
Kicking off the ground, you throw yourself into the air with Sagaseeker wrapped in flames. Gabriel meets your gaze as he raises Sparrowflight in defense.
(Sharpened Trick Attack: 145+5=150 vs Prayer Defense: 134+15=149, Attacker Wins! 11 Armor Damage! Armor Pierced! 2 Focus Damage!)
With one hand on his hilt and the other supporting the blazing blade, Gabriel rises to meet your Flashfire Cleave. Sagaseeker strikes Sparrowflight and light fills your vision. But where Gabriel is momentarily blinded, you can see just enough to make your move.
Wrenching Sagaseeker down, you force Sparrowflight to follow your movements as your lightning-shrouded weapon meets his metal-encased chest. You cleave a great hole in his armor as you draw blood from his skin, rattling his focus in the process as your orthstirr surges.
(Sword Strike: 31 vs Basic Defense: 93+15=108, Defender Wins!)
An instantaneous Sword Strike flashes out, but even a hurt Gabriel is skilled enough to parry an attack like that with little difficulty. Unfortunately for him, you're still a tiny bit faster than he, so as he parries, you move in!
Pushing off the ground once more, you aim a lightning-clad strike at the hole in his armor.
(Honed Basic Attack: 26+5=31 vs Basic Defense: 83+15=98, Defender Wins!)
Dodging to the side, Gabriel bats Sagaseeker away as he backs off — giving you space and creating a brief lull in the fight.
He's breathing far harder than you are, he's pushing himself much harder than he needs to.
Still, with this lull in the fight, you have a brief opportunity to ask him some questions.
What questions, if any, do you have?
[ ] Write in
(Premature Round End: Narratively Fitting)
(Unspent Orthstirr Refunded)
0~0~0
(Hugr (Tactics): 6x7, 5x5) That's a fucking critical success, what the actual fuck.
Endurance: (16/16) | Focus: (5/7) (33 Replenish/66 With Armor)
Armor: (22/33) | Rebuke: 6 (11)
Boost: +15 to Rolls/+3 Speed | Charges: (3/3)
Armor: (22/33) | Rebuke: 6 (11)
Boost: +15 to Rolls/+3 Speed | Charges: (3/3)
Gabriel is slightly rattled, but so are you. His armor has taken a few hits, but so has yours. However, you're both ready for more!
Gabriel is planning on hitting you far harder than before as well as utilizing anti-Perfect Defense tricks as well as other anti-status effect abilities. He's pushing himself a lot harder than he needs to in countering your basic attacks.
Endurance: (13/13) | Frenzy: (4/5) (+4 to all Combat Rolls) | Armor Health: (11/17) (+4 to Defense)
Orthstirr: (368/561) | Odr: (21)
( ) Frami: 187 | ( ) Virthing: 187 | ( ) Saemd: 187
Sagaseeker has 35 orthstirr in its reservoir. It can be Sharpened 71 more times before breaking.
Your Armor has 13 orthstirr in its reservoir.
Shapeshifting is granting you (+1 Damage and +2 Attack-Speed)
Your combat pool is 86d6 and you have 14d6 Stoked Dice
What do you do?
[ ] (Plan Name)
-[ ] (Dice) Attack
-[ ] (Dice) Defense
-[ ] (Dice) Intercept
-[ ] (Dice) (Trick) (Orthstirr)
-[ ] Tactics Write in
0~0~0
AN: Sorry this took so long with as short of an update as it is. I realized that I forgot to update Gabriel's sheet beyond the utter basics so I had to quickly go through the abilities and armor stats and all sorts of things that I really should have done earlier. That's my bad.
I initially forgot to include your stoked dice on the contested movement, but then I realized that it actually fit in super well with the narrative so I just decided to leave it out. Obviously, you still have the dice to use.
You may notice that you didn't catch that attack on Halting Vortex. That's because it, frankly, makes no sense to me. The counter-attack you chose to use requires both hands and also a lot of effort. If you're already in the middle of making that attack, how are you going to have the ability to stop the attack while keeping your balance, move your arm up, and then activate Halting Vortex — all in the extremely small window of time you have before the enemy's attack hits you? It just makes no sense to me.
No moratorium.
What an epic beginning to our battle!
Hmmm, was this because he is doing some kind of special enhancement that specifically destroys conjured weapons, or just because his attack was stronger?
EDIT: Oh right, looking at the roll, it was because he outrolled it.
Hmmm, was this because he is doing some kind of special enhancement that specifically destroys conjured weapons, or just because his attack was stronger?
EDIT: Oh right, looking at the roll, it was because he outrolled it.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Anyone want to try and spam a shitton of basic attacks on Gabriel?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I was typing this before the fight post and it will be lost if not posted, so:
Actually we know Crowfeeder's runes exactly: "When iron is damaged, it is fixed after it swings." Which allows unlimited use of Sharpen which is, uh, very good. We also very much want to keep our current speed-boosting effect (which is likewise excellent), so we don't want to replace that either. Now, that said, we do have two Socket Stones which are usable for, basically, extra Rune-phrases, so additional Rune phrases aren't an unreasonable thing to think on.
I am very reluctant to try and make Runes that judge morality. Runes are unthinking engines of perfect wording, like a computer...telling a computer to 'destroy evil' is one of those really bad ideas. Its Runes also don't actually govern Sagaseeker's personality, like, at all. If we want Sagaseeker to be moral, we need to raise our new weapon-child properly, not try and magic it into obedience...that never goes well.
I'm not sure how viable this is with weapons having a spirit...is an atgeir's spirit similar enough to a sword's that this is acceptable.
Runing up the shaft is possible, yeah, though we aren't as good at non-metal based crafts so we probably want to keep it simple.
Actually we know Crowfeeder's runes exactly: "When iron is damaged, it is fixed after it swings." Which allows unlimited use of Sharpen which is, uh, very good. We also very much want to keep our current speed-boosting effect (which is likewise excellent), so we don't want to replace that either. Now, that said, we do have two Socket Stones which are usable for, basically, extra Rune-phrases, so additional Rune phrases aren't an unreasonable thing to think on.
I am very reluctant to try and make Runes that judge morality. Runes are unthinking engines of perfect wording, like a computer...telling a computer to 'destroy evil' is one of those really bad ideas. Its Runes also don't actually govern Sagaseeker's personality, like, at all. If we want Sagaseeker to be moral, we need to raise our new weapon-child properly, not try and magic it into obedience...that never goes well.
I'm not sure how viable this is with weapons having a spirit...is an atgeir's spirit similar enough to a sword's that this is acceptable.
Runing up the shaft is possible, yeah, though we aren't as good at non-metal based crafts so we probably want to keep it simple.
Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
We should have lost this. We've just taken a point of Frenzy damage, so we get +4, not +5, and the defender win ties.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Anyway, reading that, it looks like Knightly Armor really is like night and day, literally doubles their Fervor budget.
Also, he's got a universally applicable +15 boost to all rolls, and a +3 Speed bonus, though we're still slightly faster than him. He also has 3 charges of... Something.
I mean, we also should have had our Contested Movement be augmented, so we can just call it a wash for the sake of Coolness.
Also, 16 Endurance. So that tells me "Soma 8 + a maxed Infusion equivalent"
Also, he's got a universally applicable +15 boost to all rolls, and a +3 Speed bonus, though we're still slightly faster than him. He also has 3 charges of... Something.
I mean, we also should have had our Contested Movement be augmented, so we can just call it a wash for the sake of Coolness.
Also, 16 Endurance. So that tells me "Soma 8 + a maxed Infusion equivalent"
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