Character Archive · School Rival
Joe Stockton
The Schoolyard Threat
- Role: school antagonist
- Traits: imposing, confident, and accustomed to getting his way
- World: Rich’s ordinary middle-school life
- Story function: gives Rich a nonmagical test of confidence
An Everyday Opponent
Joe is part of the difficult school environment Rich is already navigating when the white pawn enters his life. He represents the ordinary social pressures that do not disappear just because Rich suddenly has a magical quest.
Courage Off the Board
Rich’s Paladin training gives him dramatic new responsibilities, but Joe helps keep the story grounded. The virtues Rich is supposed to develop matter in classrooms and hallways as much as they do during enchanted trials.
A Source of Early Suspicion
Because Rich knows that a Nemesis may be operating close to his daily life, he begins looking differently at the people around him. Joe is one of the figures who makes that uncertainty harder to sort out.
Michael D. Young 