Exalted War: Ch 1 (rough draft) (Patreon)

Hello folks, this is chapter one. had a lot of plotting and details to sort out with this book. Any way i know my chapters say rough draft, and while most of the time just edits get made to spelling and grammar, I wanted to give a heads up, for Exalted War, there are going to be lots of changes as I get farther into the book, as a lot more of the larger plot gets rolled out. if i make major changes as i go I'll let you know and even repost updated chapters.

Thanks for waiting and supporting. I know many of you are looking forward to this book, so I'll try to post more chapters than I usually do.

The book starts right after Adelia jumped from the window. Basically, it's the next scene after the end of Book 3.

Chapter 1: Corrupted Star 

“Adelia’s room, we need to check it,” I said into the stunned silence. Adelia, she had gone full evil, selling what little remained of her soul to an entity that, from what I had seen and experienced, was twisted and warped beyond the pale.

We ran from the balcony, through the master bedroom and down the hall. Adelia’s room was close, just down the hall.

Ashley pulled ahead, rich auburn-red hair whipping as we reached the door. Timmothy pulled a key and unlocked the door, swinging the wood out and away to let us in.

We piled in, a flood into her private apartments. Rachel scanned the room, while Sasha and Milly pushed deeper in. 

I had tight control of my mana, a hair trigger primed for inevitable death should anything warrant erasing from this world’s weft and warp of existence.

The moment passed in nothing but stillness and silence as we waited. 

Ashley was the first to break the silence. “No traps, at least. Eric, can you feel anything?”

“Hmm, let me see,” I said, loosening my primed mana by a degree and focusing on feeling anything off or wrong.

The telltale sign of the Abyss wafted from a trunk in her closet. I approached cautiously, wary of what abyssal artifact Adelia might have gained access to. 

“In there. Everyone, stand back and be ready. Is Sarah here?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the faint whiff of wrongness coming from the closet.

“I am here, master. I communed with Amara; we are protected and guided.” Sarah’s voice spoke from near the door, the high priestess ready to offer what aid she could.

“Right, ready everyone, on three.” 

I started counting down.

I reached three. “Three,” I shot my hand forward and flung the top of the chest open, ripping the lid from its hinges.

More wrongness spilled into the room, but only a little. 

As one moment became another, the tension eased. 

I started rifling through the chest. “Be careful, master,” Milly said, fear clinging to the edge of her voice.

There were clothes, and a few odds and ends that hadn’t been unpacked.

I found the source of the abyssal energy. It came from pages torn from a book.

I scanned them. They could only have come from one place. “They are pages from the testament Obedientia.”

Ashley gasped, “Oh, sweet nectar of Sippsie’s pussy.”

“Tsk, how did she get them?” Rachel asked.

I pulled the foul book Exalted Lord Octavian Korvax had let me keep from Leonard’s vault. I thumbed through it, finding the place where the page had been torn from. I shoved the pages into the book, as more of the abyssal energy was coming from it than I wanted in my home, and placed it back in my storage ring. 

“From Leonard’s book, but when?” I asked.

Tiffany spoke, ghost-white and with a trembling voice. “It… It must have been before the arena duel. Leonard had her escort his items he was placing in the vault. He could not be bothered to go himself… that’s when… since then… she has gotten darker… more than before.”

“It must have taken time to contact the abyss. Well shit…” I huffed, shaking my head. “there is no way we can hide an exalted lady just disappearing… Ashley?” I turned to our social expert as the abyss's foul energy dissipated and the wrong feeling fled before the protections Amara had placed on the house.

Ashley held her chin and started pacing, speaking in half-sentences. “Exalted lady… The last exalted lady to disappear was, oh that was some time ago… investigation… her father… her family… might be okay… what to tell them… we need an angle…”

This went on for several minutes. Rachel and Sasha came over to me and held my hand. 

“Let’s head to your room; we can sleep there,” I said, looking at Rachel.

She nodded, and we all moved down the hall to her suite. Ashley followed absently, still running scenarios over in her mind. 

We entered. Rachel and I realized I had not been in her room before, save for the quick glances. Her face flushed; she realized this too.

In the empire, just like in many stratified gentry societies, husbands and wives kept separate rooms, each an isolation and shield from the other; wives would come to the husband’s room to perform most often. It was this way so the mask that a lady had to wear had at least one place where it could be fully removed without scrutiny.

Rachel’s door closed behind us, and I got my first real look at her domain. The air felt different in here. Not just the faint perfume and the warmth of the fire, but the way the room was organized. Scholar’s war room, not a noble lady’s showpiece. Each worktable was a battlement: neat mountains of crystals, vials, and neatly labeled jars, all arranged with military precision. Open books lay in ranks, columns of notes marching off the pages in neat, slanted handwriting. Even the stray ink pots and quills looked like they were standing at attention, waiting for the next order.

Her bed was large, but not the monument to excess that dominated my own suite. Just enough for comfort, sheets crisp and deep blue, the pillows stacked with geometric precision along the headboard. There was a delicate vanity, its surface covered in glass bottles and a few small, shining gems. The whole place was a contradiction: part laboratory, part haven, and shot through with the kind of subtle charm you couldn’t fake. A silk scarf draped over a chair, a faint trace of rosewater and ink, the softest rug underfoot. It was Rachel, distilled.

Sasha and Milly made a beeline for the bed, tails and hair trailing behind them. They climbed up together, lace nightwear catching the firelight. Sasha’s ears twitched, every movement cautious but less haunted than before. Milly let out a relieved, plush sigh and flopped back, arms wide, as if she could soak up the safety by osmosis. The last shreds of fear were fading, replaced by something warmer.

Rachel sat on the edge of the bed, back straight, braid sharp against her shoulder. She looked at me, face flushed but eyes clear. For a second, neither of us said anything. The energy in the air shifted. I’d fought monsters and men, but standing in her space, seeing the private world she’d built, felt like walking into another kind of battlefield. One where the weapons were wit and affection, not steel and spell. Tiffany sat next to her, shaking in the gossamer white robe she had thrown on.

Ashley paced tight circuits between the bed and the window, muttering half-formed strategies. “If we say she’s… no, too obvious… but if her father… Occulta Oculus, they’ll want proof… family angle, maybe…” She chewed her lip, mind running a dozen scenarios per second. Her dress shimmered with each turn, light catching the silver trim.

Sarah knelt by the fireplace. She moved with calm, deliberate grace, stacking another log onto the embers and coaxing the flames higher. Her hands worked in a practiced rhythm. She barely whispered, but I caught the words: “Amara, shield this household. Let your light protect us from the void.” The mark of her goddess glowed faintly on her skin, hearts intertwined, a quiet ward against the darkness.

I took a breath, letting the tension bleed out. The house felt steadier with all of us here, even battered.

“Timmothy,” I said.

“Yes, master,” he answered with a bow.

“Tonight, gather the best crafter in the house; we need my room repaired. And we need it done quietly; none of the guests can know,” I said, fixing my stare on him.

He inclined his head, understanding me fully. “It shall be done, and none of the exalted guests who overindulged at the gala shall know a thing.” With a final bow, he left the room, the door closing with no more sound than a feather landing.

I moved to the bed and flopped onto it. “Ashley…”

“Mmm… If we tell the college…”

“Ashley?” I said just a little louder.

She froze, shook her head, then realized I was saying her name. “Sorry, husband, lost in thought. I… I don’t know how to explain her disappearance.”

“That’s fine for now; we all need to sleep. Even I was not expecting the Abyss to fully take her.” I patted the bed next to me.

Rachel turned and crawled onto the bed, along with Tiffany. I read the nerves on her. She was scared, very scared. She knew I would be within my rights if I suspected her of helping Adeila try to kill me to end her life and the life of her whole family.

“Sarah,” the firelight danced over the curve of her body as she stood with imperial grace.

“Yes, master.” She bowed her head.

“Tonight and tomorrow we need the house staff to seem busy, not panicked or rushed, just diligent, as if only something slight is out of place. Make sure all the guests leave with a slight feeling that something went wrong, but not enough that they ask questions. Do you understand? There is no hiding this; we need to craft a story they will believe when we tell it.”

“Understood, master. I shall guide the household.” She bowed and slid from the room.

I pulled the duvet back and crawled under the covers. “Tiffany, come here,” I said, pulling her slim body next to mine as her robe fell away like a second skin. A naked pile of girls crawled into the cramped bed as the lamps and candles in the room went out.

Soft legs tangled and even softer hair mixed across my skin. We shuffled and moved, those slight movements of millimeters to find just the right spot for sleep. Sasha curled up between my legs, silk hair spilling onto my lower stomach.

The night quieted, and I slept in fits and starts, until the feeling of peace and home from Amara’s blessing settled us and night took us.