Emperor Faltas V

**Emperor Faltas V** was the Emperor of Nesaria during WW1. He is most infamously known for surrendering the Nesarian Empire to the Allies and submitting to the Treaty of Haguun, which politically divided the Empire and ruined it economically; for this reason, he is widely regarded as worst and most detested Emperor of Nesaria in history. However, he is also known for a series of liberal reforms to the law and government - which were almost entirely undone by the successor who usurped him, Emperor Adrion.

Faltas was never considered a particularly strong Emperor during his lifetime; besides his key reforms, he rarely engaged with the minutiae of administration. He rarely showed any interest in legislation, typically rubber-stamping all the bills presented before him by the Imperial Council. His interest in military matters was equally low, despite leading the Empire into its largest war since the Civil War. However, this was not particularly out of the ordinary; Emperors who did not show great interest in actually ruling had come before and had done little to harm the Empire, and were generally remembered as mediocre rather than awful. His extremely negative reputation was instead a result of his surrender in WW1.

It was not merely the fact that Faltas conceded defeat which left him so universally hated, but rather that he agreed to an extraordinarily punitive and destructive peace treaty despite the Empire still standing strong - or, at least, that is the popular perception which remains to this day. Historians in academic circles, both Inecurian and overseas, are generally more sympathetic to Faltas's decision - though almost none endorse it.

It remains hotly debated whether the Empire could have achieved its aims in WW1, but it is almost universally agreed that the Empire was completely capable of not being defeated itself and reaching a stalemate - however, this is a conclusion reached by historians who have access to mountains of data from both sides and who are able to research at their leisure. Emperor Faltas, who had never taken much of an interest in the specifics of the war to begin with, only had scarce information available and was under intense pressure and stress, not knowing what the enemy was capable of and not knowing who could be trusted. His decision to surrender showed the total, unmitigated success of the "morale shock" strategy the Allies had been devising together with the Frozen Few since late 1917, taking full advantage of the meek and indecisive nature of the Emperor.

After the war, Faltas was deposed and usurped by his cousin Adrion, forced to concede the crown at gunpoint in the March on Capera. Though clearly an illegal act, Adrion had overwhelming popular support; even Adrion's critics, both contemporary and modern, generally do not fault him for overthrowing possibly the least popular Emperor in history. The Faltassians, those who believe the line of Adrion is illegitimate and call for the heirs of Faltas to be restored, are a small minority within the Empire - though one that is showing signs of growing, as the current claimant of the Faltassian line - Devras Capilus - is a Christian who seeks to represent Abrahamic religions within Inecuria as a whole, making him well-respected by both Christians and Muslims alike.