The Centus (The Legion of Pneumos, Book 1.5) (Paperback)
The Centus (The Legion of Pneumos, Book 1.5) (Paperback)
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You Knew Him as the Stoic Commander
But before Gaius Flavius became the legend Keira followed into battle, he was a Bellatori Centus confronting an impossible truth: the empire he serves is corrupt. The war he's fighting is a lie. And the people dying under his command are sacrifices to line merchant coffers with tellurium profits.
When a blood sickness ravages his cohort and the empire abandons them to die, Gaius faces a choice that will define everything: resign with honor intact, or stay with his troops and lose everything he loves.
This is how a soldier becomes a leader worth following. This is the man who taught Keira what duty really means.
Before the Legion. Before Keira. Before He Became the Hero Who Would Save Them All.
Gaius Flavius joined the Bellatorio to serve with honor. To protect the empire. To lead with the kind of integrity his world desperately needs.
He's sent to the Southern Shield on what should be a straightforward mission: root out smugglers, restore order, protect imperial interests. But when he arrives, nothing is what the reports claimed. The intelligence is falsified. His commander cares more about banquets than starving troops. And the "insurrectionists" he's supposed to be fighting? They look an awful lot like families trying to survive under occupation.
As Gaius digs deeper, he uncovers a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the capital—one that makes him question everything he thought he knew about duty, honor, and the empire he swore to serve.
And when crisis strikes his cohort and the empire abandons them to die, Gaius will face an impossible choice: walk away with his honor intact and build the life he's always wanted, or return to his troops knowing he'll lose everything—including the woman begging him to finally choose her.
Some men talk about duty. Gaius Flavius is the kind who pays for it in blood.
When the System Is Corrupt, What Does Duty Really Mean?
The Story
Gaius Flavius is a Bellatori Centus who believes in leading from the front. Honor isn't abstract—it's keeping your troops fed, your mission clean, and your conscience clear.
Then he's assigned to the Southern Shield, where nothing is what it seems.
His commander feasts while Bellators starve. Intelligence reports don't match reality on the ground. The mission he thought was about protecting the empire turns out to serve interests far more mercenary. And when Gaius demands answers from the men he once respected, he discovers that sometimes the system you serve is more corrupt than the enemies you're fighting.
Disgusted, Gaius makes a choice. He can stay and be complicit, or he can walk away.
He chooses to walk.
There's a woman he loves. A future he could build. A life beyond the Bellatorio's endless wars. For the first time in years, Gaius is ready to choose himself.
But duty has other plans.
When word reaches him that his cohort is in crisis—abandoned by the empire, facing threats he never imagined—Gaius is forced to confront what leadership really means. Does duty mean following orders? Or does it mean standing with the people who trust you, even when the cost is everything you hoped to build?
This is the choice that defines him. The sacrifice that shapes him. The moment Gaius Flavius becomes the leader Keira will one day follow into battle.
What Makes The Centus Unforgettable
The Man Behind the Legend
In Chaos Looming Keira sees Gaius as the honorable commander who treats her with respect. The Centus reveals how he became that man—through disillusionment, moral crisis, and a choice between the life he wanted and the troops who needed him.
Imperial Corruption Exposed
The Southern Shield mission isn't what Gaius was told. The intelligence is false. The objectives serve profit over people. And when he demands answers, he discovers the empire he serves is built on lies that go all the way to the top.
Crisis and Abandonment
When catastrophe strikes Gaius's cohort, the empire doesn't send help—it quarantines the island and walks away. This is what happens when soldiers become inconvenient. When loyalty flows only one direction. When duty demands everything and offers nothing in return.
The Cost of Leadership
Gaius can have the life he's always wanted—safety, love, a future beyond war. Or he can return to his dying troops. The choice isn't between good and evil. It's between two versions of honor, and both demand a price he isn't willing to pay.
A Legacy That Endures
Gaius's choices ripple forward through the series. His son Cyrus. His second-in-command Braína. The troops who survived because he came back. This isn't just backstory—it's the foundation of everything that follows.
Perfect For Readers Who Love:
What Readers Are Saying
This was a great read, one that kept me wanting more, not able to put it down. I highly recommend this book and author!"
H.B. Reneau is a physician and military veteran who writes fantasy about what leadership actually costs. The Centus draws on her experience in medicine—where systemic failures harm the people you're supposed to protect—and the military, where duty often demands impossible choices.
Gaius's story explores the gap between the institution you think you joined and what you actually discover it to be. What happens when orders conflict with honor? When the mission serves profit over people? When staying with your troops means losing everything else?
Read The Centus before Book 3 to understand why Gaius's story matters, who Cyrus is fighting to honor, and what true leadership looks like when the system is corrupt.
Where This Fits in the Series
The Centus enriches the main series dramatically. Gaius's story in Chaos Looming becomes devastating when you know his sacrifice. Cyrus's arc in Book 3 makes sense when you understand his father's legacy.
Character Origins (read after Book 2, before Book 3)
Read Chapter One Free
Meet Gaius confronting his incompetent commander—starving troops, feasting officers, and the rage that will change everything.
Read Free Sample Chapter →You Knew Him as a Legend. Discover How He Became One.
The empire is corrupt. His troops are dying. The woman he loves begs him to stay.
And Gaius chooses duty. Every. Single. Time.
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