Shrouded Piety: The Osiris Contract - Chapter 3

**Chapter 2 < | > Chapter 4**

With Mary submitting her Godcraft loyalty to Napoleon, the burden of uncovering all there is to know about her now falls into his hands, starting with an issue of their complex means of communicating with each other. On a more pressing matter though, Napoleon's fellow officers, noticing a decline in French troops and a rise in Egyptian hostility towards the French, not so subtly begin to oppose the continuation of the campaign in Egypt altogether in a flip that leaves Bonaparte furious. Both rejecting this reality and simultaneously holding a belief that Mary possesses undiscovered powers to keep their enemies away, Napoleon finds himself increasingly alone in supporting the Egyptian campaign. As if his day was not already bad enough, when Mary learns of the Christian Mother Mary, tension erupts as the Ancient Egyptian assumes this to be a religious branding upon her, thus sparking conflict with Napoleon, and a rejection of the name altogether. Now in the center of all this conflict, Napoleon is stressed to decide whether to placate his Godcraft subject with another name, or test the waters with her...

## Chapter Reading

== Chapter 3 – Rebranding Osiris =

In the days to follow Napoleon’s freeing of Mary and subsequently her swear of allegiance to him, France would see more victory against Ottoman forces. There came an opportunity cost with every victory, however, in that with every loss the French suffered, the less of a hold France had over Egypt; with every Ottoman loss suffered, a new soldier from the Empire would come to replace him. Without the British blocking any possibility of gaining new soldiers from France, Napoleon’s hold over the Nile would become harder with every battle. For now, he made the best of this stranded situation, which at the moment included learning from his new supernatural subject.

Alone in the palace, Napoleon and General Kléber, as well as an attending General Menou, stood around the same table Mary had last been summoned over. Kléber had the spotlight, pointing a thin stick down at a precise map of Ottoman Egypt.

He continued a discussion, “… Sédiman was a breath of fresh air, a convincing enough battle that superior technology is still prevalent over the Turkish numbers.”

Menou added, “Further, that the troops' spirit has yet to capitulate.”

Napoleon cupped a hand over his mouth and commented, “Now it is only a matter of time before the Ottomans come begging for an end to the bloodshed, and the British sending their boats somewhere else.”

Both other generals exchanged concerned looks, Kléber replying, “Bonaparte, Sédiman was a good battle, but let us be honest, at best, it proves we have what it takes to delay the inevitable.”

“Which is?”

“That eventually our soldiers will be dead or running, and we will at that point be resorting to fielding Egyptians in French clothing.”

Menou hesitantly added, “The British know that the longer their ships stay, the more desperate we will become for reinforcements and supply. They have no reason to flee.”

Napoleon first pointed to Kléber, “The Ottoman threat *will* back off with enough muscle. They will soon realize the harsh reality of the situation, that they are losing thousands of men over mostly desert.” He then pointed to Menou, “The British fleet is mighty, but their empire too large. It is inevitable they will cease their blockade of Egypt once they see a greater priority.”

Kléber smashed a fist over the table and lectured, “Damn it, Bonaparte! Put aside your illusions of grandeur and look around you. There are whispers from every corner of Cairo damning the French. All someone must do is set off a flame and this entire city will be in revolt against us. *One* defeat could be all it takes for the Egyptians to throw us into the Nile.”

This claim created a sharp response from Napoleon, fury in his eyes as he retaliated, “Never! We have given Egypt more than they ever could have wished for, and besides, the Egyptians are humble, loyal people to the end. Always have been.”

Neither general backed off, Menou asserting, “You understand that if the people *do* revolt, this campaign may very well be over.”

Napoleon looked down with sudden nervousness, “…not to mention, an Egyptian revolt may see Mary switching sides…” but he shook off this thought, “The Egyptian people are secure under my hand.”

As the meeting continued and soon delved into matters of religious relations and the power of the local clergy in Cairo, the Godcraft Mary entered the palace room without a sound and continued past the three generals in a very casual manner. She bore the sweat of someone who had been outside for some time, yet lacked any discomforted expression. Her destination was the room Napoleon granted Mary, but once the man caught sight of his new Godcraft subject, all matters of discussion came to an immediate halt.

“Mary!”

Mary stopped, technically not ‘connected’ to Napoleon’s ‘heart,’ but still able to recognize her name easily. She faced the three men with a monotone face. The Corsican general gave her a somewhat disapproving stare, reading the sweat on her face.

“Where have you been? I don’t recall sending you out on an errand.”

Mary dared to frustrate Napoleon yet again by refusing to tune into a common language, instead standing there without context on what she was being told. This prompted the man to strike a fist down, and gesture her to step forward.

“Mary! Enough fooling around, speak to me.”

Kléber, sensing awkward energy in the room, quirked his mouth and requested, “May I take my leave?”

“No.” Napoleon repeated his gesture, “Mary, speak.”

The Godcraft tightly sucked her lips and widened her eyes with frustration of her own, but in the end, chose to honor his wish—even though it would be at his expense.

“Yes, General. How may I serve you?” she asked.

Her words caused Napoleon’s fellow generals to express shock toward her.

As if forgetting her lecture about language mind control completely, Napoleon replied, “Where have you been? I did not send you out of the palace.”

Now both generals reacted with immense startlement at Napoleon’s words, Menou going as far as to jump. Mary was going to answer him, but predicting how this scene would play out, first batted her eyes over to Menou.

“First, Napoleon, let us settle one matter once and for all. Your generals look beyond frightened. I would suggest asking if they are alright.”

Napoleon did not turn his head but did shift his eyes to Kléber, “Kléber, relax. Mary is an ally of France, not some assassin.”

Kléber’s eyes shook at Napoleon with fear. He looked to Mary, then back to Napoleon, and finally, opened his mouth to speak. What came next left Napoleon in utter amazement; Kléber spoke to him in a language he did not understand at all. Now it was Napoleon who widened his eyes and backed up in fright.

“K- Kléber, what language is that!?”

Mary answered, “Your general is speaking ‘French,’ only, you do not know French while I control your heart.”

Napoleon shouted at Mary, “We are speaking French!”

“*We* are speaking the tongue of the ancient Nile, you are just not aware.” Napoleon let out a long gasp. “Your general speaks French, but as you are *hearing* him—ancient Nile language.”

“I don’t believe it…” Napoleon muttered.

Kléber said something to Napoleon with concern over him, and with a mere two words from Menou, both generals bowed and took leave from the room. Both shouldered up and spoke what sounded to Napoleon like ancient Egyptian language on their way out of the palace, and on occasion glanced back at Napoleon.

Following this incident, Napoleon grabbed his head and took a seat to gather his thoughts, “Okay… okay, Mary…”

Mary smirked, “Now do you understand the complexity of my power?”

He brushed his hair back and bloated his cheeks for a moment, nodded, and said, “You could have warned me that would happen.”

“I did!”

“Neh…” the General, now growing a tad embarrassed, looked away from Mary and asked, “Where have you been today?”

Mary placed a hand over her Ankh necklace and answered, “In search of the Walls of Ra.”

“What do y-” Napoleon rolled his eyes, “If it is a religious monument, it is likely no more.”

“Why not?”

“Because the ancient beliefs of Egypt have long passed, you see. These walls you seek surely offended some if it contained imagery of your gods.”

Mary responded with a taken back look, “How would gods of Egypt have offended Egyptians?”

Napoleon stood back up and folded his hands behind his back, “Egypt has long stopped believing in *gods*. It now embraces Islam, and Christianity… both more or less praying to the same singular god.”

Mary grunted, “One god? Tell me about these beliefs.”

The general laughed in what started genuinely but ended with tension. He stalked the woman with annoyed eyes and asked for a third time, “I did not permit you to leave the palace. So, why did you leave?”

Mary answered honestly, “I am following the same standards placed on me by pharaohs of past. While the Pharaoh did not allow me to wander outside of his immediate realm without permission, he did -”

“I care little about the old ways of the Pharaoh.” Though Napoleon did not realize it, his comment had erected a mighty glare from Mary. “We are at war, and I cannot have you adventuring around looking for old holy sites.”

Mary bowed, “Then I apologize, General. Where will you have me?”

Napoleon approached the balcony and said back to her, “The palace is large enough to entertain your curiosities. I do not want you leaving the palace without my wish.”

“Oh! That is…” Mary rolled her eyes down, “That is… actually, close to what the pharaohs allowed of me.”

“Very good.”

With this, Napoleon took off for a hallway, nothing more to say on the matter. Although Mary was at first pleased with this discussion, her raging curiosity got the better of her and led her to chase after her new master. Despite Napoleon’s cold exit, he welcomed the Godcraft by his side as they crossed an outdoor palace bridge and entered a different section of the palace. They found themselves walking through a room traditionally intended for foreign diplomatic meetings.

“General, may I ask a personal question of you?”

Napoleon nodded, “I have asked much of you, I would not mind sharing about myself.”

Mary nodded as well, and with free permission inquired, “What do you believe in?”

“Unmatched glory and legacy, met through work and ambition.”

“Interesting.” Already, the two turned down another hallway, now walking past many portraits of Sultans. “However, I mean to ask, what gods… or *god* do you believe in?”

Napoleon grinned, “Perhaps I am my own god. Perhaps my religion is none; perhaps it is the spirit of military victory.” Mary lowered her brows, thinking on this. “But, to placate your curiosity, I will answer that I am a Christian, most nights.”

“Whom you say the Egyptians identify as.”

“Not so much. Egyptians are mostly Muslim, with a lesser number following a form of Christianity.”

They stepped out onto yet another bridge, this time though, Napoleon stopped to admire the view of the distant body of water and trees. Mary joined him and smiled a bit.

“What is a Christian?”

Napoleon rolled his eyes up and blew, “You and your questions… U—Uh, let me think of the quickest way to summarize it…” He closed one eye and thought, “There is God, who created the universe we work from through his will alone. …then there somewhere along the line was Moses, wh-” The General stopped himself. “Well, I’m not the one to ask these questions. What matters most is that God impregnated the blessed Mary with Jesus Christ, who we Christians see as our -”

All of a sudden, Mary gasped and recoiled herself from the balcony edge, “What? Mary is the name of your god!?”

Napoleon winced at her, “No! Mary was no god; she gave birth to the *son* of God.”

An agitated Mary flailed her arms, “When selecting a name for me, you knowingly branded me with the name of this religious icon of yours?”

“That’s enough talk of religion, I think.” Napoleon crossed his arms at her, “I chose the name because it is a respectable name for a woman, and I respect you.”

“A respectable name for a woman of your faith?”

“Well, yes, but it is a name—an identifier. You needn’t make a stir over this.”

The Godcraft sneered at him, “I do not condemn your Mary, I do not know her, but I refuse to be insulted with this religious branding.”

Napoleon flailed his arms, “It is not religious branding! I do not understand your anger, I chose a name to call you I felt was fitting of your character, that is all.”

“Well, I refuse to honor the name any further.”

“Mary…”

She stepped away from Napoleon with a finger out and fierce face, “I am *not* Mary of Osiris! I refuse this name. I, am SAt-Wsjr, *not* Mary of Osiris.”

“Well, I renamed my wife, and I will certainly rename my subject if I wish it.”

Mary prepared to walk away but answered, “If you refuse to address me as SAt-Wsjr, I expect a new name, a better name, one not connected to your god.”

“Okay, I will grant you a new name, and this time you will be satisfied with it!” Napoleon shouted off to the departing woman. He swiped his hand dismissively in her direction and walked the other direction. “This Godcraft is becoming more trouble than she’s worth…”

A time later, under a palace roof but ultimately outside sat not one, but two Bonapartes—Napoleon and his brother Louis, the latter of whom chose to accompany the other on his ambitious Egyptian campaign. They feasted on fine foods and beverages to the sight of a palace garden, but none of this helped Napoleon settle his temper over the Mary ordeal.

“What is this?” an agitated Napoleon asked of his beverage.

“Sugarcane—juice. It’s rather popular here.”

He set it down and complained, “I want wine.”

Louis smirked, “Brother, we are in Egypt.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Now the younger brother replaced his slight look of humor with seriousness, “Why so bothered? Last we spoke, you seemed absolutely enthralled of the country.”

For a moment, Napoleon would become faceless while staring at one of the pyramids, its tip only slightly visible from the palace. It would at first seem that the sight of this monument—under his control—would calm him, but just as quickly came the return of an angered face.

“I am struggling with culture shock is all.”

Louis nodded, then returned to his drink slowly. At the end of his long sip, he eyed Napoleon and said, “Understandable, the Egyptian people are very different, and *very* unfriendly to our occupation, especially now more than ever given the circumstances.”

As if Mary had all at once left Napoleon’s head, he channeled new anger toward his brother, “What circumstances?”

Bravely, Louis answered, “Well, the fact that… we are losing French soldiers fast, and will soon need to rely on Egyptian recruits to -”

Napoleon struck a hand down and attacked, “Do not use the word ‘fact’ so sloppily, dear Brother! You fail to answer for the *fact* that we continue to defeat every attack the enemy sends our way.” Without subtleness, Napoleon turned his head away and concluded, “I suspect you’ve been in talks with General Kléber, who shares this delusion of impending doom.”

“Then forget Kléber and listen to your honest brother! Dare I try and deceive my own?” Napoleon did not answer him, prompting Louis to stand up with an arm out. “Look around you, brother! Fewer Frenchmen walk among us with every battle and more daggering words from the Egyptians around us. We should negotiate our retreat while we still can.”

“And what would the Directory say if we were to do that? My naïve brother, the Directory would have us hanged for abandoning Egypt.”

Louis said a bit loudly, “The Directory would rather have their soldiers and generals back in France than to die to Ottoman forces!” Napoleon took a deep breath, maintained hard brows and a pout, but also conceded a crack in the wall—nervous eyes. “Brother, for god’s sake, I have been honest with you, now can you be honest with me and admit that our situation is not good?”

Napoleon, meditating on the matter, proceeded to eat in silence for a bit while hinting at a response in the works. Surprisingly, doing so seemed to calm the man to a point where he became almost careless looking.

“I love you as a brother and man who chose to endure this distant journey with me. For that reason, I will admit to you only that our control over Egypt is… quite threatened…”

“Then might I humbly suggest we plan our evacuation from Egypt.”

The suggestion stung Napoleon, leaving a crushed face upon him, but one that would soon transition into ambitious fury. “Never. Angry as the Egyptians may be, and the fewer we Frenchmen become, this is a fight I shall not lose.”

“Napoleon.”

The general jumped out of his chair, nearly kicking it over in the process, and aggressively urged, “I have a plan, Louis! I just… need to unlock…”

“What!?” Louis impatiently asked.

“This woman, Brother, Mary, *she* holds the key to cementing our rule over Egypt, I just know it!”

Louis shook wildly, “No! No, no. This woman you’ve encountered won’t stop thousands of Turks and Egyptians from dragging our corpses into the ground.”

“But she can! She *may*!” Napoleon insisted with a collapse in hair. “This woman has powers beyond our understanding, and she swears loyalty to *me*! She must have destructive means within her that can force this country to obey me!”

Louis laughed, “My god, Napoleon, you sound like you *want* to remain trapped in Egypt—to become some modern Pharaoh!”

The general, sweating from fury and his hair in a slight mess, looked again to the pyramid tip with eyes still raging.

“Maybe I do!” Napoleon replied.

Louis fell back in his chair and brought a palm to his face, “Brother, please… This campaign has gone to your head, this witch… nay, this magician is making you lose sight of home.”

“But don’t you see? If worse comes to worst, we can forget France and become true rulers of Egypt.” Napoleon, becoming more sold by his own delusion, started to walk about by himself, “Yes… I would strike not only peace with Britain but even ally them with promises of unlimited port access; in exchange, they sponsor our rule and aid us against the Ottoman threat.”

“And what about your wife?”

Napoleon looked over his shoulder and nodded, “She would move to Egypt, and become my Cleopatra.”

“Kléber and Menou would never stay, let alone their soldiers.” Louis crossed his arms, “I am not so sure that *I*would stay.”

“You all would if I named you lesser kings of your own parts of Egypt.”

Louis, suddenly without appetite, covered up the remaining food and asserted, “Brother, some things are meant to remain dreams, this would not work out. I agree with General Kléber, our best option at this point would be to map out a plan to return to France, where we may return to lands normal to us.”

Napoleon refused to address this suggestion, but did easily step away from his pharaonic fantasy to ask, “Do you not believe this woman I’ve found may have some magic at her hand that could cement our victory here?”

“I believe there is little known about her to suggest she can turn away the dangers around us.” Louis stood up and approached his brother to the side, “Egypt has always had their magicians. Do not fall for the same tomfoolery once imposed on Moses by Pharaoh.”

“And what if Mary is not playing games? What if she truly is a witch of kinds?”

“Then I would be even more cautious of her.” Louis revealed a concerned face, “But… again, given the circumstances of our situation, is she does have some Zeus lightning bolts to command, better she be on our side.”

Suddenly cutting to the chase, Napoleon complained, “She is revolting against the name I gave her.”

“What name? Mary?”

Napoleon kicked aside a small splotch of sand and nodded, “She actually believes I named her that as a way of proselytizing her—or insulting her.”

“Preposterous. There are few names better than that of the virgin mother.”

“Mary is a fool… err… *my* Mary, that is. She acted as though I named her after some fire breathing evil dragon goddess.” Thinking about it more, Napoleon swiped a hand across the air and tried to conclude, “No, she is my sworn servant now and what I say goes. She is Mary to the end.”

“Good.”

The two men stood together silently for a time, both thinking about this matter, and both gradually becoming burdened by the topic. It was Louis who more quickly arrived at an uneased face and pose.

“However…”

“Yes, I know.”

Nevertheless, Louis said, “However, I do think that if this woman is to reveal some power to save our military campaign in Egypt, it may be better we placate her than provoke her.”

“Placate a servant…” Napoleon laughed. “I rescued her; she should not only accept the name I gave her but thank me as well for it.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Oh, very well, what name might I grant her that will allow satisfaction for both of us?”

‘Mary’ now found herself occupying herself with a task not possible attempting to understand a book. For what time she had already spent free from her tomb, she often spent trying to make any sense of modern script. Even without explanation, it came off self-explanatory that a book was a collection of scripts offering recorded knowledge, but the script itself was alien to her. All the more insulting to her ancient intelligence was that she was examining an Egyptian book, but whereas the Egyptian language she knew dealt in hieroglyphs, the modern Egyptian book dealt with Arabic.

She did try with all her effort to on the spot unlock some Godcraft ability to read foreign writing, but there just wasn’t any possibility of doing this. Her frustration at being illiterate to modern writing was king in this case, but there did also come some excitement knowing she would eventually find her way to understanding these pages.

“Mary.”

The Godcraft, caught off guard, did not have herself controlling Napoleon’s language, but it was obvious enough by the one word that he was still addressing her in a name she did not want.

Soon making the connection, she responded, “My name, is SAt-Wsjr.”

“Sorry, Sat-wa.”

“My name… is not…” she shook at him, “Napoleon, I have come to realize that my previous behavior came from a place of shock. I know you did not mean offense by your choice of name, and so I wish to apologize to you for responding so harshly.”

Napoleon took the book out of her hand and grinned, “That is good to hear, I accept your apology. Fortunately, I did some thinking, and realized there is an even greater name I could give you, one of greater prestige that only a servant as powerful as you could handle.”

She nearly blushed, “U- Uh, I don’t… know about that. I am but a mere servant to Pharaoh; a funerary practitioner who deals fire from the hand when needed.”

“We need not fight with each other, Ma- err…” Napoleon struck a mighty pose and continued, “Surely, you have Godcraft talents that will protect Egypt from our enemies.”

“Of course, send me toward the enemy and I will slay them.”

“No, not yet…” Napoleon held up the book he had stolen from her, “I want you to destroy this book with your powers.”

She blinked at him—confused, “Destroy it?”

“In what special way could you destroy this?”

“I could destroy it in an endless possibility of ways if only I knew how…” Napoleon raised a brow at her. “In my period, *fire* designs were what I pursued. Most of what I know deals with fire, always as it relates to tomb art.”

Napoleon waved the book at her, “Then burn it.”

The Godcraft placed a hand over the book and carefully stole it back from the man. They looked at each other in the eyes, and with very slight concentration, Mary summoned an aura of flame around her fingertips. Somewhat predictably, the book caught fire and, in the process, burned her hand, causing her to drop it onto the floor. The two proceeded to watch the text burn to ash, Napoleon seeing extreme power even in this minor display of Godcraft power.

“I recognize your potential, and I need your servitude if we are to make the world a greater place.”

The Godcraft bowed, “I have sworn my loyalty to you, Napoleon. I trust in your ability to protect Egypt.”

The general nodded while still looking upon the small fire, “I have decided you will be henceforth known as ‘Selina.’”

She took this in fast, swallowed, and asked her usual question, “Selina. What does that name mean?”

“It refers to the Moon.” He felt the woman over the shoulder. “You will be the Moon that watches over Egypt as it sleeps.”

“Huh…” she squinted, “Selina is not some moon goddess of yours, is she?”

“No. So will you accept this name or not?”

She gave it some strong thought and searched Napoleon’s eyes for a plot, but as usual, found nothing. With a gracious bow, the woman responded, “Very well, Napoleon. I accept your foreign name.”

Napoleon smiled, “Then from this day forth, you shall be known in this world by the name, Selina Osiris.”

“Selina *of* Osiris.”

The general rolled his eyes, pocketed a hand, and walked away. SAt-Wsjr had been placated with a more satisfying name of Selina, and in exchange, Napoleon strengthened his relationship with his Godcraft servant. And so came the very essential question of whether Selina would, indeed, be enough to maintain Napoleon’s hold over Egypt. Judging by the grin he walked off with, his confidence rested high that Selina would be the wild card needed to keep Egypt under French control—or possibly under a new Bonaparte Egyptian dynasty if worse came to worst…

To be continued…

**Chapter 2 <** **| > Chapter 4**

## Chapter Summary

1. In a board meeting with fellow generals, Napoleon is informed that while the French continue to achieve victories in Egypt, each battle leaves them with less soldiers to fight with, and that with the British blockade, receiving reinforcements from France will be impossible. Napoleon denies this reality, substituting it with a belief that the British will lose interest in the campaign and cease the blockade.
2. Further, Napoleon is informed that the people of Egypt are becoming restless with the French occupation, and that the risk of an Egyptian rebellion is inevitable. Napoleon denies this reality as well, but does concede fear to the thought that Mary could side with the Egyptian rebels if such were to occur, only to reinforce his alternate reality that the people of Egypt are loyal to him.
3. Mary passes by the meeting, hinting that she had been outside. Angry, Napoleon lectures Mary on having not given her permission to leave the palace, testing how much lordship he holds over her. In carrying this discussion with her, Napoleon's generals witness the horrific sight of Napoleon and Mary speaking Ancient Egyptian language, while in turn, Napoleon only heard foreign speak from his generals. This proved once and for all Mary's claim that she uses her powers to force Napoleon to speak her language without him knowing.
4. After being lectured about her search for religious sites of her old faith and how the locals do not approve, Mary finally inquires about Napoleon's religion. He reluctantly attests to following Christianity.
5. When explaining Christianity to her, Napoleon slips the name of the Virgin Mary, alarming the Godcraft upon realizing that the name she was granted was attached to a foreign religion. Furious  by this, Mary demands either to be referred to as SAt-Wsjr or for a new, non-religious name to be chosen. The two part on negative terms, with Napoleon meditating on what to do.
6. Later, Napoleon joins his brother, Louis, for a meal out in the palace courtyard. It is here Louis attempts to persuade Napoleon to the same point of view as his generals on the direction of the Egyptian campaign. Napoleon confesses to his brother only that, deep down, he does see the Egyptian campaign in decline. Louis pushes the subject more, but backfires as an enraged Napoleon goes to such an extreme as to suggest he may forget about France and remain in Egypt as a modern pharaoh. The high tension from both sides eventually led to both men calming down and bringing the discussion back to Mary.
7. A stressed Napoleon madly contests that Mary is the key to saving the Egyptian campaign, believing that somewhere deep down she possesses destructive power capable of bringing the locals and Ottoman threat to their knees. Louis is not convinced of this, noting the Biblical Exodus story where Pharaoh had magicians perform tricks on Moses. Nevertheless, Louis cautiously offers his support to influencing and exploiting Mary for their own advantage.
8. For a moment, Napoleon declares that he controls Mary and owns the right to call her 'Mary' regardless of her wishes. Louis easily persuades him to look the other way, noting that if she is to save their campaign, that Napoleon would best placate her interests--starting with a more appropriate name.
9. Catching Mary attempting to read, Napoleon takes the book from her and demands she use her Godcraft powers to destroy it, citing her powers as reason enough to warrant a great name. Conjuring the same fire-based hand spell she used in ancient times to direct wall art, she sets the book aflame, satisfying Napoleon's hunch that Mary has the potential in her to unleash destruction upon his enemies.
10. Satisfied, Napoleon rewards Mary with the new name of 'Selina,' with Napoleon claiming 'Selina Osiris' but she claiming 'Selina of Osiris.'

## Author Notes

#### Selina's Godcraft Translator

By far, one of the most significant differences with Selina of the current canon and that of Tales of Two Godcraft is her new ability to be able to rewire someone's mind to replace one's language with her own (or from the victim's perspective, everyone else suddenly speaks ancient Egyptian). The practicality of this power would seem obvious on paper, but in execution, it has additional implications this chapter explores in that the targeted person no longer understands their replaced language or even recognizes that it has been replaced. This power really doesn't serve Selina much in terms of speaking with Napoleon since she is to learn French quickly in the story, but the unintended destructive effect of being able to hijack someone's language and make them suddenly speak ancient Egyptian at her command is where I felt this could be very interesting.

#### Fragile Authority

A major point in this chapter—if not even the biggest point—is that despite Selina being a character who historically follows the will of her master to the letter, Napoleon is not the pharaoh, and so his authority over her is very conditional and with limits. Unlike Tale of Two Godcrafts, I want to portray Selina as someone who can be unquestionably loyal, but that this reward of hers does not come blindly to just any master. At this point in the story, I wanted Selina to be in such a fragile state of obedience that the reader might even be fooled into thinking that the two are merely allies; this was to change as the story progresses, but at this stage in Shrouded Piety, Selina has expectations of her new liege.

#### Moon Goddess

At the end of the chapter, Selina challenges, “Selina is not some moon goddess of yours, is she?” to which Napoleon assures her is not the case. I planned to remove this dialogue in the final draft of the chapter, but upon researching the origin of the name 'Selina,' I discovered that the name is, in fact, originating from the Greek moon goddess, Selene. Because of this coincidence, I decided to keep Selina's question in the final draft.

## Chapter Illustration

This was the second time a chapter illustration used the new art style that started in Chapter 2. Due to a rush to get chapter itself released, figures were not made for the illustration, relying instead on scenery that would usually be created as a background. The illustration features Cairo, but most prominently a pyramid with the sun behind it. The illustration itself, while experimental, is nevertheless very simple looking and plays it safe with the style of structures.

The image was prepared through a mixture of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.