Understatement. Only Pelagius I was a direct descendant.

But the descendants of Tiber's brother were still Septims (at least insofar as his brother had a claim to a name that was totally made up).

Plus the Amulet of Kings liked them, so yeah.

Part of me thinks that the status of Emperor the Empire is not really dependant on the Amulet of Kings. The Elder Council really only seemed to care about how closely related an heir was to Tiber, which explains the case of Uriel IV (I think. Yeah, I think it was Uriel IV and his son).

Yes, a great moment in Elder Council history: passing over Uriel Lariat's son Andorak and naming another shirttail cousin, Cephorus, Emperor, starting a civil war and prompting the rise of the Camoran Usurper.

HOORAY for the Elder Council and their infinte wisdom!

Andorak's heirs deserve mention. They are still the ruling family of Sharnhelm in High Rock. Why don't we just go visit them and ask for them to be Emperor? Why not? It would make sense. IT'S A CONSPIRACY I TELLS YA!

Maybe Her Illustrious Majesty Kintyra II bore children before she was slain by that traitorous sow Potema.

Seriously, in four hundred years there must be a mind-boggling number of collateral Septim lines just waiting for the throne. They could have a civil war as the tussle over the throne. It could be entertaining. The Empire needn't fall just yet, even if the third era is over with.

Although lore-wise this would be acceptable, as someone mentioned it seems as if they (the devs) are trying to move away from the septim line, forget the oblivion loopholes for a second and all the possible lore answers and lets look at oblivion the game for a second, more specifically lets look at the main ideas expressed in the game, the game keeps trying to stress that Martin was the only heir possible (we all know that this is not necessarily true, but lets keep following the main ideas) Ocato did not know of any other heirs nor did anyone else in-game this also stresses Martin's cruciality, if we accept that the devs were trying to close the septim lineage then we can accept the idea of closure which the avatar of akatosh represented in the end, as well as the reiterated phrases of 'who will rule over the empire with no heir'.

Suffice it to say that all this points to one main idea, the devs are trying to get rid of the Septim lineage, IMO the devs are planning something, they were planning something for TES V since oblivion just because of these small hints, the only answers anybody will get is in TES V, in other the next game will answer alot of mysteries left in oblivion.

I wonder also if Keyes' TES novel(s) are a clue to TES V. The first novel is said to be set 40 years after the Oblivion crisis, so maybe the next emperor hasn't been born yet at the close of the Third Era. He might come from any province, though I think he's more likely to be Nord, Redguard, or Breton. (You could even have the next ruler be an empress, but I'm not sure that the devs will choose a woman as the ruler in TES V.) Come to think of it, Keyes has a tradition of writing about strong women in his series "The Kingdom of Thorn and Bone", so I guess even that isn't impossible.

I believe three women have ruled as Empress before, so it wouldn't be all that strange. But the Septim Empire is done with. If the devs really wanted to continue the Empire they would go with their own lore and pluck one of Andorak's descendants from Sharnhelm.

I can't imagine, nor do I want to, what it would be like to be brother to Tiber Septim. <_< What would you even talk about?


The Septim line is 'made up', so it fits, right? Who says the guy had parents, for that matter? He was born under a rock Verily stone

A simple explanation is that the Septims were like the Spanish Habsburgs, who died out because of inbred. The Septim genes were so weakened because of generations marrying close family that the three sons were unable to give life to a child.

I don't know if the lore speaks of the families the women are of, but I dare to bet they belong to a close bloodline.

Good job applying science to a world of myth... Science no work in magic land.

<_<

It's entirely possible. But thankfully, France isn't around to mess things up so we can import some Austrian Hapsburgs to fill in the gap.

I was unaware that Keyes novel was going to be set after Oblivion. Fascinating--do we know when it's coming out? It could potentially tell us a lot, yes.

And I really hope they do end up choosing an empress. That would be a great thing.

Here you go http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345508017/ref=s9_simz_gw_s2_p14_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1CEK0MGQTHWB9MC9NSW6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

It will be November 24th. From Amazon's description of the upcoming novel:

Four decades after the Oblivion Crisis, Tamriel is threatened anew by an ancient and all-consuming evil. It is Umbriel, a floating city that casts a terrifying shadow?for wherever it falls, people die and rise again.

And it is in Umbriel's shadow that a great adventure begins, and a group of unlikely heroes meet. A legendary prince with a secret. A spy on the trail of a vast conspiracy. A mage obsessed with his desire for revenge. And Annaig, a young girl in whose hands the fate of Tamriel may rest . . . .