The Curated Reflections of Zaffa the Idiot

"Your Sultan thinks himself important,
but this Universe is but one bubble of Voidstuff
in a raging wave."

— Zaffa the Idiot (written correspondenses) (alleged)

There is an author on historical Waking Materia who is more misattributed than every other author combined: the itinerant First Age philosopher, poet, theoretical cosmologist, possible Jabberwock cultist and argumentative pedant, Zaffa the Idiot. Widely considered the most egregious example, Curated Reflections of Zaffa the Idiot is nonetheless prized by scholars of First Age literature as an entertaining forgery with a genuine love for the source material.

Contents

The book is split into twenty-four chapters, covering a range of subjects typical for Zaffa the Idiot: political invective, art criticism, theoretical physics, sociology, philosophy, the innate natures of Kos and the Duskscape, et cetera. They are widely described as effortful but stilted, like something was lost in translation.

Authorship

Even more interestingly, the Curated Reflections originated from the foreign New Rozsan Empire, a nation very much at war with Zaffa's own, presenting a rare look into the cultural exchange that happened during these massive conflicts. This then bears the question: why were such publications permitted in New Rozsa?

The Rozsan nobility had a great and lucrative thirst for exciting frontier stories on this youthful, alien plane they had colonized. The authors (likely a group) were a style of racounteur intellectuals that were fashionable in New Rozsan culture at the time. By all indications even God-Empress Nir and the ruling Lichlords permitted their publication. Whether this was out of arrogance or an excess of caution is debated among Third Age scholars, though there is growing agreement the Rozsan Lichlords were hard pressed by the wars with the Kelpeater Dominion and stretched thin for resources, suggesting they valued peace with the citizenry.

Type

Textbook

Author
Unknown group of New Rozsan forgers; attributed to Zaffa the Idiot

Date
Late First Age

Origin
New Rozsan Empire

First discovery
Basement library of the Ruskanseyrie in Valamon

Profile: A portrait of Zaffa the Idiot.