Revelations from Patch 5.4

[Iscah]

...would definitely explain why Nerva wasn't considered a ready heir circa Kaien's rebellion.

What's this? Is there additional information somewhere I'm not aware of? As far as I'm aware we've just had two contextless name-drops and the fact that he's Varis's cousin.

Why was there a need for another heir at the time of Kaien's rebellion? I don't remember this ever being discussed. And by time-bubble logic if he was too young then, he's probably still too young now.

Actually, unless "cousin" is being used loosely then he might be the son of Varis's uncle Titus who was the other contender for the throne against him. That would account for Nerva not trying to claim the throne directly last time there was a fight over it - he'd just need Titus to win and that would make him crown prince.

[Rosenstrauch]

What's this? Is there additional information somewhere I'm not aware of? As far as I'm aware we've just had two contextless name-drops and the fact that he's Varis's cousin.

It's from Tales from the Storm: In Darkness Blooms the Lily. The particular excerpt is here:

With Emperor Solus on his deathbed, a clandestine war of succession was already being waged in Garlemald. Solus's eldest being dead, his grandson Varis was next in line to the throne, but the Emperor’s second son Titus had other ideas, and no shortage of support. What he did not have, however, was Varis’s standing with the military, nor less a ready heir─this Zenos.

Now, I would not be surprised if Nerva straight up didn't exist as a concept at the time this was written. Titus had no son, so of course he didn't have someone to succeed him in the event that he took the throne. But whether that's true or not, Nerva definitely exists now (and retroactively always has). So if Nerva's existence and his leadership of the IIIrd Legion is to be reconciled with this statement, the question that has to be asked is "What made Nerva unfit for heirdom?". Him being an actual child, or at least significantly younger than Zenos, could fit the bill.

[MrThinker]

Actually, unless "cousin" is being used loosely then he might be the son of Varis's uncle Titus who was the other contender for the throne against him. That would account for Nerva not trying to claim the throne directly last time there was a fight over it - he'd just need Titus to win and that would make him crown prince.

In the Bozja questline, he is outright stated to be Titus's son.