Nefer was a good student at Alexandria High and received the highest grades in his class. He had a full ride to Egypt University and the sky was the limit. He was always searching for new knowledge and was always trying to learn. One day, while he was at the Library of Alexandria, he had wandered into an older section of the library. This section contained all of the old magic scrolls that no one really believed in anymore. All of the scrolls were dusty and piled on top of one another haphazardly. As he was walking through the stacks, one caught his eye. It was shoved in the corner of the very bottom shelf. After some tugging and rearranging, he finally pulled out the old papyrus. This was nothing like he had ever seen before, it was The Book of Thoth. The first few pages told him about a way to learn all the spells in the book. First, you had to write down the spells on a piece of papyrus. Second, you had to wash the ink off with beer. Third, you had to drink the beer, and only then would you know the spells by heart. He then started writing everything down and learning it this way.
Book of the Dead Papyrus. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
After doing this with all the spells in the book and all the books in the library, he became a powerful magician. He had stolen The Book of Thoth from the library so no one else would ever have the same power he did. Years later, Thoth went to Ra and asked him for permission to exact his revenge on Nefer for stealing his book. Ra granted him permission and Thoth got his revenge by burning down the Library of Alexandria. This was a devastating blow to the people of Alexandria and everyone else since this was one of the main resources for the culture, arts, and literature of the world. By this time, papyrus had became scarce and so Nefer tried to recreate all of the scrolls on parchment but died before he could finish.
Authors Note: This story is based on the Egypt Mythology story of The Book of Thoth. I thought it was interesting how he learned the spells and I thought Thoth’s revenge would be a good explanation for the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. Story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907). I have a bad cold, so I feel horrible. This story is lacking creativity but I did the best I could on what I had.
Your story was interesting. I think using the present day circumstance to tell the story Thoth was a good approach because it allowed you the flexibility to take a historical approach to the story in a fictional setting and expand on the story, while telling a completely new story if that makes sense. The title and picture you chose were both good choices..Overall a good story,,,,great job.
ReplyDeleteHey, Nicole! I really liked your storytelling post. I enjoyed the creative element of the sorcerer story – I definitely have never heard of dumping beer on the spells and drinking it off as a way to remember them. The image was also very fitting. If I had any suggestions, it would simply be to make the text for the author’s note larger so it is easier to read. Besides that, great job and I hope you feel better!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the font size. I didn't realize it was that small :)
ReplyDeleteHey Nicole. I enjoyed reading your storytelling post. I found it interesting how you described the process it took Nefer to gain the knowledge which made him into a magician. Dumping beer on the scrolls was an original take on memorization. I also like your title. It fits the ending of the story perfectly. In addition, your image is perfect to the story as it is a great photo. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you Matt!
ReplyDeleteA somewhat random detail that I really enjoyed: I love the word "haphazardly". It is used perfectly in the context and I'm a big fan. I also enjoyed your explanation for the destruction of the library because it really typically seems like those events are in some way explained as some sort of intervention from the gods.
ReplyDeleteA somewhat random detail that I really enjoyed: I love the word "haphazardly". It is used perfectly in the context and I'm a big fan. I also enjoyed your explanation for the destruction of the library because it really typically seems like those events are in some way explained as some sort of intervention from the gods.
ReplyDelete