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Regardless, even if he couldn't go himself, Hector was hoping to send more reinforcements to Vantalay soon; and with a sudden influx of new servants at Warrenhold from Hahl Saqqaf, there were a few more candidates to consider now. Hector had been trying to familiarize himself with the structure of Hahl Saqqaf, but it was quite a bit different from the Rainlord Houses that he'd become accustomed to.

Because of Abbas, mainly.

None of the Rainlord families had such an old and powerful patriarch. The only person even remotely comparable to him was Melchor Blackburn, who, for whatever reason, was not the acting head of House Blackburn. Abbas' influence within Hahl Saqqaf was unlike anything else Hector had seen from these warrior families.

The guy had so many freaking kids. And his kids had kids. Who also had kids, too. And so on. Even after spending time among them for a few days, Hector still wasn't quite sure how many living generations of Hahl Saqqaf there currently were.

But there were definitely some noticeable gaps.

And while it was a bit early to be drawing too many conclusions about their family dynamics, it had quickly become apparent that many of Abbas' sons were standing in his shadow in more ways than one.

Not only was Abbas the most powerful warrior among the Sandlords, he was also a genius. Even in their battered state, everyone's reverence for him was apparent. As was their deference.

None of them wanted to make a big decision without first consulting him--a decision like heading off to Vantalay to support the Rainlords.

Hector hadn't actually asked any of them about that himself, but several of the Rainlord reapers had, and each time, the Saqqafs deflected in an identical way.

"Ask adabbi," they said.