Legends of Shannara: Book One

Bearers of the Black Staff

By Terry Brooks

This is the start of another great Shannara story with new characters and new situations. This first book picks up the story 500 years after the climactic events of Genesis of Shannara: The Gypsy Morph. The descendants of the Elves of Cinta, Hawk and his followers, and the others who followed them have settled the Valley and have created a self sufficient world and they have lived in peace for centuries.

I enjoyed this first book of a duology (a two book series) that is still set way before the events of the original Shannara Trilogy. It gives some follow up to the Knights of the Word, not only for the actual office of Knight of the Word, but also to the two Knights that we grew to love in the previous trilogy - The Genesis of Shannara. We get a glimpse of how things have evolved for the Knights and their Black Staff’s over the previous hundreds of years. We see that things have changed for the Knights and that they are no longer directly connected to the Word.

We also get an update on the Loden, the Elfstone that allowed the Elven City of Arborlon and the Ellcrys to be transported to a new location. While we get to revisit Arborlon again, we don’t see the Ellcrys in this series. We also get to see the blue Elfstones in action again and we find out what has happened to them over the years. The Elves are back and are flourishing in this new story. The Bellaruus family that we read about and followed their journey in the last trilogy, we hear about them in this story and find out that they are still around but no longer royalty.

Terry Brooks has done a good job of tying back to the previous stories, but yet forging ahead with a new story and characters in this series. Again as in previous books, Terry Brooks does a good job of introducing new and interesting characters and then breaking our hearts as we read about their highs and lows and we grow to love them just as much as past characters in previous novels.

I thoroughly enjoyed this two book series and only had a couple of gripes about the overall story and the characters. My biggest complaint is that it’s only two books in this era and with these characters! I was left wanting more story! But then the Saga jumps ahead thousands of years to The First King of Shannara. Terry Brooks has said in his online Q & A’s that he wants to get back to this era of the overall story, but needs to take a break from Shannara for awhile. Hopefully he will get back to this era at some point as there’s a lot of story to still reveal to us readers!

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THIS IS A SPOILER FILLED REVIEW FROM HERE ON OUT:

The story starts with Sider Ament, The Gray Man, a man who carries a Black Staff, as he has been checking on the magical wards that were set 500 years ago by Hawk, encircle the Valley. It turns out that the wards have weakened and something has gotten through. Sider tracks the intruders and finds out that there are two of them and he realizes that they are predators and are heading towards the nearest settlement.

We are then introduced to Prue Liss and Panterra Qu, two trackers who are also best friends. They come upon the tracks and also track the beasts. They run into Sider Ament and track the beasts together. The three of them get to know each other and build a bond of trust. They come upon the beasts and are able to defeat one of them and then drive off the other back towards where they came from. Sider tells Panterra and Prue to go warn the humans that the wards are failing and that the Elves must be warned after them. While Sider will track the beast and try to kill it so it can’t come back with more of them.

Prue and Panterra make it back to their village, Glensk Wood, and meet up with their mentor and master Tracker, Trow Ravenlock (yes, that Ravenlock), and they tell him their story and the danger that they encountered first hand. Trow gets them an audience with the Village Council and the Seraphic, Skeal Eile for the next day.

They meet with the Council and the Seraphic and tell their story, but without proof they are hesitant to believe them. Then a Council member shows up who was out of town, Aislinne Kray who is an advocate for Panterra and Pru. She chastises the Council, including her husband who is the Council Leader, as well as the Seraphic. She questions why they disbelieve the two Trackers. Skeal replies with,

“His words directly contradict the teachings of our sect,” the other man replied, his voice gone smooth and pleasant once more. “We know our teachings to be truth. His words, therefore, must be lies.”

Which comes to the heart of the opposition to Panterra, Prue, and Sider Ament from the Council and Seraphic. They are not wanting to lose their power and control over Men. The meeting is adjourned and Pan, Prue, and Aislinne go home together. Once at home an assassin is killed by another of the Tracker’s allies, Brickey, who is a protector for Aislinne. The two Trackers flee together to seek refuge and to warn the Elves of the wards weakening.

In the meantime, Sider follows the beast to the wards and is able to get through them into the world outside the Valley, the first time someone has left the Valley in centuries! Sider tracks the beast, an agenahl, until he confronts it and is almost killed by the beast, but a stranger intervenes and helps him defeat the beast. The new person, Deladion Inch, is a mercenary type who talks to Sider about what he is doing out by himself. Sider and the mercenary trade stories and form a quick friendship as they both realize they are individuals who want to do good, but live in perilous times. Deladion recognizes the black staff and knows about the Word, but thought these things were just legends. Sider tells him that he carries the Black Staff, but isn’t necessarily a Knight. They talk about Deladion’s weapons and that most of his weapons are relics from the Great Wars that he has refurbished or rebuilt. They then go to Deladion’s hideout for him to rest and heal. Once Deladion realizes that Sider hasn’t ever been outside the Valley, he spends a good amount of time filling Sider in on what has been happening over the years. He tells Sider that the conflict still rages and that there are still demons out there trying to destroy humans and rule what’s left. He advises Sider to return to his Valley and to not come out until they are ready to face the hardships. Deladion gives Sider a tracking device and tells him that if he needs any help, all he has to do is push the button to activate it. Deladion will come to him and find him.

Skeal Eile meets with a young man in secret and hires him to assassinate Panterra and Prue. Skeal has used his services in the past and he is one of the best there is. His name is Bonnasaint.

Panterra and Prue arrive at the Elven City of Arborlon and on their way in they meet a young Elf named Xac Wen. They ask for his help in finding their Elven friends, Tasha and Tenerife Orullian who are nephews to the Elven King. Xac takes them to Tasha and Tenerife, who are twins, and they have a happy reunion and the Trackers tell the twins about the breach in the magical ward and the dangerous beasts that entered the Valley. They told them about they met with Sider Ament and he advised them to warn men and Elves. They told them that the men of Glensk Wood disregarded their message and Sider’s warning. The four of them come up with a plan to ask for permission from the Elven King Oparion Amarantyne for the twins to go and check on the wards on the mountain pass that leads to their city. The twins know that Oparion won’t let them go if they ask directly so they come up with a plan to ask the King’s daughter, Phryne Amarantyne, to ask the King for them. They meet up with Phryne and explain their plan for her to ask her father to go and inspect the wards. She agrees to ask permission for the four of them to go check on the wards for them.

Phryne goes to meet her father and explains the request, but she reframes it in a way that she will go and lead the party of five and that they won’t do anything else but that. On her way to meet with the King, she runs into her step-mother, the Queen. Phryne and the Queen, Isoeld Severine. Phryne does not get along for the obvious reasons, that the Queen is really young and that she is replacing the original Queen and taking all of the King’s time and attention. Plus there are rumors that the Queen is having an affair behind the King’s back with the First Minister, Teonette. Phryne meets with her father and convinces him to let them go, even though he is hesitant to do so.

The company of five leaves Arborlon early the next morning and heads up into the foothills and then the mountains. Along the way, Phryne and Panterra talk along the way and the two flirt and have some good conversations. Phryne is excited to be out and exploring with her friends and a new boy that she has an interest in. They talk about the black staffs and the blue Elfstones and how Sider Ament is the only one who that has a black staff now and that the two staff bearers fought to the death and now there is only one staff. The blue Elfstones were left in the possession of the Elven rulers and hey haven’t been seen or talked about for generations. The group camps a night in the mountains and make it to the mountain pass the next day. The group arrives at Aphalion Pass and they can tell that something is different and they enter the pass. Once within the pass they encounter something never seen before in the Shannara world - a dragon! The dragon sees them and ends up flying off without interacting with them. The group is surprised and terrified for a minute as they feel like they escaped something that could’ve been bad for them. The group decides to take a quick look on the other side of the mountains and see what the outside world looks like. They come out the other side and look at the surrounding countryside and are surprised and disappointed as everything is dead and barren.

However, they do see some smoke off in the distance. The group decides to check out the smoke and see what it is going on out there. They argue about not being prepared and not having enough members of their party to do something like that. However, Panterra and Prue decide to go check it out. Panterra does it to prove something to Phryne and to show her that he is brave, while Prue went because of her loyalty to Panterra and the belief that she can take care of Panterra and watch his back. Plus there is a little jealousy with Prue towards Phryne. The Elven Princess has been showing interest in Panterra and had initially said that she and Panterra should go check out the smoke, but Prue stepped in and forced her way into the scouting expedition, pushing Phyrne away from Panterra. The two covertly make their way to the smoke and are able to see it is a camp with a campfire but they don’t see anybody, just their supplies. As they are about to leave and go back to their group, they are jumped by an unknown assailant and captured.

Throughout the story there are flashbacks from Sider Ament showing us how he became a Bearer of the Black Staff. I will summarize the whole story here so as to not keep going backwards in time and perhaps confusing you.

Sider lived with his parents on a small farm in the country, when a Bearer of the Black Staff - an old man, finds him and talks with him. Sider was a teen at the time and had found a girl in a nearby village that he fell in love with and was spending a lot of time with when he wasn’t working on his parent’s farm. He was planning on spending his life with her and living his life with her when the old man showed up with the staff. The old man in one of his visits, tests Sider and lets him hold the black staff. The staff reacts to him and Sider sees images of the old world and destruction in his mind. The old man asks him to help him prevent that from happening again and to help prepare those who live within the Valley for the conflict that is coming. Sider knows that if he agrees, his life will change and he won’t be able to be with the girl he loves.

Sider is trained by the old man and he is taught how to use the magic. They eventually meet up with the Elven counterpart who bears the black staff. (The story never tells us their names and only describes them as the old man and the Elf.) But he has used the magic irresponsibly and it has changed him, making him unreliable and unpredictable or in other words - crazy. The other Bearer challenges the old man to a duel with the staffs, as he has started to become more like the rogue Knight Koos, from The Elves of Cintra who captured and challenged Logan Tom to a duel. The old man and the Elf duel with their magical staffs and are locked in even combat until the Elf digs deep into his madness and starts to overpower the old man. Sider is there watching and throws a rock at the Elf and hits him in the head, distracting him long enough for the old man to gain the advantage and destroy the Elven Bearer of the Black Staff. However, the old man is mortally wounded and tells Sider to take up the staff and continue to the cause. Sider takes the staff and at that point suddenly realizes the burden that is now his to bear. Now back to the present storyline.

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Sider Ament has returned from the outside world with Deladion’s help, but Deladion returned back to his hideout, and Sider goes to meet with Aislinne at Glensk Wood. We learn that Aislinne is the girl he fell in love with before becoming a Staff Bearer. He has not spoken to her since, but needs her help. He tells her what he found outside the Valley and that there is a danger they need to prepare for. She tells them that she has spoken with Panterra and Prue and sent them on to the Elves to warn them. Aislinne will send messengers to the other towns in the Valley to warn them, while Sider will go after Panterra and Prue. Skeal Eile hasn’t given up on silencing them and will need protection. They have a quick moment to reminisce about the past and they both regret how things have turned out. They express to each other that they have never stopped loving the other, but they both know it is too late.

Panterra wakes up as Prue is calling his name. They have been captured by lizards! Lizards are what they call them in their Valley, but these lizards are different, and they don’t speak the same language. One of their captors does speak their language, Arik Sarn, Arik tells them that they now call themselves Trolls. They are taken captive and go to the main encampment of the Trolls and the Trackers see that the Troll army is very large.

Tasha, Tenife, and Phryne are worried about Pan and Prue as they are waiting for them to come back. Tenife goes to look for them and he finds out that the Trackers were taken by the Lizards and decide to follow them to try and rescue them.

Pan and Prue are brought to the Troll commander, Tauren Siq, and are questioned by him. Arik Sarn is able to translate for them and becomes their advocate to try and free them so that they can return home. They eventually work out a deal where one of them will stay behind and one will return to the Valley with Arik Sarn to talk with the leaders in the Valley. Arik is able to speak the same language as the Trackers as he states that his family remembered where they came from and he even knew the history of Hawk and the Ghosts and how they had separated from civilization.

Arik claims that he is a descendant of Panther and Cat from the previous trilogy, The Genesis of Shannara. As these two knew the story of Hawk and the Ghosts, and were the only ones to not go with the main group. Arik tells how Panther and Cat had children and this was the beginning of the Karriak tribe that eventually split into different tribes over the years. His tribe was one of those that was part of the Karriak tribe centuries earlier. He tells of how Elves, Men, and other races are fewer than the Trolls and that they have been pushed out to the fringes of the land and some have even crossed the seas to inhabit islands far away.

Unfortunately, this plot point was eventually abandoned or at least not fleshed out too much further (as you’ll find out later on) and so it’s hard to definitely say how Arik Sarn knew all about the Ghosts and Hawk and how they escaped to the Valley. I know that Terry Brooks meant to get back to this time period at some point, but hasn’t as of now. He admits that he has more stories to tell in this timeline, but decided to pursue other Shannara stories. The time that passed between this duology and the next story, The First King of Shannara, is hundreds, if not thousands of years, so there is plenty of time to play with in the timeline and to add more on to this duology.

Phyrne and the Orullian twins have caught up to the army and are scouting it out looking for a way to rescue the two trackers, when Sider Ament finds them.

Back in the Troll camp, it is decided that Panterra will leave with Arik Sarn to go meet with their leaders, while Prue will stay behind as a hostage that they return after speaking with their leaders and convincing them to come meet with the Trolls. Panterra and Arik leave and are walking back when they are met by Sider, the Orullian twins, and Phyrne. Panterra tells them what happened and how he got released while Prue had to stay behind, and he tells them about Arik Sarn and about the agreement to meet with the leaders. The group heads back to Arborlon and they meet with the King. Sider tells the King everything and he dismisses them except for Sider who they remain to talk more. Sider and the King have been friends for a long time and are more relaxed with each other when alone. Sider tells the King that he will take Panterra and go to warn the other villages of Men and that the Troll can stay under the watch of the Orullians. The King will warn the Lizards and the Spiders in the Valley and will talk with the Elven Council.

They talk about the blue Elfstones and that they may be needed for this. The King says that he doesn’t know where they are and no one has heard of the Elfstones for years and that they last anyone knew they were still in the care of the Belloruus family. Sider doesn’t press the issue and leaves to go get Panterra and head to the villages of Men to warn them.

Sider and Panterra first stop off in Glensk Wood and meet up with Aislinne and talk about setting up a meeting with Skeal Eile. Aislinne wonders why Panterra is with him and she asks him if he is planning on taking Panterra on as an apprentice. Sider admits that he is thinking about it, and this angers Aislinne as she sees similarities between her and Sider and Panterra and Prue. Sider tells that he doesn’t really have a choice and with this new era coming and new dangers, he will need a successor in place in case he is killed.

Aislinne leaves to go get her husband, Pogue Kray, Trow Ravenlock, and Skeal Eile. When they arrive, Sider tells them the protective wards have indeed fallen and that there is danger outside the Valley. He tells them of the Troll army and that Prue is still being held captive and that the Troll leaders want a meeting with them and that they will most likely force their way into the Valley eventually. In a surprising statement, Skeal apologizes for doubting Panterra earlier and believes that they should listen to Sider. Panterra and Sider both believe Skeal is saying these things for an ulterior motive that will benefit him later on. Trow Ravenlock volunteers his Trackers to fortify the nearby pass, Declan Reach, in preparation for an invasion. Skeal makes a promise to Sider, that he, nor his followers, will harm Panterra or Aislinne and that they will be “perfectly safe from any who serve or follow the teachings of the Children of the Hawk.” This promise again is concerning for Panterra in the way the Seraphic, Skeal Eile, worded it. Panterra and Sider leave to warn the other villages, but Aislinne follows them out and has a word in private with Sider. She again warns him not to make Panterra his apprentice, as well as not to trust Skeal.

As they are talking Skeal whispers into Pogue’s ear that Aislinne and Sider seem awfully close to one another and sows seeds of doubt about her marriage fidelity in regards to Pogue. Skeal leaves and goes to meet up with the assassin, Bonnasaint, and invites him to come along with him on a trip to see the Elves. Skeal tells him to hold off on killing Panterra and Prue.

Back in Arborlon, Phryne Amarantyne is in big trouble with her father. Her father, the King, is furious at what happened on their trip and that Phyrne lied to him. They argued so loud that others in the vicinity heard them and word spread throughout the city of their epic argument. Phryne was “grounded” and was only allowed to work with the city’s healers in the infirmity alongside his wife, Ioseld.

While there, Phryne received a summons from her maternal grandmother, Mistral Belloruus, to come to her cottage for a visit. Phyrne would often visit with her grandmother, but it had been awhile since the last visit. Upon visiting her grandmother, Phryne learns that Mistral knows about the wards having collapsed and that there are potential invaders coming. Mistral tells Phryne that she has eyes and ears everywhere and knows more than most. She even knows about her mission with the Orullian brothers and the Trackers, as well as how the Trackers were captured by the Trolls and that Prue is still captive. Mistral also confirms Phryne’s suspicions that her step-mother is having an affair with the First Minister and tells her where and how to catch them together.

Upon leaving her grandmother’s Phyrne goes to where she would catch Ioseld and the First Minister Teonette and indeed does find Teonette leaving a tool shed and that he has lipstick on his face. She subtly reveals that she knows what he has been up to and he realizes he has been caught.

Sider Ament and Panterra Qu have gone to the outlying villages of Men and gave them the warning that they had given to the Men of Glensk Wood and to the Elves. These villages didn’t believe what they were being told felt that they needed to secure their own villages first. They had gone to King Esselline who was the leader of the largest village they visited and had spoken with him about the danger and he agreed to send them men to help defend the Pass.

On their way back to Glensk Wood they camp and Sider talks to Panterra about becoming his apprentice and taking up the staff when he passes on. Pan’s first reaction is to laugh it off, thinking it is a joke but realizes Sider is being serious. They talk about Pan and Prue’s relationship and that it is more of a sibling relationship, and that Pan would have to give up any romantic relationships if he took up the staff. Pan is hesitant to do so, hesitant to be responsible for the welfare of so many people. They talk about that responsibility for a bit and then leave the conversation there without making any decisions. Sider tells Pan that he plans on going back out of the Valley to find and rescue Prue. He wants Panterra to stay in Glensk Wood and work with Aislinne to prepare for the attack at the pass - Declan Reach.

Back in Arborlon, Phryne’s punishment of working at the infirmary has ended thanks to her grandmother’s intervention. Her father, the King, wants her to go back to Aphalion Pass and work with her cousins, the Orullian brothers, fortify the Pass and then return back and report on the fortifications. Phryne prepares to leave and is thinking of Panterra the whole time. She wonders if she is in love with him and how she feels when around him. It’s intriguing to her but isn’t sure what she’s feeling for him. On her way out of Arborlon, she runs into the Troll, Arik Sarn, who is still a “guest” there. She makes her way to the Pass with some Elven companions, Dash and Rendelen, and she enjoys being out and moving again. Upon arriving at the Pass, the Orullian brothers show her around the defenses and explain how their strategy will work once the Trolls come. Phryne asks them about the dragon they saw last time and if there has been any sign of it, the Orullians tell her that there has been no sign of it. They go and take a look at the Troll army and they are sitting in the foothills outside the Valley, waiting.

Sider Ament heads out of the Valley through Declan Reach and once outside the pass and the Valley, Sider activates the tracker that Deladion had given him earlier. Sider heads to the fortress that Deladion lives in, when he runs into him on the way. They set up camp and share a meal and Sider fills Deladion in on why Sider has come back so soon. He is there to rescue Prue from the Trolls. Sider fills him in on the Trolls and Deladion has some knowledge about the Troll leader, Taureq Siq, and his tribe. Sider tells him how a Troll named, Arik Sarn, had helped Panterra get free to warn the Valley residents. Deladion tells him that Arik Sarn is the smarter oldest son of Taureq and that it was most likely a plan to infiltrate the Valley and learn it’s defenses for the Trolls. Sider realizes the danger immediately and how they had willingly brought Arik Sarn in to their Valley. Sider realizes he has to go back to the Valley and warn everyone about Arik Sarn. Deladion volunteers to go rescue Prue Liss from the Trolls.

Xac Wen, while out and about in Arborlon, saw Arik Sarn walking around with a backpack on. Xac is curious and follows Arik Sarn and sees him sneak out of the city and head towards the mountains.

Phryne has returned to Arborlon from Aphalion Pass and reported their progress to the King. Xac Wen had also reported what he saw to the King, and it was also discovered that Arik had killed Elves on his way out. Phryne receives another summons to visit her grandmother. Phryne meets with her grandmother and they talk about how dire the situation is and that the enemy is at their gates. Her grandmother then tells Phryne about the Loren and how the Elves ended up in the Valley. She also tells Phryne about the blue Elfstones, the seeking stones, and how they have been passed down through the Belloruus family for generations. The grandmother has the Elfstones and plans on giving them to Phryne.

Skeal Eile and Bonnasaint visit Arborlon and the Queen Isoeld. They scheme and come up with a plan to assassinate the King.

Deladion makes his way to the Troll camp and takes his armored ATV with him. He rolls up to the camp and parks his ATV and locks it and arms it. Deladion is known to the Trolls and has met with them before. Deladion requests a meeting with the Troll leader, Taureq Siq. He meets with Taureq and is able to secure a meeting with Prue. Deladion tells Prue that he was sent by SIder Ament to rescue her. He tells her that he will come for her later and slips a tracking device on her. They take her back to her tent and Deladion waits until things settle down and then follows the tracking device and is able to avoid the guards and cause a distraction to get Prue out of there. They escape the camp and get to the ATV and start to make a getaway. After a couple of minutes the ATV falls apart as it had been sabotaged by the Trolls when it was left unattended.

Three days after their previous visit, Phryne and her grandmother meet again and Mistral gives Phryne the Elfstones and shows her how to use them. She practices using them by using them to seek for Panterra. Phryne gets them to work for her and she is able to see him at Declan Reach. Phryne doesn’t feel ready to have them and gives them back to her grandmother.

Phryne returns back to the Palace and goes to talk with her father. They talk for a minute and then go to the library to meet with the Queen at her request. In the library, Isoeld and the First Minister, Teonette, were there. When the King asks what is going on, an assassin appears out of the shadows and stabs the King in the chest with a dagger, killing him. Isoeld tells Phryne that she will pin the murder on her and that people will believe it due to their recent arguments. She is arrested and put in a prison cell.

Deladion and Prue are able to unentangle themselves from the wreckage of the ATV and they set out on foot to make it Deladion’s fortress. The Trolls are tracking them with their deadly Skaith Hounds. As they come upon the fortress, the Skaith Hounds catch them and Deladion uses his weapons to kill them. The Trolls are right behind them and Deladion sends Prue on ahead with instructions on how to get into the fortress and lock it up behind her. Deladion stays behind to stop the Trolls. The Trolls catch up and Deladion is able to take out most of them, but he is killed before he can eliminate all of them.

Sider Ament is tracking down Arik Siq and had made it back to Arborlon through Aphalion Pass. He had told the Orullians about Arik Siq and his treachery. Sider continues on and is able to find the Troll’s tracks. He follows them and sees that Arik Siq had meet up with a larger party of Trolls and Skaith Hounds who had entered the Valley from another entry point. The tracks lead towards Declan Reach, and Panterra.

At Declan Reach Panterra wakes up in the middle of the night sensing something is wrong. He gets up to investigate and sees Trolls and Skaith Hounds entering the camp. Panterra raises the alarm and the soldiers are able to mount a defense against the attacking Trolls. However, the men at Declan Reach are few and the Trolls and Hounds slowly overcome them and the men are forced to retreat back out of the Valley. Many are killed, including Trow Ravenlock.

Sider Ament is just a couple of hours behind the Trolls and when he arrives at the pass, he sees the aftermath of the battle and goes deeper into the pass coming out the other side looking for Panterra. While looking for Panterra amongst the dead, Sider is ambushed by a Skaith Hound and at the same time feels sharp stings on his neck. Sider is able to defeat the Hound with magic from his staff and then defends himself against three other Trolls. He is able to defeat them, but as his body starts to shut down he realizes that he has been poisoned. It is then that he sees Arik Siq coming out of hiding with a blowgun in his hand. Sider tries to chase him down as Arik runs back into the pass towards the Valley, but Sider’s body gives out and he collapses. As he lays there he wishes he could have told his first love Aislinne good-bye.

Pan has been able to escape the Trolls and sees Sider show up and fight off the Trolls but fall in the attack. He rushes to Sider’s side and Pan tells him that he stopped the Trolls from leaving the Valley. Sider tells Pan that he needs to take up the staff, Pan is hesitant to do so. Sider tells him that he must and that he is the one to do it and then dies with his last words running through Pan’s mind - Take the staff.

Next up is the concluding story to the Legends of Shannara duology - Book Two: The Measure of the Magic!

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