Week 5 Story: A Priest's Revenge
My story begins several generations before my birth, when the Egyptian king of the time was appointing a new generation of priests. My ancestor, who had studied the religious texts dutifully from the time he was a young boy and had been taught the rituals by his father as a young man, rightfully expected to be appointed high priest. In the king's ignorance, this holy man was instead consigned to be a lowly priest of no real importance.
Upon my birth, I was destined to fill the position of my father, my father's father, and my father's father's father: that of a lowly, underpaid priest with no hope for a brighter future than the one my ancestors' had had. I have never forgiven the royal family for sentencing my family and me to such an undeserved fate. The only comfort in life that I had was the secret passed down through my family for generations of the location of the Book of Thoth, a book filled with incredible power but power that can only be accessed at a great price: the wrath of Thoth himself.
With no way to access the book without bringing down more misfortune on my head, I contented myself for three decades with imagining what all I would do if I had the power that the Book of Thoth grants its readers. Three decades working in the temple passed without event. I married and had a son of my own, fulfilling my duties and dreaming of avenging my family and myself as I watched my son grow into a man trapped in the same life as his father.
Imagine my surprise and joy when one tedious day, while working in the temple, I stumbled across the prince, Nefer-ka-ptah, studying the ancient texts at my temple. I had heard that the young man, who was around the age of my son, was an avid reader and was always looking for new texts to consume but had never seen him in my life before now. His well-known love of reading, his presence in my temple, and the fact that he was a member of the royal family allowed me an opportunity I could not resist. The plan practically wrote itself.
I caught him by surprise and, when asked why I had been watching him, told him that I had a piece of information I thought he would rather enjoy. I could see his interest and offered the information at the price of an extravagant funeral for myself, one which I could never afford but which would be no burden at all for such a privileged book worm. The prince readily agreed and so I told him the location of the Book of Thoth, happily anticipating the misfortune that would befall him should he obtain the book. After hearing what I had to say, Nefer-ka-ptah lept up in excitement, thanked me, and ran in the direction of the palace, at which point I had only to wait for my plan to unfold.
I kept a close watch on the river, which happens to run right near my temple. After a few days, I saw a huge barque on the water being loaded with supplies. Recognizing it as a royal barque, I rushed to the river to watch. Nefer-ka-ptah, his wife Ahura, and their son Merab boarded the vessel within the hour and headed towards the Southern Land and the location of the book. Satisfied that my revenge was underway, I went back to the temple and continued my work.
After a week had passed, during which I maintained a careful watch of the river, I saw the same royal barque approach the shore. The crew lept ashore and ran towards the palace in panic and terror; the prince and his family did not disembark. My plan appeared to have succeeded, though any number of things could explain their absence. However, my hopes were confirmed by temple gossip the next day, where I learned all that had befallen the royal family on their journey.
Thoth had, as predicted, quickly exacted revenge on the naive prince and his family for the theft, drawing each one to the water and drowning them, from the little boy Merab to the prince Nefer-ka-ptah himself. Nefer-ka-ptah died knowing his fate but unable to escape it, much as I myself knew my fate from birth and was unable to avoid it, try as I might. My genius plan had worked and there was nothing more for me to do. I could die a happy man.
The next week, much to my surprise, the body of the prince had been found and the Book of Thoth was tied to his chest. I had expected that Thoth had recovered his book by now, but evidently the prince was smarter than I had anticipated. The book then fell into the possession of the king and his wife as a last memory of their beloved son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. What they did with the book was not told to me, but it really does not matter. I knew that Thoth would not rest until all who had possessed the sacred book had been wiped off the face of the earth.
I retired that night happy beyond belief that, at long last, I had my revenge against the royal family. It all had turned out even better than I had anticipated, what with the king and queen coming to possess the cursed item. I did not even care that the king lived, for I knew it would only be a matter of time before Thoth took his revenge upon him and all who dared touch the Book of Thoth. As things turned out, I was correct. Within the year, a new king would be on the throne and I would pass on to the afterlife with a funeral befitting a prince, my son having just been appointed high priest by the new ruler.
Author's Note:
The original story that mine is based on, The Book of Thoth, tells the story of the prince and his journey to obtain the book and all that befalls him and his family as a result. I chose to tell the story from the point of view of the priest who tells the prince about the book, adding a back story to explain why the priest tells the young man about the book. In my story, the priest knows about the dire consequences of stealing the book, but chooses to inflict this on the prince in order to exact revenge for wrongs committed against his ancestor, his family, and himself by the royal family (IE, not giving the priest's ancestor the position of high priest). One important thing to note is that in ancient Egypt, it appears that priests did marry and have children, only serving three months at a time in the temple and going back to their normal lives afterward until it was time to return to the temple to perform their duties. So that is why I constructed this whole familial dispute that continues through multiple generations, finally being resolved with revenge and the priest's son being appointed high priest at last by the new king.
Bibliography: The Book of Thoth in Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
Upon my birth, I was destined to fill the position of my father, my father's father, and my father's father's father: that of a lowly, underpaid priest with no hope for a brighter future than the one my ancestors' had had. I have never forgiven the royal family for sentencing my family and me to such an undeserved fate. The only comfort in life that I had was the secret passed down through my family for generations of the location of the Book of Thoth, a book filled with incredible power but power that can only be accessed at a great price: the wrath of Thoth himself.
With no way to access the book without bringing down more misfortune on my head, I contented myself for three decades with imagining what all I would do if I had the power that the Book of Thoth grants its readers. Three decades working in the temple passed without event. I married and had a son of my own, fulfilling my duties and dreaming of avenging my family and myself as I watched my son grow into a man trapped in the same life as his father.
Imagine my surprise and joy when one tedious day, while working in the temple, I stumbled across the prince, Nefer-ka-ptah, studying the ancient texts at my temple. I had heard that the young man, who was around the age of my son, was an avid reader and was always looking for new texts to consume but had never seen him in my life before now. His well-known love of reading, his presence in my temple, and the fact that he was a member of the royal family allowed me an opportunity I could not resist. The plan practically wrote itself.
I caught him by surprise and, when asked why I had been watching him, told him that I had a piece of information I thought he would rather enjoy. I could see his interest and offered the information at the price of an extravagant funeral for myself, one which I could never afford but which would be no burden at all for such a privileged book worm. The prince readily agreed and so I told him the location of the Book of Thoth, happily anticipating the misfortune that would befall him should he obtain the book. After hearing what I had to say, Nefer-ka-ptah lept up in excitement, thanked me, and ran in the direction of the palace, at which point I had only to wait for my plan to unfold.
I kept a close watch on the river, which happens to run right near my temple. After a few days, I saw a huge barque on the water being loaded with supplies. Recognizing it as a royal barque, I rushed to the river to watch. Nefer-ka-ptah, his wife Ahura, and their son Merab boarded the vessel within the hour and headed towards the Southern Land and the location of the book. Satisfied that my revenge was underway, I went back to the temple and continued my work.
After a week had passed, during which I maintained a careful watch of the river, I saw the same royal barque approach the shore. The crew lept ashore and ran towards the palace in panic and terror; the prince and his family did not disembark. My plan appeared to have succeeded, though any number of things could explain their absence. However, my hopes were confirmed by temple gossip the next day, where I learned all that had befallen the royal family on their journey.
Thoth had, as predicted, quickly exacted revenge on the naive prince and his family for the theft, drawing each one to the water and drowning them, from the little boy Merab to the prince Nefer-ka-ptah himself. Nefer-ka-ptah died knowing his fate but unable to escape it, much as I myself knew my fate from birth and was unable to avoid it, try as I might. My genius plan had worked and there was nothing more for me to do. I could die a happy man.
The next week, much to my surprise, the body of the prince had been found and the Book of Thoth was tied to his chest. I had expected that Thoth had recovered his book by now, but evidently the prince was smarter than I had anticipated. The book then fell into the possession of the king and his wife as a last memory of their beloved son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. What they did with the book was not told to me, but it really does not matter. I knew that Thoth would not rest until all who had possessed the sacred book had been wiped off the face of the earth.
I retired that night happy beyond belief that, at long last, I had my revenge against the royal family. It all had turned out even better than I had anticipated, what with the king and queen coming to possess the cursed item. I did not even care that the king lived, for I knew it would only be a matter of time before Thoth took his revenge upon him and all who dared touch the Book of Thoth. As things turned out, I was correct. Within the year, a new king would be on the throne and I would pass on to the afterlife with a funeral befitting a prince, my son having just been appointed high priest by the new ruler.
Statue of Egyptian priest holding a figure of Osiris, currently at Walter's Art Museum. Source: Wiki Commons
Author's Note:
The original story that mine is based on, The Book of Thoth, tells the story of the prince and his journey to obtain the book and all that befalls him and his family as a result. I chose to tell the story from the point of view of the priest who tells the prince about the book, adding a back story to explain why the priest tells the young man about the book. In my story, the priest knows about the dire consequences of stealing the book, but chooses to inflict this on the prince in order to exact revenge for wrongs committed against his ancestor, his family, and himself by the royal family (IE, not giving the priest's ancestor the position of high priest). One important thing to note is that in ancient Egypt, it appears that priests did marry and have children, only serving three months at a time in the temple and going back to their normal lives afterward until it was time to return to the temple to perform their duties. So that is why I constructed this whole familial dispute that continues through multiple generations, finally being resolved with revenge and the priest's son being appointed high priest at last by the new king.
Bibliography: The Book of Thoth in Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
I really liked your story Rebecca. I don't know much about Egyptian mythology/folklore but I found your story really interesting. Your author's note did a really good job explaining how you changed the original story. I liked that you gave backstory to the priest and explained his reasoning for leading the Prince to the Book of Thoth. I think that made the story much more compelling.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I really liked reading your story. It was compelling and interesting from start to finish. The way you changed the perspective was skillfully done. It gives the priest more of a character and explains why he sent the prince to get the cursed book in the first place. I always like reading about ancient Egypt and I feel that your story fits in well. It could easily be part of the times.
ReplyDeleteThis story was really interesting! I'm always a big fan of revenge stories in general, especially ones crafted from classic tales. The priest's motive becoming obvious as he sees his son set in his station was really clever, and actually made me sympathetic to the anti-hero-esque protagonist. I do wish there was a bit more description of the imagery of places like the temple and the river, to aide in visualization of the story.
ReplyDeleteHey, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story! Putting things in first person made the quest for revenge feel a little more personal -- it's easier for readers to connect with a character/cause when we are seeing through their eyes. I also really appreciated your inclusion of some historical background in the author's note. I know some of the basics of Egyptian mythology and culture, but your "crash course" helped provide information about the setting that I would have missed otherwise.