Crimson Emperor Atheus III (15 years)
The second son of his father’s second wife, there was no expectation that Atheus III would ever succeed. But the disastrous Pox of Rhones and the Battle of Simelo intervened, leading to the deaths of all the other male heirs, including three brothers and two nephews. Atheus proved to be an extremely competent ruler nevertheless, though prone to bouts of melancholy and implacably opposed to any limits on his own power. His marriage to Eia of the Twin Moons was stillborn, though, and they never lived together after the birth of their son. He died after a lingering illness many suspect was stomach cancer.
Crimson Emperor Selasar I (2 years)
The only child of Atheus III and Eia of the Twin Moons, Selasar was doted on by his father, who undertook to groom him extensively for the throne. Selasar was extensively tutored in politics, etiquette, and combat, but the crown prince had inherited his father’s melancholy streak and became most strongly devoted to the Sepulcher of the Creator. Extremely pious, he took the vows of a priest at his coronation and refused all suitors during his brief reign. His great dream was to bring the Sepulcher of the Creator to the southern deserts of Naïx, and to that end he devoted himself utterly. The resulting campaign ended in utter defeat at the Battle of the Passes, and Selasar himself was killed along with two of his cousins.
Crimson Emperor Atheus IV (1 year)
The only remining heir of the male line after Selasar’s death in battle was his great-uncle, who was 87 at the time. Atheus IV tackled his reign with unusual energy for a man of his age, but his efforts to ensure the succession were for naught as his beloved wife was 78 herself and he refused to entertain the possibility of divorce. Instead, Atheus IV attempted to legitimize a bastard son of his nephew; when that failed, he sought to pass the succession to a great-nephew descended from his sister. Sadly, his efforts backfired: when he died of pleurisy 18 months into his reign, open civil war erupted between the two claiments he had attempted to secure.
Excerpts From Nonexistent Books 