|
|
Excerpts from GURPS EgyptDjadjaemankh's Magic (from the sidebar on p. 43)Once, so the story goes, when Pharaoh Snefru grew melancholy, he summoned the wizard Djadjaemankh to suggest some form of amusement. The sorcerer organized a boating expedition with 20 beautiful women, naked but for fish nets, serving as Pharaoh's rowers, each equipped with a paddle carved from ebony and inlaid with gold. Snefru enjoyed the trip, admiring the scenery both outside and inside the boat. During the trip, Snefru's chief wife, Mertitefs, lost her turquoise bracelet over the side of the vessel. She began to howl and curse, setting up such a din that Snefru couldn't ignore her. Although he promised to have his artisans make a duplicate of the bracelet, Mertitefs insisted that it could not be replaced. Pharaoh Snefru ordered Djadjaemankh to recover the lost ornament. The wizard magically made the water on half of Lake Faiyum rise up into the air, and he stacked this mass of water on top of the water in the other half of the lake. Then he walked across the dry lakebed, recovering the bracelet before allowing the water to flow back into the lakebed.
|
|
