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Monday, July 3, 2017

Silmarillion Awards - Wisest Counselor Nominations

Hear ye, hear ye! The second annual Silmarillion Awards begins today!


What are the Silmarillion Awards, you might be wondering? You might remember when I hosted the Best Riddling and Poetry Silmaril last year, but if not, let me give you a rundown.

They're like the Oscars for fantasy characters, voted for by you. This is a fun way to show your favorite characters your love and support! Of course, since Lord of the Rings is widely accepted as a standard of excellence in this genre, each award is presented by someone from Middle Earth. This means that you cannot nominate or vote for a LOTR character. But anyone else within the realm of fantasy is fair game!

And what kind of awards, pray tell, will be handed out? Well, the lineup is new and improved (since a couple of categories last year veered into spoiler territory), and it looks more exciting than ever!

infographic designed by Deborah O'Carroll
Your first step, once you finish reading this post, is to head to all the blogs and start making nominations!

Wisest Counselor Silmaril - Tracey @ Adventure Awaits

The Rules:


  • You can nominate as many characters for each award as you like.
  • You may "second" as many characters as you like. (An example of seconding: someone might nominate Susan Pevensie for an award, and if you agree, you can second the nomination.)
  • Please mention which book/series each nomination is from!
  • You may not nominate and then second your own recommendation. (At this stage of the awards, you can nominate and second as many characters as you want, but you still get only one vote per character.)
  • Authors can gladly participate, but they may not nominate/second any of their own characters. However, they are welcome to let their readers know about these awards and may suggest characters to their own readers that could be nominated for various awards.
  • The awards are for fantasy characters only. Sorry, Katniss Everdeen--you're from a dystopian series.
  • These are lifetime awards! Last year's winners are now ineligible.
  • Again, because Tolkien characters are the standard for the awards, they are also ineligible. (As one of the Silmarillion Awards hosts put it, having Gandalf present an award to himself would be awkward.)
  • Use #SilmAwards2017 when talking about or promoting the awards on social media!

This year is going to be even more fun than last year! For one thing, there is a smorgasbord of giveaways, and also an upcoming scavenger hunt. For another thing, you can now buy mugs and t-shirts! The proceeds will go to cover the costs of prizes for the giveaways.

Speaking of giveaways, before I get into the particular award I'm hosting here on Adventure Awaits, why don't you check out this giveaway? a Rafflecopter giveaway (If my attempts to embed it into the post don't work, please just click the link.) You could win these four books!

paperback copy of Alora: The Wander-Jewel by Tamie Dearen + ebook copies
of Evangeline, Eun Na and the Phantom, and Foxtails by Erica Laurie

The top five characters with the most nominations/seconds in each category will move on to the voting round next week!

If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask.

Let the Wisest Counselor nominations begin!


As you have seen, I will be hosting the Wisest Counselor Silmaril. This award should go to a character who exhibits maturity regardless of age. Someone whose advice is sound and whose counsel is timely. This kind of character is often instrumental in helping the protagonist(s) achieve their goal, although their words may not always be what the hero wants to hear. This character holds fast to truth and imparts it to others. He or she is not necessarily perfect, but they provide an example to be followed. Without their sage counsel, many a quest would end in tragedy, and many a hero would make unfortunate decisions. We owe quite a few happy endings to this wise sort of character, indeed.

Last year's winner of the Wisest Counselor Silmaril was Aslan himself. (Check out the award ceremony here.) Just like last year, Gandalf will be presenting this award to the winner. I think we can all agree that these fellows of Middle Earth are two of the most iconic counselors in the history of fantasy! And Aslan was definitely a worthy first winner!

(Remember, Gandalf, Elrond, and Aslan are ineligible to receive this award.)

Now it is up to you to nominate who you think is the wisest counselor in fantasy! Nominations are open from today (July 3rd) until Friday, July 7th! Be sure to stop by each of the participating blogs this week to get those nominations in for every category. Happy nominating!

190 comments:

  1. I nominate Moiraine Damodred of The Wheel of Time series. (Hopefully she didn't do anything dumb in the twelve books of the fifteen-book series that I haven't read yet.)

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  2. I nominate Merriman from The Dark is Rising series.

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  3. I nominate Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series.

    ~ Savannah | Scattered Scribblings

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  4. I second Albus Dumbledore. ;)
    Jaidyn Elise<3

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  5. I nominate Halt from The Ranger's Apprentice and Dr. Erland from The Lunar Chronicles!

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  6. I nominate Chiron from Percy Jackson! ^.^

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  7. I nominate Neylan from the Firethorn Crown because not all givers of wise advice are old grizzled men. Some are young girls who like to read books and play with dragons.

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    1. Fourth that, too!

      -Rogue9

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    2. I fifth Neylan because honestly being that girl is my new goal in life.

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    3. Sounds like I really have to read this book! She sounds awesome.

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    4. and yes Tracey, you really have to read the Firethorn Crown by Lea Doue. It is an awesome book!

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    5. I added it to my "to-read" shelf on Goodreads just hours ago, Jolyn! :D

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    6. Second Neylan! (Yes, Tracey... it's really good!)

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  8. I nominate The Prince of Farthestshore from The Tales of Goldstone Wood!

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    1. Seconded! I'd second him twice if I could!

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    2. Another second from me! (It would be quite something if another God figure character won the award.)

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    3. Second Prince of Farthestshore, as well! Love him!

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    4. Second Prince of Farthestshore.

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    5. Second, yes! What a perfect nomination.

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    6. I think I'll have to second the Prince as well....(even though I haven't finished the Tales of Goldstone Wood quiiite yet....) :D

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    7. @Shay: Oooh, how far are you in Tales of Goldstone Wood? (I'm a rabid fan who pounces on anyone who mentions it. You've been warned. XD)

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  9. I nominate Merlin, from Le Morte d'Arthur. He pretty much is the archetype for fantasy wizards and counselors.

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    1. I second Merlin! He's a classic. :)

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    2. MERLIN. Yes, yes, yes. I second for sure!

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    3. I'd second Merlin a zillion times! Yes!

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    4. Merlin, YES! Definitely seconded. Is there anyone better? :o

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  10. I nominate Beana from Tales of Goldstone Wood and Puddleglum from Narnia

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    1. Yes both!!

      -Rebekah

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    2. I second Beana and Puddleglum. Both are great!

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    3. Ooh! Second Puddleglum! I never thought of him as the 'wisest councilor' type, but he really was the wisest on that quest, and he MAKES the book.

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    4. Puddleglum! I never would've thought of him but he actually is the perfect counselor!

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    5. Okay, you've all convinced me. I'll second Puddleglum too!

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    6. I second Puddleglum!!!

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  11. I nominate Cosimo Livingstone from The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead.

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  12. I second Cosimo! :)

    -Rebekah

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  13. Professor Hamilton from Dragons in Our Midst by Bryan Davis. ^ ^

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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  14. I nominate Dallben from the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander.

    -Rogue9

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  15. I nominate Aine from the Song of Seare trilogy (which no one has probably heard if because its obscure... *sigh*). This is so hard because The Lord of the Rings is about as far I went into the fantasy genre, but I look forward to reading all the posts anyway!!!

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  16. Nominating Melrose Durant from Blood Mercy: Thicker than Water by Janeen Ippolito!

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  17. Sutton Pufrock from Odo Hirsch's Bartlett series ;P

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  18. Just a question: I know LotR and Hobbit characters are out of bounds, but what about Tolkien characters from other, more obscure works? Like the Sil itself, or some of his short-stories? It's fine if that's not allowed, just wondering.

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    1. I will ask the board and let you know!

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    2. I've got the answer: none of Tolkien's characters are eligible. All of them are kind of the collective standard for fantasy, as far as these awards are concerned. :)

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    3. Alright. Just wanted to make sure :)

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    4. Aw, not even things like Farmer Giles of Ham or Smith of Wootton Major? Rats.

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    5. @Grace: Sorry! They're all just so awesome, they would steal the spotlight from everyone else in these awards. ;)

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  19. I nominate Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis!

    Micaiah
    www.notebooksandnovels.com

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    1. Asian won this one last year, so he's exempt :P :(

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    2. Like Florid Sword said, Aslan won this award last year, so he's no longer eligible. They're lifetime awards, so he gets to keep his Silmaril forever! :)

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  20. I nominate Scharr ben Fray from the Auralia Thread by Jeffrey Overstreet!

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  21. I nominate Jen aka Database from "Twinepathy" by C. B. Cook.
    I also nominate Captain Valithor from "The Door Within" by Wayne Thomas Batson.
    I also nominate Olin Grimwarden from "The Berinfell Prophecies" by Batson and Hopper.
    And of course, I also nominate Elle Goldarrow from "The Berinfell Prophecies" by Batson and Hopper (because really, how could you have Grimwarden without Goldarrow?? =D)

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    1. I second Captain Valithor, as well as Grimwarden and Goldarrow! (You're right, you can't have one without the other. :))

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    2. I second Jen a.k.a Data. She's great! ^_^

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    3. I second all of these. Jen is fabulous, and Captain Valithor and Guardmaster Grimwarden and Sentinel Goldarrow were such a big part of a pretty significant time in my life.

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    4. @Sarah: I love those characters that mean something extra special to us! The Door Within Trilogy was one of the first series to get me hooked on fantasy in my early teens. So much love. <3

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    5. Sarah: oh, I so agree!! <3 It always kinda bugs me how little known those books are, when they're such fantabulous stories!!
      Plus, I love Goldarrow so much, even though she's not technically a main character, she just seems so complex and well-written!! I can't wait to see what Karis Nightengale will do with these characters in her continuation of the series. (*quick bit of fangirling over the fact the Berinfell is FINALLY getting a continuation!!!!* XD)

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    6. @Shay: Wait, someone is continuing the series? Really? Who? And where? Tell all!

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    7. Yesss!!! Oh don't worry, I could probably talk about this bit of news all day!! XD

      A little while back, Karis Nightengale on Batson's "The Phantom Pen" forum announced that she was continuing the series. Here's that announcement and following convo: http://the-phantom-pen.1127394.n5.nabble.com/The-Berinfell-Prophecies-Book-Four-td109.html

      And there's a link to her website in there, too. She hasn't really posted anything much yet, but I've been carrying on an email conversation with her for several months, and from the little bits I've seen, I think she's gonna do a fantastic job!! :D

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    8. I second Valithor, Grimwarden, and Goldarrow. :)

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    10. @Shay, @Tracey, Are you two Wayne Batson fans? I totally am! Oh, and Jenny L. Cote and Bryan Davis too.

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    11. @Shay: Oooh, thanks for the links! I'll have to check them out when I have time. ^_^ I always wondered if anyone would write a continuation after that letter Batson and Hopper put in the third book.

      @Daisy: The Door Within Trilogy, along with Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst, were the series that got me hooked on YA fantasy! I haven't read Jenny L. Cote yet. Isn't she the one who writes the Biblical fiction with cats and dogs as characters...?

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    12. @Daisy: Yes, I'm a huge WTB fan!!! Especially for Berinfell, though I absolutely love all his other stuff, too. I've been reading through some of his short stories lately, and they're just as awesome as his books! I totally love The Skeleton Project stories, the characters are just hilarious, and I can't stand having to wait for him to publish the rest in the series! :D

      @Tracey: You're totally welcome! I had always wondered the same, so I thrilled when it was announced there would be another book! :D

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    13. @Shay: Very cool! Speaking of WTB, I can't wait until the Dark Sea Annals are re-released! I think they're being called something else... Myriad Chronicles?? I can't remember. Anyway, seeing that series rebooted is going to be fun. :)

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  22. I have a quick question: can two characters be nominated as a team?
    I would nominate the duo of Grimwarden and Goldarrow, because although both are wise counselors, much of that is gained from one another, and they're even better counselors when they're together to balance each other. :)

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  23. I nominate Kiernan Kane in Yorien's Hand by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt.

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  24. I nominate Sazed from the Mistborn series.

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  25. I nominate Rayad from the Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. :)

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  26. I nominate Wizard Fenworth from The Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul. He's so bizarre, but has a lot of wisdom underneath. XD

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  27. I nominate Sylphrena from the Stormlight Archive.

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  30. This is hard. (As you can see above from my deletes). I nominate Professor Hamilton from Bryan Davis' "Dragons in our Midst" and "Oracles of Fire." He's in all those books in those series.

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    1. Thanks, Daisy! But you can nominate or second AS MANY characters as you jolly well want to! No need to choose just one. :)

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    2. I second Professor Hamilton!

      ~Skylar Reese

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    3. @ Tracey Dyck, good to know!Thank you. :)

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  31. Also: nominating squire Terence from the squires' takes series by Gerald Morris. He starts out as needing a councillor himself, but in later books with other protagonists he serves as a mentor. Also Morgan Or Day from the same series! She trained several girls to be enchantresses and gave them what they needed to follow their paths, even if she wasn't a typical mentor.

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  32. I also nominate professor came from Peter nimble and his incredible eyes

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    1. Zoe, I've never heard of the Squires' Tales, but they sound pretty interesting! And all three of my siblings have recently read Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes--they all tell me it's great. :D

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    2. I've read the first two Squire's Tales books, and LOVED them. XD (Humorous Arthurian fantasy. <3)

      Second Terence. XD

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  33. *runs around frantically to nominate because is late* sorry Tracey, have been soooo busy. I must consult my lists. Will be back in the afternoon when I have my computer!

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    1. No problem! You have until the end of today! :)

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    2. Yep, here I finally am back *sighs in relief* anyway, I think I nominate Prince Gwydion from the Prydain Chronicles. *shrugs* I seconded Dallben too, but I feel like I know Gwydion better :D

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    3. Second Gwydion!! He's awesome! :D

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  34. I nominate Endathlorsam (Sam) from Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight.

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  35. Seconding time! I second the Prince of Farthestshore!

    ... But after him and Aslan no one else is really actually wise.... But I love so many of the nominated characters!!! There should be like a "largest nomination/second", like a vote that counts as two votes that each voter gets to do ONCE for one character... to set them above their other nominations/seconds. Heehee. ;)

    Sooo, I guess I second Rayad too, because as far as "earthly" mentors go, he's pretty cool and wise. :)

    -Rebekah

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    1. It's true, characters like the Prince of Farthestshore and Aslan DO have the upper hand for this category. XD LOL, that would be fun, if a little confusing when it comes time to tally up the nominations! ;) Thanks for playing!

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  36. I nominate The Fox/Grandfather from Till We Have Faces and Michal (the Roush) from the Circle trilogy by Ted Dekker.

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  37. I nominate Sebastian Sternbough from The Sword in the Stars by Wayne Thomas Batson.

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    1. Batson is always a good pick.

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    2. I second Sebastian, although--confession--I barely remember him. >.> (Oops.)

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    3. @Tracey *laughs because my memories of this series are distant dust molecules*

      (But hey, I remember him being cool soooo...that counts for something? I obviously need to reread these books at some point.)

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    4. @Mary: Saaaame! *dusts off copy of Sword in the Stars* Hmm, it says he's "High Shepherd of Anglinor, advisor to the First Lord and Lady of Myriad; gifted with control of plants." *still has next to zero recollection* I'm pretty sure he was a cool guy, though. :)

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  38. Oh, I also nominate Mott from The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen! (I would consider him a counselor-type character, at leaast. ;))

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  39. What are the books you have writen? Can I have a link to buy one of them? :D

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    1. Hi Anonymous! Oh goodness, I've written books, but none of them are published yet. I'm so honored that you're interested, though! If you're curious, you can click the "Writings" tab at the top of the blog, or you can check out this post where I talk about the two main characters of a Sleeping Beauty retelling I'm planning to publish one day: https://traceydyck.blogspot.ca/2017/03/tags-2-dual-character-inquisition.html

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  40. Seconding: Halt from The Ranger's Apprentice, Professor Hamilton, squire Terence from the Squire's Tale.

    -Rogue9

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