# The Fall of Cadia - Summary and Spoilers



## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

The plot for the Gathering Storm has been leaked, and it's a bloody awesome addition to 40k's rich lore. All credit for this goes to GoonBandito at DakkaDakka.

Be warned that spoilers for ALL of Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia are below, don't read this if you don't want to know what happens, how it ends and who lives and dies.




I warned you.



GoonBandito said:


> The book starts off with probably the coolest thing I've read in 40k - some prose about a Dreamer Awakening in a World That Is Not A World, and her wearily being called back to War. It's probably the coolest thing I've read about Celestine, and it doesn't even mention her by name
> 
> The first chapter of the book picks up immediately following the first wave of the assault on Cadia. It is beaten back by the genius of Creed (after he assumes command following the treacherous slaughter of the existing Cadian High Command). He sets about rebuilding the shattered defences for the second wave he knows is incoming - Abaddon will make a point of pride to make Cadia fall. Making up the shattered defences are:
> 
> ...


Wow... I mean... wow.

So main points:

-Cadia is dust. The planet is lost, the pylons and the Cadian Gate with it. 10,000 years of providing meat for the Imperial grinder gone with one last epic war, but Cadia leaves a legacy as a planet that held the line for ten millennia, a planet that the massed Traitor Legions and Daemons of Chaos took innumerable attempts to defeat and failed miserably most times, the now lost home of the greatest Guard regiments in the entire Imperium, and so on. RIP Cadia, very few planets ever endured as much as you did and against far less horrifying opponents. Cadia stands!!

-Abaddon has won the 13th Black Crusade against the Imperium, but it's barely a victory worth having. If Cadia turned into stellar dust was what Abaddon wanted, he could have done that 12 crusades ago. He needed Cadia intact, and the Gate as a staging area for the main attack against the Imperium. And now that's gone, and with the only stable gateway out of the Eye of Terror a thing of the past Abaddon is going to find it a lot harder to get any of his forces out of the Eye in one piece. So really Chaos won but in the exact way they didn't want to.

-Sylandri Veilwalker continues to manipulate events across 40k. Now she is responsible for sending Belisarius Cawl to Cadia, but the reason why is still a mystery. Was it to study the Pylons? Or to meet Saint Celestine and provide her with a way to escape Cadia? And now she's offering the Triumverate an alliance, along with "a warrior in Crimson, his raiment echoing both Craftworld Aspect armour and the crueller plate of the Commorrite pirates. Cawl found no record of its design, even in the deepest archives.” (this guy who is obviously Arhra: http://pro.bols.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fall-of-cadia-mystery-eldar.jpg). The Harlequins are cleaarly trying to influence current events in 40k, but to what end??

-The Eye of Terror has grown three sizes, which means bad news for a lot of Eye-adjacent planets like Medusa, the Belis Corona shipyards, the Scarus Sector, even Craftworld Ulthwe. With Eyespace having increased massively a lot of places are going to be affected, which will probably be a big part of the next phase of 40k's advancing storyline.

Lots of good stuff. Discuss??


LotN


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

I'm most excited to see when Creed is going to bust out of that tesseract vault screaming "TACTICAL GENIUS MOTHER FUCKERS, CADIA STANDS!!!" and win this for the Imperium.


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

ntaw said:


> I'm most excited to see when Creed is going to bust out of that tesseract vault screaming "TACTICAL GENIUS MOTHER FUCKERS, CADIA STANDS!!!" and win this for the Imperium.


that would be one hell of a Doctor Who move! :grin2:


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Haskanael said:


> that would be one hell of a Doctor Who move! :grin2:


I am currently gorging myself on Doctor Who for the first time in my life, not the originals just yet but the current reboot. In season...uh....5 I think. First season with the third (11th or something?) Doctor. HOLY NUTS how have I missed this my whole life?!

Ahem....on topic. Did Abby _really_ lose? I know he ain't Alpharius level conniving but he also didn't seem too fussed about 'losing' on the ground in saying that he had set the world's fate in motion even before landing. That being said no one likes a sword in the spine.

Hey LotN, did you mean Abby won the first battle of the 13th Black Crusade? ....'cuz this isn't even the beginning (Traitor's Hate, Angel's Blade) and it isn't even close to over.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

ntaw said:


> Hey LotN, did you mean Abby won the first battle of the 13th Black Crusade? ....'cuz this isn't even the beginning (Traitor's Hate, Angel's Blade) and it isn't even close to over.


Not quite. I view the 13th Black Crusade as a single Crusade, the purpose being to take down Cadia. Historically Crusades were all about taking a single city, they weren't about wider conquest. My view is that the 13th BC is over now, as are all the Black Crusades, and the wider war to bring down the Imperium can truly begin. The Long War is finally more than a generic term to describe the conflict between the Imperium and CSMs, it's now the primary conflict of 40k's story.



ntaw said:


> Ahem....on topic. Did Abby _really_ lose? I know he ain't Alpharius level conniving but he also didn't seem too fussed about 'losing' on the ground in saying that he had set the world's fate in motion even before landing. That being said no one likes a sword in the spine.


I would say he is still pretty pissed. He *had* to do that, but he could have done it ten thousand years ago. Abaddon never wanted to destroy Cadia, he wanted to take it and use it as a staging point for the Long War. But with Cadia gone, and more importantly the Cadian Gate gone as well, Abaddon's armies will be a lot harder to bring into realspace. There's a reason that Chaos doesn't just pour out of the Eye and go in any direction, it's turbulent as hell and very few ships actually make it through. Only the stable path of the Cadian Gate ensured safe exit from Eyespace, and now there is no guarantee of safe passage.

Abaddon won this battle, but in the way he really didn't want to.


LotN


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## Kharn The Complainer (Aug 19, 2015)

Don't worry guys...Cadia will be fine

https://regimental-standard.com/201...ity&utm_medium=Post&utm_content=RegStandJan11



> Great news boys and girls,
> 
> Cadia is being invaded.
> 
> ...


So there you have it, Udon the Spoiler with fail.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Lord of the Night said:


> My view is that the 13th BC is over now, as are all the Black Crusades, and the wider war to bring down the Imperium can truly begin.


Bit of a head scratcher there, GW have printed three books so far with the 13th Black Crusade tag on them and have said a couple times via the WC site and Fb posts that the goal of this Crusade is indeed Terra. Not gunna lie, I actually laughed through my coffee reading that you thought it was done. We'll see when the next book is released!



Lord of the Night said:


> Abaddon never wanted to destroy Cadia, he wanted to take it and use it as a staging point for the Long War.


Where are you getting this from? He quite literally said that he set the planet's fate in motion before landing and the Pylons (mixed with Xenos and Mechanicum tech) are what stop the crazy death blow shot dead in the atmosphere and they also start closing the Eye at one point. It's also mentioned that all the previous Crusades took out Pylons as well which infers that they need to be destroyed.

Not to mention the pieces of the Chaos ship in space were intentionally flown into the planet to blow it up, and it initially tried to shoot the planet all Death Star like.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

ntaw said:


> Bit of a head scratcher there, GW have printed three books so far with the 13th Black Crusade tag on them and have said a couple times via the WC site and Fb posts that the goal of this Crusade is indeed Terra. Not gunna lie, I actually laughed through my coffee reading that you thought it was done. We'll see when the next book is released!


Which is why I said *MY* view and not GW's official view. Even in universe Crusades are titled for a single planet or system, like the Black Templars naming each force after the Crusade they are currently on, which changes once the target changes. GW will probably go with the 13th BC for the entire thing and that's fine, but I just think that with Cadia gone the Black Crusade is over, and the wider war resumes.



ntaw said:


> Where are you getting this from? He quite literally said that he set the planet's fate in motion before landing and the Pylons (mixed with Xenos and Mechanicum tech) are what stop the crazy death blow shot dead in the atmosphere and they also start closing the Eye at one point. It's also mentioned that all the previous Crusades took out Pylons as well which infers that they need to be destroyed.
> 
> Not to mention the pieces of the Chaos ship in space were intentionally flown into the planet to blow it up, and it initially tried to shoot the planet all Death Star like.


The lore. It outright says that Abaddon could have destroyed Cadia at any point, but he wanted to capture it. The events of the book forced Abaddon to destroy it with a backup strategy. And yes Abaddon took out the pylons to further spread the Eye, but it doesn't say he planned to destroy every last one. And as for the Blackstone fortress the summary doesn't say that Abaddon was going to destroy Cadia with it, most likely he planned to use it to destroy the Imperial strongholds and defences that would frustrate his efforts once he had taken the planet.


LotN


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## koosbeer (Feb 25, 2008)

"[the Sorcerer] spoke a name. One Abaddon had put from his thoughts long ago. It seemed impossible, but such words had as much currency now as they had when Horus first set foot on Davin."

What does this mean?

Also a " A metal giant in a scaled cloak." -> On reddit the guys say this is Trazyn adding Creed to his "pokeball" but I remember one of the primarchs wearing a scaled cloak? Vulcan? 

Anyway, this is fantastic stuff. I like that the good guys and the bad guys win. Very awesome!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Oh for fuck's sake this fucking site has started eating posts again. Fucking hell. 

Here's a post from Goonbandito over on B&C that follows up on some of the BL characters and wasn't included in his four part summary. Not included are any of my fucking comments that I spent the last while typing out because this site is a fucking trashbag sometimes.



> Abaddon - Main point is that he realises he's let his pride in making Cadia fall as a show of strength has him making mistakes, and that's how Horus fell. Especially because it seems the Imperium have stumbled onto his aeons long strategy with his Black Crusades - Destroy the Pylons scattered across the galaxy so the Warp can seep into reality. He kills Kell, takes Creed's hand off (and would have killed him but for Celestine) and duels Celestine and her Gemini bodyguard. That challenge is evenly matched, until the Pylon activates and starts cutting the Warp off. Both Abaddon and Celestine lose their 'powers' but unfortunately for Celestine, Abaddon is still one of the greatest Astartes ever, even without the Dark Gods Blessings. Its only the timely interruption of Inquisitor Greyfax mindblasting Abaddon, and the Cadian 8th throwing themselves on Abaddon's sword, that Celestine manages to rally and stab Abaddon dealing him the 'worst wound he's felt for millennia'. That's when he bails (realising the activating Pylon is about to seal the Warp off from Cadia completely and thus preventing teleportation), and rams the wreckage of the Blackstone Fortress into Cadia.
> 
> The other point is that there's something about an Artefact that Belsarious Cawl has on his Arkship that gets Abaddon fired up. No idea what it is, only that its something related to a name that Abaddon has not thought about in a long time but is still relevant as to when Horus set foot on Davin. I expect this artefact to be the big Macguffin going forward.
> 
> ...


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Double post out of a lack of trust of this site.



koosbeer said:


> What does this mean?


We don't know yet, but whatever it is was enough to make Abby go chasing after Cawl like a cat after a string.



koosbeer said:


> Also a " A metal giant in a scaled cloak." -> On reddit the guys say this is Trazyn adding Creed to his "pokeball" but I remember one of the primarchs wearing a scaled cloak? Vulcan?


It's Trazyn. 

However, it's mentioned on the GW page for his model that he has "a giant man clad in baroque power armour" locked away in one of his collection. That _could_ be a Primarch, but we don't know for sure.


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## loki619 (Mar 28, 2013)

the giant is the pokemaster himself saving creeds life / saving him for later 

"[the Sorcerer] spoke a name. One Abaddon had put from his thoughts long ago. It seemed impossible, but such words had as much currency now as they had when Horus first set foot on Davin."

there is no names spoken on davin that would matter unless its somthing not in the book , only magnus and angron who we both know or out there the only 2 people i could think of that would piss in abaddon's shoes would be loken or Euphrati Keeler


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

This about the pylons shutting off psykerpowers and fires a beam into the eye makes alot of sense. 

My guess is that they where built during the ancient war between the eldar and Necrotyrs but he necrotyrs in order to finish of the Eldar.


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## Brother Dextus (Jan 30, 2013)

For one, I'm quite happy to see the return of Shon'tu into the lore again - He's guna be pissed when he finds out Lysander isnt on the Phalanx! 

The rest of it... meh; it will all come clear eventually. I try not to put too much into the rumour mill as my salt stocks are dwindling.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

Surprise! WC just posted a video for "The Gathering Storm pt. 2" which features Eldar. Looks like parley was struck.

Is there even a rumour mill with how on point GW's media team is getting? :laugh:


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

Might be the rune of Ynead?


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

I suspect they may be retconning Death Masque already if Ynnead is going to show up.


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## loki619 (Mar 28, 2013)

its it the rune for Ynnead i looked


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Spotted this unverified leak over on B&C
https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0db227363927082eda0e8fac7503c60f&oe=5917E16C

But if its true......a big powerup for the Imperium if those two returns..

But i am laughing at those ultramarine names.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Brother Lucian said:


> Spotted this unverified leak over on B&C


On night shift and the work firewall won't let me on there. Can you copy it over to here?


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Khorne's Fist said:


> On night shift and the work firewall won't let me on there. Can you copy it over to here?


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

And the firewall won't let me see that image. Thanks for trying though.:good:


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## Shandathe (May 2, 2010)

Spoiler as text, then: It looks like the Dramatis Personae section also found in Fall of Cadia, and lists "Lord Roboute Guilliman" and "Vulkan" as well as Belisarius Cawl, Katarinya Greyfax, Tu'Shan and Marneus Calgar.

Possible fakery notes: Guilliman gets a 'Lord' but Vulkan doesn't. Similarly, Guilliman's faction is listed as 'The Ultramarines' where the Salamanders lack the definite article. Then there's some other names we don't yet know but make me expect it's fake or at the very least a very, VERY early version where the names weren't settled on yet.

"Canoness Jessica" (who is listed as Ardent Rose as title and 'Geminae' faction which seems... switched around, and unlikely in any case. First part because it's Ardent Rose isn't one of the Orders Majoris (might be they wanted Argent Shroud, or Sacred Rose...), second because Geminae was for the twin canonesses on Cadia... I don't think a lot of canonesses have twins ). She's the main reason I think this got created by someone who doesn't know their Sisters lore all that well.

The Ultramarine names are a similarly doubtful "Matthais Ward" (Captain 8th Company) and "Phi Kellus" (Scout). I'm pretty sure you understand my reluctance to believe those are real


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## Kharn The Complainer (Aug 19, 2015)

Matthais Ward. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

On B&C theyve posted an in progress plot summary for gathering storm 2. Epic!

The Fracture of Biel-Tan - Plot Summary - + AMICUS AEDES + - The Bolter and Chainsword


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Make sure to check the Fracture of Biel Tan thread again, the third and last part was posted today. Certainly a big Woah!


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

for those of us to lazy to go to another forum.
from Goonbandito on Bolter and Chainsword


> Previously, on the Gathering Storm...
> 
> Abaddon has launched the 13th Black Crusade in full, and Cadia has fallen; the heart of the Imperium lies open for the forces of Chaos. Belisarius Cawl, Archamagos Dominus of Mars, is in possession a super-important artefact that could mean the salvation of the Imperium. Cawl, Saint Celestine and Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax of the Ordo Hereticus have managed to escape the Cadian System through the timely arrival of an Eldar strike-force on the planet Klaisus on the outer edges of the Cadian System. Celestine and Greyfax flirted outrageously with each other. Creed has been captured in Trazyn the Infinite's Pokeball. And most importantly, for the record, the planet broke before the Guard did! CADIA STANDS!
> 
> ...





> The shockwave of the Yncarne’s creation was a violent process. The warp roiled and buckled, a hundred new rifts opening up. Whole sections of the Craftworld split apart, revealing the skeletal framework of the craftworld. One good thing though, the Demons running loose in the Infinity Circuit were utterly annihilated. Some Biel-Tani saw Yvraine as a threat, some trickery of Slaanesh come to destroy their home and attacked, but Yvraine had given the Visarch the sword she’d just pulled – Asu-var – and none stood long against him. The Farseer’s managed to calm things down, and direct all efforts into saving as many souls from the infinity circuits as possible. Curiously, Yvraine and her followers were able to do this too, despite not being Spiritseers. Accusing them of soul theft, some Biel-Tani attempted to stop them but where in turn stopped by Harlequins. “They are the Ynnari,” the Harlequins would say, “Reborn of Ynnead. Your long-dead ancestors go with them willingly.”
> 
> With the immediate threat of the Demon invasion over, the Bonesingers set to work to try and repair the Craftworld. It would take centuries of work though, and currently the Craftworld was effectively dead in the water, surrounded by Warp Rifts and all access into the Webway sealed off. Yvraine was uncertain – how where they going to get out of this one? The answer would come from Ulthwe. Ynneads awakening in the form of his Avatar had sent psychic ripples across the galaxy. The Seers of Ulthwe saw what had happened in Biel-Tan most clearly, and Eldrad demanded that the Yvraine and her Reborn be brought to Ulthwe asap. How? Use the psychic energy of the crystal seers on Ulthwe to form a channel directly through the warp from Biel-Tan to Ulthwe. Alot of the Seers were uneasy about this – to break the ancient revered seers from the infinity circuit to be used as mere tools in a ritual? Sacrilege! But Eldrad pressed on with his gamble – a single mistake could suck the entire craftworld into the warp – but they succeeded and a stable and calm passage was opened. The Reborn on Biel-Tan stepped through, led by the Yncarne, and the translocation of the Reborn through the warp sent yet more shockwaves through the warp, ripping open Gellar Fields of Imperial Ships hundreds of light years away, and even distorting the light of the Astronomican. Thousands of human lives were lost, but the Eldar would gladly pay a million more.
> 
> ...





> With the Yncarne back in the game, the Ynnari are able to break out of the killing fields and fall back to a more a defensible location. They hole up inside the giant Memorial Hall of Atransis, holding the choke points easily. But Yvraine has found only one of the two swords on Belial IV, and they’re effectively trapped inside the Hall. That’s when two huge structures at the back of the hall being to open up, revealing a glowing portal. Stepping out from it is a massive Wraithknight, blue and yellow heraldry emblazoned upon it. Two more Wraithknights follow, as well as a host of smaller Wraith Constructs. Leading the Wraiths is Iyanna Arienal, the Angel of Iyanden. The Iyanden Wraiths cover the Ynnari forces, as Iyanna beckons them through the portal. Whilst they’re still missing one of the crone swords, to stay is to die so the Reborn dash through to the Webway and eventually to Craftworld Iyanden. Iyanna recognises a kindred spirit of sorts in Yvraine. Iyanna believes in Ynnead, but matters of the dead are a touchy subject in Iyanden. “I’ve got your back Sis, but others might not be so friendly,” she warns Yvraine as they enter the Craftworld. There’s one other small problem facing Iyanden at the moment – it’s under attack by two Space Hulks swarming with Demons of Nurgle.
> 
> With the defense of the Craftworld in full swing, the Ynnari party are greeted with crossed arms by the Iyanden defenders who basically force them into a house arrest until they can properly deal with them. Yvraine is kinda mad about this, but she forces herself to cool down to avoid hostilities. She instead reaches out with her Pyschic powers to her old Corsair buddies from Commoragh. Hearing her call, they come to the aid of Iyanden, unleashing an unexpected and devastating salvo on one of Space Hulks, destroying it.
> Prince Yriel is leading the Iyanden defence, with his Corsairs. They are fighting furiously, and with exceptional skill, but the remaining Space Hulk is proving super-resilient – it is a Nurgle Hulk after all. Yriel realises that they need to launch a strike force to destroy it from the inside, however any conventional assault would be suicide. He comes up with a bold plan. He shuttles himself and his captains over to Iyanden, and convinces the pilots of the Craftworld to follow a specific course of co-ordinates in order to dictate the movement of the enemy Space Hulk. He then takes his group of corsair captains through the portal into the Webway. Using some ancient maps of the Webway near Iyanden, and a perfect sense of timing, Yriel gathers his captains into the right spot at the right time... and activates their personal Webway Teleporters to step right into the heart of the Space Hulk. Not as cool as a Teleportarium Assault by Terminator Assault Marines, but still pretty cool none-the-less.
> ...


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

:laugh: I like being too lazy to go to another forum but patient enough to go to said forum and painstakingly copy/paste several large blobs of text over in quote blocks. These crazy times we live in!

Cool story though, gotta say. I'll very likely be picking up the trilogy in the inevitable boxed set they release when all three books are released so that I may delve deeper into the details.


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

ntaw said:


> :laugh: I like being too lazy to go to another forum but patient enough to go to said forum and painstakingly copy/paste several large blobs of text over in quote blocks. These crazy times we live in!


to be fair I wasnt actualy thinking of myself when doing that (for a change :laugh


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

I just came across this twitter page. Its a riot!

https://twitter.com/AngryRoboute


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

Brother Lucian said:


> I just came across this twitter page. Its a riot!
> 
> https://twitter.com/AngryRoboute


thats some comedy gold right there!:laugh:


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