Captivating Character of August: Valex Thorn

My Most Captivating Character of the Month for August comes from Shami Stovall’s The Last Rift Dragon. I was struggling to decide on a character this month until Tuesday night when I wrote up my post about the book and said, “I can’t say too much about him now, because I’m saving it for a post this Friday.” So apparently my subconscious made the decision and just waited to inform me.

Lex was a stable boy working for the parents of the book’s narrator/protagonist, Richter Whitlock. He was promoted to be Richter’s squire at the beginning of his training–then he was Richter’s support and companion during the days/weeks following the death of Richter’s parents. So, Richter gave him some property and claimed him as family, so Lex could qualify as nobility and train to be a knight by his side.

I’m talking a lot about Richter in a post about Lex–but that’s pretty much over now.

Lex loves Richter like a brother, and doesn’t really see him as a benefactor–at least not in any “I need to live up to something” or “I need to be expressing my gratitude toward him constantly” kind of thing. Their friendship/brotherhood doesn’t require that. The mutual affection and trust is real and they don’t have to play any games or anything. They’re family, and they act like it.

This is not to say that Lex is ungrateful or takes any of his life for granted. Stovall doesn’t come out and say this, but you just need to halfway pay attention to Lex and it comes through clearly. He’s an optimistic, cheerful, positive guy. Like I described him the other day, “This guy is Samwise Gamgee, but more positive. Samwise Gamgee as played by Leslie Knope, maybe.”

Lex sees every day as a gift–he has everything he could want, his best friend at his side and a dragon to care for. He knows full well that this wasn’t the life he was set for, but by just being himself–a caring guy–the direction of his life changed.

Sure, his dragon, Diamond, was hatched early and has some issues (you should read the book yourself for details). But all Lex sees is a dragon to take care of–which is what the plan was all along, Diamond just needs a little more care than others. That doesn’t matter–he thinks she’s wonderful (and he’s right).

I’m not saying he’s a Pollyanna or is wearing rose-colored glasses. He sees the rottenness of the world, but he chooses to focus on the good. He knows that his city is at war, and that the odds are stacked against them. But as Lloyd so famously said, “so you’re saying there’s a chance.” And that’s pretty much how Lex looks at it.

And that’s pretty captivating.

What character would you name for last month?