I went shopping at a used bookstore yesterday, to finish up a gift certificate I got last Christmas. I ended up buying a book on ancient Egyptian culture, plus 2 of the 3 small volumes called "Ancient Egyptian Literature" by Miriam Lichtheim. They contain translations of inscriptions, stories, hymns, and so forth from different periods in Egypt. (Vol 1 - Old & Middle Kingdom, 2 - New Kingdom, 3 - Late Egypt)
Anyhow this is a bit from a late story, that of "Stene Khamwas and Naneferkaptah". It's a reconstruction because the first 2 pages (the pages were, unusually, numbered) are missing, but it's pretty cool... maybe an adventure seed?
"Prince Khamwas, son of King Ramses II and high priest of Ptah at Memphis, was a very learned scribe and magician who spent his time in the study of ancient manuscripts and books. One day he was told of the existence of a book of magic written by the god Thoth himself, and kept in the tomb of a prince named Na-nefer-ka-ptah, who lived in the distant past and was buried somewhere in the vast necropolis of Memphis. After a long search, Prince Khamwas, accompanied by his foster brother Inaros, found the tomb of Naneferkaptah and entered it. He saw the magic book, which radiated a strong light, and tried to seize it. But the spirits of Naneferkaptah and of his wife Ahwere rose up to defend their cherished possession.
"Ahwere and her son Merib were not buried in this Memphite tomb, but rather in distant Coptos, where they had lost their lives. But the spirit of Ahwere was with her husband at this critical moment, and she now stood before Prince Khamwas and told him how her husband had acquired the magic book, and how they had all paid for it with their lives..."
Anyhow this is a bit from a late story, that of "Stene Khamwas and Naneferkaptah". It's a reconstruction because the first 2 pages (the pages were, unusually, numbered) are missing, but it's pretty cool... maybe an adventure seed?
"Prince Khamwas, son of King Ramses II and high priest of Ptah at Memphis, was a very learned scribe and magician who spent his time in the study of ancient manuscripts and books. One day he was told of the existence of a book of magic written by the god Thoth himself, and kept in the tomb of a prince named Na-nefer-ka-ptah, who lived in the distant past and was buried somewhere in the vast necropolis of Memphis. After a long search, Prince Khamwas, accompanied by his foster brother Inaros, found the tomb of Naneferkaptah and entered it. He saw the magic book, which radiated a strong light, and tried to seize it. But the spirits of Naneferkaptah and of his wife Ahwere rose up to defend their cherished possession.
"Ahwere and her son Merib were not buried in this Memphite tomb, but rather in distant Coptos, where they had lost their lives. But the spirit of Ahwere was with her husband at this critical moment, and she now stood before Prince Khamwas and told him how her husband had acquired the magic book, and how they had all paid for it with their lives..."
