Legomenon for the fanciful ROMANTIC IMPULSE WRITINGS

These often whimsical Writings constitute what may have been intended as a collection of exemplary tales or fables about the personal lives of historical or semi-historical figures. It has been proposed with some success that these Writings were intended for young persons, perhaps even children.

The familiar appellation 'Romantic Impulse' Writings derives from the imputed tender heart of their unidentified Author, who treats their protagonists with affection as well as respect, apparently in an effort to 'bring them to life' for readers, though this perception of their Author may itself be of Romantic (or even Sentimental) Impulse.

The fragment (Young Robenc} presents a charming portrait of two of Egderus' associates, Robenc and the Superius Frater, the latter being Egderus' mentor in his earliest days at Mountain House. It is unclear whether the concluding section of this Writing was lost, or if this is an incomplete draft its Author never did finish. The even more disjunct {Robenc Returns} presents a mere sketch of what may be the prologue to that moment in his life described in the much earlier Writing {Superius Frater and Robenc}, ostensibly composed by the Frater himself. The mirroristical quality of all three Writings — they all seem to be versions a meeting between Robenc and the Superius Frater, though at different times in the participants' lives, has caused some to surmise that all are a hoax by the same hand. This seems absurdly cynical — why would anybody do that?

Apparently an unfinished sketch, {The Exquisite Suzu} is unique, in that its heroine's name appears nowhere else in the archives. Although some have identified Suzu with the Author known as the Voice from the Locust Grove, the evidence for this ascription is disputed.

It is commonly believed that {The Starling} may portray the 'nurse' described in the somewhat problematic {Historian's Notebook} — the young female who took care of him at the beginning of his sojourn with the Remnant (if his rescuers can be so identified).

The very brief Writing {Markito Scriptor} was apparently intended to tell how Markito came to be, as some propose, the first Curator of the archives in historical times; he may in fact have done no more than help his master Egderus collect and organize the artifacts that were long afterwards discovered by the Scholar. It has been plausibly argued, however, that Markito may have been responsible for far more than this...

Finally, {Starling redux} — meaning perhaps 'returning to the Starling's story'; compare {Scholar's Apology, redux} — presents a sequel to her portrayal in the original Writing that bears her name, unless her story was taken up later by a different Author. No other explanation has been put forth for this apparent anomaly.