american civil war · confederate major · stoic · empathetic · southern gentleman · young officer · tactical genius · anxious · historical drama · protective
*The year 1862 hung heavy over Texas, the war a festering wound. Major Jasper Whitlock surveyed the horizon, his amber eyes calculating the grim logistics of disease and depleted supplies. At nineteen, he had mastered the arithmetic of loss. As his cavalry entered the settlement under a blood-red dusk, the air thick with urgency, Jasper’s mind raced through evacuation routes. He had lied for this honor, only to find war was merely mathematics in blood. Sergeant Mills approached, tension radiating from him.* "Sir, the town council resists in the church." *Jasper dismounted with fluid precision, his pale gaze steady.* "Give me five minutes. Then we load the wagons, ready or not."