Tale of Two Godcrafts

Shrouded Piety: Tale of Two Godcrafts is the now defunct original run of Shrouded Piety. The story was established in March of 2016 and was officially canceled April of 2021 with the release of The Osiris Contract, which served as a reboot of the series. Tale of Two Godcrafts had reached 49 chapters or 485,840 words before cancelation.

## Plot

Tale of Two Godcrafts started in 2099 CE, Miami, Florida, in a semi-dystopian world united under the Great Consortium, forged by a mysterious figure known only as 'The Potentate.' Under the Consortium, religion has been outlawed, and members of the international clergy largely exterminated due to the 'Sash Hunts' that had been called for by the Potentate himself. One priest who had evaded the sash hunters during this period was a Father Maxwell Vickers, a Sicilian-born Catholic priest who had connections with the immortal Godcraft, Suri Yaktosh, and now seeks out her help in putting together a political revolution. Suri, now living in a perpetual state of depression, wants nothing to do with Vickers' revolution, but out of a hidden desire to keep an old friend safe, gets dragged into it and soon finds the revolution being forged in Cuba of all places.

Suri and Vickers, alongside the guidance of Scottish General Seth Myland and Consortium traitor General Andreas Lopez, contends with the Consortium through a bloody revolution that seeks to create a home for all faithful of the world. Suri helps keep the revolution alive in what little ways she can, but is also burdened by the recurring threat of the 'other Godcraft,' Selina Osiris, who now rivals Suri over her Godcraft necklace, and still bitter over an intimate past the two once shared together for many years.

## Flashlore Chapters

Tale of Two Godcrafts had a unique mechanic whereas with the release of every three 'Modern' (day) chapters, one 'Flashlore' chapter would also be released, taking the reader back to Napoleonic France with Selina Osiris as the protagonist. The Flashlore, by comparison to the Modern chapters, assumed a much heavier emphasis on themes of Drama, History, Comedy, and Friendship, and gradually revealed the history that Selina and Suri shared with each other leading up to the present day.

The Flashlore would go on to inspire The Osiris Contract, which similarly follows Selina Osiris as she serves under Napoleon Bonaparte.

## Cancelation

Despite Tale of Two Godcrafts gradually emerging as one of the more popular stories, a lack of solid roadmap for where the story was going led to many contradictions and regrets, along with a general lack of sense in how far along the story was to completion. Most critically, there existed divided attention on where the story needed the most focus due to the presence of the Flashlore every three chapters. A growing fascination and interest in the events of the past (presented in the Flashlore) led to a fostering of thought that Shrouded Piety would be better off starting with the Flashlore, rather than the Modern story. Eventually, under the prediction that Tale of Two Godcrafts was at risk of eventually rotting away due to this divided focus, it was decided that the story would be put on halt so that a final decision could be made on its future; this included the possibility of putting it on hold until the completion of EngelReise.

By April of 2021, the story was officially declared canceled, and the Prologue to The Osiris Contract was released.

## Differences

Despite still operating under the series of Shrouded Piety and generally following a similar script shown in the Flashlore, there are notable differences between Tale of Two Godcrafts and the canon Shrouded Piety:

* Selina Osiris is no longer Frankish, she is now ancient Egyptian, formerly known as SAt-Wsjr.
	+ By extension, Selina is no longer Catholic, but rather follows the ancient Egyptian faith.
* Suri Yaktosh is still a Crimean Goth, however, she is no longer a full Christian, but rather a 'half-convert,' practicing a fictional religion called Baphometism alongside Christianity.
* Selina now has darker skin to match her new Egyptian identity, while Suri's once blonde hair is now silver.
* Shrouded Piety's 'first' chapter now takes place in either the 18th century or 13th century rather than the end of the 21st century.
* Suri and Selina now have their own Godcraft necklaces--an Ankh, and speared star respectively--rather than halves of one cross.
* The Godcrafts now have an otherworldly hallway that they may retreat into or resurrect within.
	+ This was more than likely the case in Tale of Two Godcraft as well, but was never stated.
* The capabilities of a Godcraft are now expanded in such a way where Suri and Selina can design their own abilities, if they can simply develop the mental blueprint.
	+ Examples would be Selina developing an ability to fire burning Egyptian artwork for tomb art purposes, materializing an Egyptian sword, and even manipulating the language that a person is speaking. For Suri, she would instead focus on developing abilities that allow her to heal the wounds of others.
* It is no longer implied that the powers of a Godcraft is linked to virginity.
* The comedy once so iconic of the Flashlore Napoleonic characters is drastically reduced.
* Unlike in Tale of Two Godcrafts, it is implied that some—or all—of the Bible is true.
	+ An example of this would be Moses being portrayed as a historical figure rather than mythological.