Can Such Things Be? · Character

Brainerd Byring

A young second lieutenant on a night expedition through cedar country, whose brief, fatal encounter with a motionless figure tests his nerve and his orders.

major

Also known as Second - Lieutenant Brainerd Byring, Lieutenant Byring, Byring

First appearance: Soldier-Folk

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Brainerd Byring rides with a detachment ordered into hazardous, silent country, where a missing vidette named Dunning has already broken orders and ridden forward alone. When the major halts at the cedar forest's edge and sees Dunning standing motionless over a dead horse and a dead man, the expedition's discipline begins to fray. Byring's world is one of sabers drawn, forbidden conversation, and men whose fear shows in small disobediences—and it is in that charged dark that his own fate closes in.

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Character Web

4 connections

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Relationship types

Friendship
Other

Character groups

Mysterious Tragedies
Returned from Dead
Supernatural Investigators
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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Relationships

Ben Greene
friendship · ambivalent
Ben Greene
friendship · ambivalent

Relationship notes

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In the story

Brainerd Byring appears across 5 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

A Tough Tussle
Federal lieutenant on picket duty who succumbs to terror and is later found dead with a Confederate soldier.
A Resumed Identity
The protagonist, a lieutenant who awakens with amnesia and grapples with his lost identity.
II: When You Have Lost Your Life Consult a Physician
The disoriented lieutenant who has lost his memory and identity after being struck by a bullet.
III: The Danger of Looking Into a Pool of Water
The man who, after a bullet-stroke and unconsciousness, discovers his aged appearance and dies upon seeing his reflection.
Soldier-Folk
A soldier whose experiences and perceptions are central to the chapter's exploration of military life.

Chapter companion notes

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