Reyna Ramírez-Arellano

"A man who turns down power? That's not very Roman of you."

- Reyna to Percy Jackson once he turns down praetorship

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano  is a Roman demigod, a daughter of Bellona, younger sister of Hylla, and praetor of Camp Jupiter.

History
Reyna and her older sister Hylla were born to Bellona in Puerto Rico. They used to live at C.C.'s Spa and Resort ran by Circe. Their home was destroyed during The Sea of Monsters by Blackbeard and his crew of pirates when Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase accidentally transformed the pirates back into humans using Hermes' multivitamins. According to Reyna, the pirates destroyed the island and took revenge on Circe. Reyna and Hylla, being daughters of Bellona, learned to use weapons quickly and managed to escape from the island and the pirates after being held captive. Eventually, the two sisters went their separate ways. Hylla joined the Amazons and eventually became the Amazon Queen, while Reyna found Camp Jupiter, and eventually became a praetor, along with Jason Grace at a time.

As praetor, new arrivals of the camp are required to meet with her. Nico di Angelo appeared before Reyna and asked her to allow Hazel Levesque to become part of the Legion, which Reyna accepted. Frank also met with her and apologized for the acts of Shen Lun, his great-grandfather, who supposedly caused the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Reyna however told Frank to never mention to anyone who his great-grandfather was, but she let him into the camp. When Percy arrived to Camp Jupiter, she pretended not to know him, even though she saw him at C.C.'s Spa and Resort.

During her time as praetor, she and Jason started to form a close relationship, but Jason vanished forcing Reyna to lead the camp by herself, after which she was pestered by Octavian, a legacy of Apollo, to hold elections for a new praetor. She agreed to, but only at the Feast of Fortuna. While Octavian began to gain support using bribes and blackmail, Reyna started looking for a suitable substitute for Jason, which arrived in the form of Percy.

The Sea of Monsters
Although not specifically mentioned, Reyna was one of the female attendants on Circe's Island. When Annabeth and Percy first arrived, she brushed Annabeth's hair and helped with her makeover. She was on Circe's island because her sister Hylla wanted to protect her from war. Hylla however was one of the attendants that Percy and Annabeth met, who happens to have been the one carrying a clipboard. After Annabeth accidentally freed Blackbeard and his crew of pirates, they captured her and her sister until Reyna and Hylla managed to escape after learning how to fight.

The Lost Hero
When parts of Jason's memory comes back to him, he remembers Reyna as someone really close to him, which makes him question how he feels about Piper McLean.

The Son of Neptune
When Juno appeared in her true form and presented Percy Jackson as a son of Neptune to Camp Jupiter, Reyna was one of the campers in the area. Reyna sounded like she knew him somehow and looked at him as if she had seen him in her nightmares. She called herself the praetor of the Twelfth Legion and said that she didn't know him, which Percy believed was a lie but was unwilling to argue with her in front of her soldiers. She then orders Hazel Levesque to take him inside so she could interrogate him to find out if he was a new recruit, or an enemy to kill.

Before she interrogates him, she tells Percy that her dogs, Argentum and Aurum (Silver and Gold in Latin respectively), do not like liars. She finds it peculiar that Percy doesn't have any memory other than being trained at the Wolf House with Lupa. She then proceeds to interrogate him, noting that his arrival isn't exactly a good omen due to the fact that the Feast of Fortuna is coming up. Throughout the encounter, she implies that they have met. She then sends Percy to the augur, Octavian, to decide to either let him stay or kill him.

Later through the night, she officially makes Percy a probatio. She then announces that it's time to eat and then go and play the War Games. Reyna acts as the referee for the game, flying around on her Pegasus, Scipio. When the Fifth Cohort manages to break down the defensive teams walls (mostly thanks to Frank, Hazel, and Percy) and steal the symbol, Reyna calls the game in favor of the offensive team. Mars then appears on the field and congratulates Frank, claiming him as his son and ordering a quest for him. He then tells Reyna that he was the first person over the wall and should be given the Mural Crown.

The next day, Reyna is leading the Senate meeting to decide what supplies the quest members will receive. Octavian wants to give them nothing as the Giant Army is on the way, and he sees it as a suicide mission. Reyna allows them to use the Roman Navy for their trip to Alaska, which turns out to be a single ship call The Pax, but is unable to give them any other support. Before they leave, she talks to Percy alone and tells him about her past on Circe's island and how her sister Hylla joined the Amazons. She gives him her ring and says that if he sees her sister, ask her for help.

Hazel and Percy later send Reyna an Iris Message to tell her that Polybotes is on his way. Hazel also jokes that she scared Reyna half to death as Reyna was in the bath at the time. Frank replies that he would have paid to see her face.

When Polybotes' army does arrive, Reyna is seen flying into battle on Scipio and destroying monsters. The Amazons arrive to help Camp Jupiter which overjoys Reyna. Once the battle is over, Percy is lifted into the air as the other campers chant "praetor," including Reyna who grasps his hand in congratulations. During the party to celebrate their victory, Reyna makes a speech welcoming the Amazons and gave her sister a big hug. She then congratulated Percy for becoming a praetor of the Twelfth Legion and gives him a purple toga and medal before removing his probatio neck plate and motions for Octavian to give Percy his SPQR tattoo.

The next day when Percy goes to tell the Senate about the Greek demigods arriving, Octavian wants to blast them out of the sky while Percy says they mean no harm. Reyna takes the middle ground and says she will allow them to land, but she tells everyone to stay on their guard in case it is a trick.

The Mark of Athena
When the Argo II arrives at New Rome, Reyna, Octavian, and the seven demigods going on the quest get together to discuss the Prophecy of Seven. While talking and explaining their sides of the story (Jason talking about the quest to free Hera and Percy talking about his quest to free Thanatos), Reyna quickly discovers Jason and Piper's relationship, which Annabeth can tell made her very upset, but didn't show it. After Reyna allows Jason and Piper to tour the city, Reyna will not allow Percy to do the same with Annabeth, as she wants to talk to Annabeth alone first.



Reyna walks with Annabeth around New Rome, calling Argentum and Aurum to her. While she stops at one of the shops for some hot chocolate, she explains to Annabeth that Minerva takes her vow of chastity very seriously, not even having demigod children at all, unlike Athena. She also asks her if she understood how Athena changes, which Annabeth never considered. Reyna tells her that Athena in her Roman form of Minerva is not a war god, just the goddess of wisdom and crafts. So even if the goddess did have Roman children, they would be artists or advisers. Reyna eventually takes Annabeth to her favorite spot in the city, the Garden of Bacchus. Here, Reyna asks to hear her side of the story to see if she can trust them or not. Annabeth told Reyna how she grew up, meeting Luke and Thalia, her quests at Camp Half-Blood, and even about the camp itself, all of which Reyna listened to.

When Annabeth was finished, Reyna pointed to the shrine of Bellona and explained how when the Romans are at war, they place a spear in the plot of ground inside. Whenever the Romans felt threatened, they would invade anyone around them, including the Greeks. Annabeth tells her that it doesn't have to be that way and the two camps can work together, which Reyna would like as well, but has her doubts. She also gives Annabeth a warning, as she once before met a child of Athena who went to Rome on a quest. She remembered that he had washed up on Circe's Island in a crazed state. He talked about a Mark of Athena and a failed quest in Rome before Circe turned him into a guinea pig. While Reyna didn't know what it meant at the time, after hearing a prophecy by Ella earlier, she feels that it is somehow connected to an old legend passed down at Camp Jupiter involving Athena.

Before she can explain more, an explosion erupts in the forum where they were eating and Annabeth believes the giants are attacking again. Reyna however saw the shot being fired from the Argo II and thinks that the Greeks have betrayed them. Annabeth claims they haven't and is proven true when her dogs don't attack her. Reyna is still angry and feels that at least one of the crew members of the Argo II is a traitor. They both run back together to try and stop any bloodshed that could be caused by the fighting. After the legionnaires marched on the crew of the Argo II, Reyna ran toward them with her dogs.

After escaping, Octavian began to work the Legion into a frenzy and went on a war path against the Greeks with Reyna powerless to stop him. If she tried and stand in his way, he would claim she had gone soft. On board the Argo II, Piper considered turning back and explaining things to Reyna, but Annabeth says that without any proof or knowing what had actually caused Leo to fire on the Romans, they couldn't do much.

The crew of the Argo II are later attacked by the Roman Legion at Fort Sumter. While Annabeth manages to grab a map at the base, she is confronted by Reyna and her two dogs. Reyna tells Annabeth to come back to Camp Jupiter for trial, where she will be executed painfully, but her death could allow some kind of peace and would be better than the alternative. When Annabeth refuses, Reyna explains that she can no longer stop Octavian and that if Annabeth won't stand trial, Octavian will turn his attention on Camp Half-Blood instead. Annabeth tries to explain to her that if they find Athena Parthenos, they could somehow make peace, but Reyna no longer believes that such an outcome could be achieved. However, Reyna doesn't capture Annabeth and allows her to escape back to the ship, with Annabeth asking her to at least slow down Octavian to give them time. Before Reyna leaves, she tells Annabeth the next time they meet on the battle field, they would be enemies.

Reyna is later shown in Katoptris in a building in New York, along with Octavian and a few other Roman demigods. She is shown to be staring out the window as the others look at a map of Long Island, deciding on invasion routes.

The House of Hades
Annabeth, while in Tartarus, has a dream of Reyna standing on Half-Blood Hill. Reyna speaks to Annabeth, but in Athena's voice: I must stand here, the Romans must bring me. Annabeth believes that the Romans' leader returning the Athena Parthenos to the Greeks might be enough to heal the rift between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, and by extension stop the Greek and Roman sides of the gods' personalities from fighting over control.

Reyna later appears in Jason's vision, in which Grover Underwood and Rachel Elizabeth Dare meet with her and Octavian at Camp Jupiter's headquarters in New York. Despite Octavian's attempt to start a conflict, Reyna hears Grover and Rachel out for what they have to say. Rachel gives Reyna a note Annabeth had written and transported to Camp Half-Blood while trapped in Tartarus, which states that Reyna must be the one to deliver the Athena Parthenos. Rachel also reveals Reyna's full name, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano (Grover notes that her initials are RA-RA which annoys her), to show her faith in what Reyna must do. Reyna agrees to do what Annabeth has written, but reminds Rachel and Grover that their camp still attacked Rome and declared war, and requests that they leave.

Reyna then prepares to depart for Greece to find Jason and the Argo II in a place where she knows Jason will stop, to Octavian's anger and shock. Knowing that she will be stripped of her praetorship for traveling across the Mare Nostrum and breaking the ancient laws, and that Octavian will be in charge as the Romans' augur, Reyna gives strict orders to Octavian and the legion's centurions not to attack Camp Half-Blood until her return; she departs shortly thereafter with Scipio. Shortly after she leaves, Octavian immediately states that there will be a change in the praetor's plans, and that they will move up their invasion of Camp Half-Blood.

Reyna reappears in a vision seen by Leo Valdez while he is on Ogygia, where she and Scipio are attacked by gryphons and venti while flying to Diocletian's Palace in Dalmatia.

A wounded and exhausted Reyna arrives at the Argo II while its crew is attempting to close the Doors of Death and rescue Percy and Annabeth at the House of Hades. Unfortunately, Scipio collapses from exhaustion and from the gryphons' poisoned talons. Reyna tearfully kills the Pegasus with her Imperial gold knife to put him out of his misery, and breaks down afterwards. She has dinner with the Argo II's crew, and she and Annabeth both joke about Percy and whether or not he would have survived Tartarus without her; she jokingly states that she doesn't think "Percy could find his way out of a paper bag" without Annabeth.

She is impressed at Percy and Annabeth's survival of Tartarus, although Percy is more impressed that Reyna made it all the way to Greece with only a Pegasus as her companion. Reyna initially believes that she will be stripped of her rank for breaking the laws of the legion, although Jason reassures her by saying that great leaders have to break laws and think outside the box, like Caesar when he crossed the rubicon. Reyna is proud when Jason informs her that he relinquished his praetorship to Frank, and believes that Frank is exactly the type of person she needs to help command the legion with. She also agrees with him when he states that their first order when they return should be to load Octavian into a catapult and launch him into the ocean.

Initially unsure of what to do to transport the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood, she, Nico di Angelo, and Coach Hedge eventually decide to shadow-travel back to Camp Half-Blood at several hundred-mile intervals, with her and Coach Hedge defending Nico from the monsters who will attack the Athena Parthenos as Nico rests himself to shadow-travel again. She, Nico, and Coach Hedge depart for Camp Half-Blood as the Argo II continues its voyage to Greece.

Personality
Reyna is a very strong-willed person. She is strict with the members of the Twelfth Legion and doesn't like to be questioned. However, the reason she is so strict is because she is determined to protect her family after what happened on C.C.'s Spa and Resort. Because of her past, she doesn't show any signs of weakness around others and keeps up her mature public image to keep up the moral of the camp. She feels that if she ever appears nervous or scared, her emotions will cause the camp to worry as well.

She is distrustful and dubious of new people or people she feels aren't honest with her. She seems to have a softer side when alone or with people she trusts. After Percy tells her his story and her dogs don't attack him (as he didn't lie), she tells him about her past and that she is worried about her sister. She is also noted to be stoic to some extent.

When Jason returns to Camp Jupiter with his girlfriend Piper, this hurts Reyna, but she does not show it. It isn't until the Argo II fires on Camp Jupiter that Reyna starts to lose hope. Having felt betrayed by Jason, refused by Percy, and leading the camp all by herself for so long, Reyna lost hope that anything could go right for her and felt completely alone. Outwardly, she still projects the image of a confident, fearless leader; internally, she is tired and weary, as noted by Jason during his vision of her meeting with Rachel and Grover. Despite her internal feelings, she still musters the courage to travel across the Mare Nostrum and retrieve the Athena Parthenos to save both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, while sacrificing her Pegasus Scipio and potentially sacrificing her rank as well for the good of both camps.

She hates people using her full name - Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. Jason said it once trying to pronounce it and Reyna shot him a murderous look. She feels as if she left that name behind when she left Puerto Rico as a young girl.

Appearance
Percy describes Reyna as being about sixteen, with piercing black eyes and glossy black hair worn in a single braid (though her description is different than her actual picture). Like all the demigods in Camp Jupiter, she has SPQR branded on her forearm with four bar lines and a crossed sword and torch, the symbol of her mother Bellona. Being a praetor, Reyna wears a regal purple toga decorated with gold medals over her own golden armor.

Abilities

 * ADHD: Like most demigods, Reyna possesses inborn supernatural battle reflexes and senses that she uses to analyze the fighting style of her opponent.


 * Dyslexia: Reyna may be dyslexic, which makes her brain "hardwired" for Latin instead of modern languages.


 * Fighting Skills: As a daughter of Bellona, Reyna is naturally skilled in hand-to-hand combat. She is very proficient in fighting with her spear or knife and was able to hold off against the giant Polybotes with the help of Scipio. Reyna was skilled enough to fight off all the monsters across the Atlantic to the journey to the Mare Nostrum.

Demigod Abilities

 * Telumkinesis: As a daughter of Bellona, Reyna is a natural weapons expert, understanding how to use weapons faster than other demigods, and may have magical control over them.

Magical Items

 * Reyna has an Imperial gold spear as shown during the battle at Camp Jupiter and the Camp Jupiter brochure.
 * Reyna also has an Imperial gold dagger that she shows Percy.

Magical Pets/Companions

 * Aurum: Reyna's gold automaton guard dog that appears whenever Reyna wishes to see if someone is lying.
 * Argentum: Reyna's silver automaton guard dog that appears whenever Reyna wishes to see if someone is lying.
 * Scipio: Reyna's pegasus that she rides in the battle at Camp Jupiter. It is nicknamed Skippy by the campers. (deceased)

Jason Grace
Reyna and Jason were both praetors at Camp Jupiter. While they were close as friends, Reyna states that she did not have a relationship with Jason, though given time she may have. At the end of The Lost Hero, Jason begins to vaguely remember Reyna. He says he feels guilty for liking Piper when he thinks of Reyna, though he is not sure why. When the Argo II appears in the sky Reyna looks a little wistful and tells Percy that she hopes he's right and Jason is on the ship because she missed him.

Reyna is described by Annabeth in The Mark of Athena to feel upset, her voice sounding like broken glass, when she found out about Jason's relationship with Piper. Reyna felt that Jason had betrayed her by befriending Leo, who fired on Camp Jupiter with the Argo II (though the eidolons weren't acknowledged until later), and it didn't help that Jason escaped with Leo on the very same ship afterwards.

Percy Jackson
Reyna initially disliked Percy for unexplained reasons. It isn't until she tells him that she lived at C.C.'s Spa and Resort before Percy and Annabeth destroyed it that he realizes why. Later, she invites Percy to become a praetor of the Twelfth Legion as the responsibilities of Camp Jupiter were borne by her alone since the last six months, when her closest friend and co-praetor disappeared. Thus she needs him and tries to tempt him into accepting her offer by telling him that she would prefer him to Octavian, who constantly pesters her for praetor-ship, and that it will draw them closer as "friends," though she may or may not mean romantically. Percy states he already has a girlfriend on reflex, halting her advances on him.

Despite this, Reyna still holds a high level of respect for Percy. She knows that he is a very skilled warrior and she would like someone like him by her side. She also likes him for the fact that he was not only able to save her new home, but was also able to bring her sister to help aid in the battle. Annabeth is able to tell that Reyna is a little upset that Percy chose Annabeth over herself when they first meet, not allowing Percy to give her a tour and instead taking Annabeth herself.

Piper McLean
Reyna feels jealous and additionally dislikes Piper for her relationship with Jason. Though the two never spoke one-on-one with each other, Reyna did get upset when Jason asked her if he could show Piper around New Rome.

Frank Zhang
She is on neutral terms with him. Reyna allowed Frank to join Camp Jupiter, despite his family history. She told Percy that Frank has a good heart, but he is hopelessly naive and inexperienced. When she learns that Jason has signed over his post as Praetor to Frank, Reyna is pleased, noting that she looks forward to leading New Rome with him.

Octavian
Reyna doesn't have a good relationship with him, as he always tries to put her down. She is also shown to be annoyed by Octavian questioning her authority and as Percy put it, when he is in front of the senate he becomes the powerful one. Otherwise, she treats him equally and with respect. She is furious though when she learns that Octavian has disobeyed her orders as Praetor and has ordered the Legion to attack Camp Half-Blood. This is displayed by her agreement with Frank to load Octavian into a catapult and launch him as far away as possible as their first official act as co-praetors.

Hazel Levesque
Although Reyna and Hazel rarely interacted during the book, it's presumed that Reyna is on good terms with her. However, it is stated that she thinks Hazel would not be a good leader due to her being a daughter of Pluto.

Leo Valdez
Though, they never really have a full one-on-one conversation, she dislikes him with a fierce passion due to the fact that he attacked Camp Jupiter with the Argo II, even though it was not his fault, as he had been possessed by an eidolon. But Reyna isn't known for being a forgiving person.

Annabeth Chase
Reyna is bitter that Percy chose Annabeth over her as a girlfriend. Otherwise, she respects Annabeth as a warrior and treats her as an equal. When the two talk alone, she is eager to listen to everything Annabeth has to say and they seem to get along well, with Annabeth feeling like she could tell Reyna anything. She even told Reyna, the location of Camp Half-Blood in a token of friendship. After Camp Jupiter is attacked because of the Eidolons (framing the Greek demigods), her faith in Annabeth begins to waver. After the two camps start to fight, Reyna sees Annabeth's life as a fair price to pay for some kind of peace between the camps, but respects Annabeth enough to allow her to leave and maybe find another way. She also trusts Annabeth's word enough to travel across the Mare Nostrum to the House of Hades, endangering her praetorship in the process, in order to bring the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood to heal the rift between the two camps, because of a note written by Annabeth to Reyna while in Tartarus. Towards the end of The House of Hades, Reyna is shown to hug Annabeth, telling her that everything would be okay in the end. Also, they are shown to joke around together. This hints at the beginning of a friendship between them.

Trivia

 * Reyna's name in Spanish means "Queen", a possible nod to the fact that she is praetor of Camp Jupiter.
 * Her two dogs, Aurum and Argentum (gold and silver in Latin respectively) are similar to the ones given to King Alcinous of Phaeacia by Hephaestus in Greek mythology.
 * In her official portrait, there is writing engraved on a wall, "Iustitia Fundamentum Regni", which translates to "The Foundation of Justice."
 * Reyna had the only Pegasus at Camp Jupiter, named Scipio. Scipio's nickname was Skippy, because he is the color of peanut butter.
 * In Reyna's portrait you can see that her hair is brown and is curled over her left shoulder, however in the book she has black glossy hair that is in a single braid.
 * Prior to The House of Hades, Reyna had more pets than any other character. However, with Scipio dead, she is now tied with Percy for having the most pets in the series.
 * Reyna's surname, Ramirez-Arellano, was revealed in The House of Hades.
 * Reyna and her sister are the only known demigods born in Puerto Rico.
 * Reyna is similar to Thalia Grace:
 * Both had feelings for a hero who ended up hurting them. (Jason Grace, Luke Castellan)
 * Both had siblings that led a society of warriors, with whom they had an estranged relationship. (Hylla Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Jason Grace)
 * Both originally had problems with a society of female warriors, which changed after they fought alongside them. (Amazons, Hunters of Artemis)
 * Both had problems with Percy Jackson in the past.
 * Both were difficult to get close to, but highly respected.
 * Both were leaders of a society of heroes, who were loyal to a goddess. (Reyna is the praetor of Camp Jupiter, composed of heroes trained by Lupa at the Wolf House; Thalia is the lieutenant of the Hunters of the goddess Artemis.
 * Their surnames (Ramirez-Arellano and Grace) went unknown for a long time, because they refuse to use it.
 * Both served as a handmaiden to a goddess. (Circe, Artemis)
 * Both went on a quest to prevent a war with a child of Hades and a satyr. (Reyna traveled with Nico di Angelo and Gleeson Hedge to return the Athena Parthenos to the Greeks; Thalia journeyed with Bianca di Angelo and Grover Underwood in order rescue Artemis before chaos erupted among the gods.)
 * Both have black hair.
 * Both were close with Jason Grace. (Reyna was served alongside him at Camp Jupiter and eventually fell for him; Thalia was his elder sister, who looked after him for two years.)
 * Both fought in the Titan War and the Giant War.
 * Reyna is possibly the only known praetor not from the Fifth Cohort. The other known praetors - Michael Varus, Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, and Frank Zhang - have all been from the Fifth. However, it is unknown what cohort Reyna is from, but is unlikely that it is the Fifth.
 * It is likely that due to her flying into the The Mediterranean Sea she has had her praetor status revoked.