Reyna Ramírez-Arellano

"I am praetor of the legion. I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome."

- Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano

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

History
Reyna and her older sister Hylla were born to Bellona in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They used to live at C.C.'s Spa and Resort run 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.

The Sea of Monsters
Although not specifically mentioned by name, Reyna was one of the female attendants on Circe's Island. When Annabeth and Percy first arrived (as revealed in The Mark of Athena), she brushed Annabeth's hair and helped with her makeover. She was on Circe's island because her sister Hylla had 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 with Hermes' Multivitamins, they captured her and her sister until Reyna and Hylla managed to escape after learning how to fight. She is mentioned once by Percy when the later claims that Carter reminds him of her.

After Leaving Circe
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 for a time.

As Praetor, new arrivals of the camp are required to meet with her. During this time, Reyna and Jason started to form a close relationship, but Jason soon vanished, forcing Reyna to lead the camp by herself.

Between the Series
Shortly after the end of the Second Titan War, Nico di Angelo appeared before Reyna and asked her to allow Hazel Levesque to become part of the Legion, which Reyna accepted. Shortly after Jason's mysterious disappearance, Frank also meet 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.

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.

It would have been around this time that Reyna was pestered by Octavian to hold elections for a new Praetor. She eventually agreed, 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.

Personality
Reyna is a very strong-willed person. She is very 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 does her best to be stoic, 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. Hence, even though she was very much changed by the Giant War at the end of The Blood of Olympus, her exterior doesn't show it, according to Piper.

Reyna is distrustful and dubious of new people or people she feels aren't honest with her, though she becomes slightly more relaxed and friendly with people she trusts and cares about. 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. However, as Leo notes, Reyna isn't known for being a forgiving person (a trait usually associated with Hades demigods), as she still dislikes him with a fierce passion, even though he didn't willingly attack Camp Jupiter.

When Jason returns to Camp Jupiter with his girlfriend Piper, this hurts Reyna, but she does her best 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.

Reyna has a softer side as well, and hates to see others experience internal turmoil, and was therefore determined to support Nico throughout their journey together, after feeling his tremendous internal pain. She is also very accepting of others, and, much to Nico's surprise, Reyna, while very surprised, doesn't judge him after finding out about his crush on Percy and seeing a horrifying display of Nico's rage. Reyna's unconditional acceptance was what most likely gave Nico the courage to finally come out to a very surprised Percy and Annabeth shortly thereafter. She also makes sure to acknowledge his role in saving both camps after Gaea's defeat, which helps Nico finally become accepted by them properly.

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, as it brings back too many unpleasant memories pertaining to her abusive father.

Appearance
Percy describes Reyna in The Son of Neptune as being about sixteen, with piercing black eyes and glossy black hair worn in a single braid. 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 Imperial Gold armor. In The Blood of Olympus, when Athena gifts her with a portion of her own Aegis, Reyna's purple cloak glitters "as if woven through with filaments of Imperial Gold."

General 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.
 * Spanish: Reyna can fluently converse in Spanish, being Puerto Rican by birth.
 * Fighting Skills: As a daughter of Bellona, Reyna is naturally skilled in swordsmanship and in hand-to-hand combat. She is very proficient in fighting with her spear or knife and was able to hold her own against the Giant Polybotes, though 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. When aided by the power of Athena and Bellona, Reyna ultimately defeated the very formidable Giant Orion.

Demigod Abilities

 * Telumkinesis: As a daughter of Bellona, Reyna is a natural weapons expert, understanding how to use weapons faster than most other demigods, and may have some degree of magical control over them.
 * Empowerment: Reyna can share her strength and courage with others, as she does multiple times with Nico in The Blood of Olympus. But she does not like to do so, since Reyna feels they will think that she is controlling them. It is more effective in large groups. As a side-affect, she feels any emotions of those she grants strength to. Her tattoo glows and burns when she uses this ability.

Etymology
Reyna's name in Spanish means "Queen", a possible nod to the fact that she is praetor of Camp Jupiter. Reyna's middle name, Avila, is rooted in the Ancient Germanic "avi". The exact meaning of "avi" is unknown, but a common possibility is "desired". "Ramirez" is Spanish for "son Ramiro". "Ramiro" is the Spanish form of Ramirus, a Latinized form of a Visigothic name derived from the Germanic elements "ragin" and "mari", which respectively mean "advice" and "famous".

Magical Items

 * Spear-Sword: Reyna has an Imperial gold spear as shown during the battle at Camp Jupiter and the Camp Jupiter brochure. It can alternate its form between a spear and a sword, at Reyna's will.
 * Dagger: Reyna also has an Imperial gold dagger that she shows Percy.
 * Silver Pocket Knife: A silver pocket knife which Reyna keeps at all times, in case of being attacked by werewolves.
 * Roman Legionnaire Armor.
 * Satchel: A satchel from the Hunters of Artemis, gifted to Reyna by the Hunter Phoebe. It contains healing potions, tranquilizer darts and a highly portable, well furnished tent.
 * Aegis Cloak: When Reyna proves her immense bravery against the Giant Orion, Athena enchants her regular cloak with invulnerability, making it glitter with power.

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)
 * Guido: After being named Horse Friend by Lord Pegasus, his son Guido "adopts" Reyna.

Love Interests
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 romantic 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 at the end of The Son of Neptune, Reyna looks a 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 very upset, her voice sounding "like broken glass", when she found out about Jason's relationship with Piper. Reyna also 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.

In The House of Hades, Jason stated that he had "let [Reyna] believe they had a future together" and felt guilty that he "hadn't shut her down". Later, Jason briefly wondered if Piper was working some sort of Aphrodite magic on him', as when he mentioned Reyna, he 'couldn't think of anything but Piper'. Percy Jackson = In The Son of Neptune, 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. In The Mark of Athena, Annabeth is able to tell that Reyna is upset that Percy chose Annabeth over herself when they first meet, not allowing Percy to give her a tour, and instead taking Annabeth herself.

Hylla
Reyna has a somewhat difficult relationship with her sister Hylla, queen of the Amazons. They parted ways several years ago, when Hylla joined the Amazons and Reyna the Twelfth Legion. They often disagree, but still love each other very much, despite their many differences.

Rivals
Piper McLean = When Piper first meet Reyna in The Mark of Athena, she initially prepared to hate her for liking Jason, but came to admire her for not showing her feelings at all, having total control of herself, and acting silently considerate. She is constantly afraid that Jason still has feelings for her, although Jason claims he never did have romantic feelings for Reyna, even in his 'previous' life. Reyna, on her part, was unpleasantly surprised, and additionally jealous of Piper when Jason introduced Piper as his girlfriend, and got visibly upset when Jason asked her if he could show Piper around New Rome. Annabeth mentioned that Reyna was trying to hide her pain and anger inside when talking with her. Piper was also uneasy when Jason asked Piper to talk to Reyna and when he talked about his and Reyna's past quest together. Jason seemed entirely oblivious to both, however.

During The Blood of Olympus, however, the two grow closer, as Reyna begins to address Piper, not Jason (having successfully moved on from her feelings for the son of Jupiter). The two, along with Annabeth and Hazel, become inseparable, as they help the camps get along after Gaea's defeat. Shortly before leaving Camp Half-Blood, Reyna speaks to Piper, asking her about something the latter's mother, Aphrodite had once told her in Charleston, about no demigod ever being destined to "heal her heart", something that Reyna had never spoken about to anyone before. Piper cheers her up, saying that it need not be a demigod that heals Reyna's heart, hinting at the possibility of her future soul mate being a mortal or a legacy instead, and in the meantime, promises to always be there for Reyna as a friend. Reyna says that Piper has a way with words, even without Charmspeak, they shake hands, with Reyna claiming that she has a feeling that they'll meet again soon. Octavian = As seen in The Son of Neptune, Reyna doesn't have a good relationship with him, as Octavian 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. However, in The House of Hades, Reyna is furious when she learns that Octavian has disobeyed her orders as Praetor and has ordered the Legion to attack Camp Half-Blood with multiple onagers. 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. Hence, Reyna doesn't at all mourn after Octavian's death in The Blood of Olympus.

Friends
Frank Zhang = As seen in The Son of Neptune, Reyna is on neutral terms with Frank. It should be noted, however, that Reyna allowed him to join Camp Jupiter, despite his family history (with his great-grandfather Shen Lun supposedly causing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake). She told Percy that Frank has a good heart, but that he is also hopelessly naive and inexperienced. However, in The House of Hades, 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. Hence, after Gaea's defeat in The Blood of Olympus, both Reyna and Frank speak privately to Chiron and later address both camps at the campfire, helping both sides finally get along with one another. Hazel Levesque = Although Reyna and Hazel have rarely interacted, it's presumed that Reyna is on good terms with her in The Son of Neptune. However, it is stated that Reyna thinks Hazel would not be a good leader, due to her being a daughter of Pluto.

They seem to have gotten closer by the end of The Blood of Olympus, however, as Reyna and Hazel, along with Annabeth and Piper, become inseparable, as they help the camps get along after Gaea's defeat. One thing both of them now have in common is their close relationship with Nico, whom Reyna had befriended during her quest back to camp. Nico di Angelo = Through their relationship is not directly shown in The Son of Neptune, it can be concluded the they are on good terms. They have obviously interacted before, with their first encounter being when Nico asks her to accept his sister, Hazel, into the legion. Back in Camp Jupiter, Nico was a Senator and the Ambassador of Pluto, and therefore, possibly involved in the camp's political life along with Reyna. At the end of The House of Hades, Reyna is willing to travel with Nico under very dangerous circumstances, showing that she at least does not doubt the son of Hades' loyalty.

In The Blood of Olympus, the two eventually grow close over the course of their journey. Reyna lends Nico strength to shadow-travel, and, as a result, she learns quite a bit about his past and the tremendous internal pain that he's been harboring. She is horrified at the amount of internal pain and raw anguish (even a portion of which is greater than what she had felt from even her entire legion during the battle against the Giant Polybotes), and is determined to support him, and starts thinking of him as a younger brother in spite of herself.

Nico, on his part, admits to "kind of" liking Reyna. When she was briefly taken away by the Hunters of Artemis, Nico is enraged, since he didn't want them stealing another important person from him, and is relieved to have finally found her again. Nico, however, is worried at how brooding Reyna had become after leaving Puerto Rico, and encourages her talk about what troubles her (much to his own surprise, since brooding was usually his own method of dealing with internal turmoil as well), reminding her of the numerous ghosts of Asphodel, who are unable to speak any longer, due to them never speaking out during their lifetimes, reminding Reyna that her voice is her identity, and that unless she uses it, she is "halfway to Asphodel already." As a result, the two finally open up to one another, as Reyna tearfully describes how she killed her father in Puerto Rico (something she'd never ever told anyone up to that point, since patricide is an unforgivable crime by Roman law), and Nico his issues with his father, how he suffered through Tartarus and the feeling of not belonging at either camp. He appreciates someone finally speaking to him so openly, something he'd only ever experienced with Hazel before. Nico is also quick to comfort Reyna, insisting that it was a mania (with only her father's worst qualities) that she had killed, not her actual father. Also, Reyna is the first person that Nico tells about Jules-Albert, his French zombie chauffeur. Reyna later admits that her telling her dark secret to Nico has lifted some of her burden, and that she trusted him.

Reyna later witnesses him kill Bryce Lawrence and seems horrified at the ferocious display of Nico's infernal powers. At that moment, Nico accidentally generates a "flood of pain and anger" on everyone present, allowing Reyna to finally experience his hardships from his point of view and also see Nico's greatest fears and secrets (including his homosexuality and his crush on Percy). Much to Nico's surprise and relief, however, Reyna, while very surprised at this revelation, doesn't judge him, still accepts Nico as a friend just as he is, without hesitation, and cares for Nico's wounds for three days while he recovers from his encounter with Bryce. Reyna's unconditional acceptance and support was what most likely gave Nico the courage to finally come out to a very surprised Percy and Annabeth shortly thereafter.

In addition, Reyna appears to be in awe of Nico's powers, especially after learning that he also possesses hypnokinetic abilities. She also greatly admires Nico's immense tolerance to both physical and mental pain. Nico, in turn, respects Reyna quite a bit, and by the end of their journey to Camp Half-Blood, he even calls her the most courageous demigod he'd ever meet, and promises to not let her down. Reyna wants to hug Nico in return, but doesn't think the gesture would have been welcome, so she settles for a friendly handshake.

After Gaea's defeat, Reyna tells the two camps about Nico's part in saving them, brings him out of the shadows, gives him a big hug, and Nico tearfully returns it, burying his face in Reyna's shoulder. The crowd of demigods roars with approval in response, indicating that thanks to Reyna, both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter have finally come to truly accept the son of Hades. Shortly before leaving Camp Half-Blood, Reyna promises Nico that he will always have a place in New Rome, and he promises to visit her, Hazel, and Frank often.

Interestingly, several things that both Nico and Reyna have in common are them both of them fluently speaking a Romance language (Italian and Spanish respectively), them both being the younger of two siblings (both of which were female), their shared tendency to hold grudges (though Nico has improved in this regard considerably), their shared habit of twisting the rings on their hands while deeply thinking, and their unrequited feelings for Percy in the past, but they have both managed to move on since then, while remaining good friends with the son of Poseidon and even becoming friends with Annabeth. Nico and Reyna are also the only non-seven characters to be given points of view in The Heroes of Olympus series. Leo Valdez = Though, they have never actually had a full one-on-one conversation, she dislikes Leo 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. However, Reyna isn't known for being a forgiving person, and so probably still dislikes him. However, on Ogygia, Leo is shown to be concerned for her safety, as he grew all frantic upon seeing the attack by the gryphons on Reyna and Scipio just as the video goes dark. Reyna, on her part, despite her former dislike of him (which she seems to have gotten over by this point), was very saddened by Leo's death in The Blood of Olympus.

Interestingly, one thing both Leo and Reyna have in common is that they both speak fluent Spanish, albeit slightly different dialects (Mexican and Caribbean respectively). Annabeth Chase = Reyna first meets Annabeth in The Mark of Athena, and seems to respects her 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 Necromanteion, endangering her praetorship in the process, in order to bring the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood to finally heal the rift between the two camps permanently, 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.

They finally reunite in The Blood of Olympus, after the Giants' defeat, just as Gaea had finally awakened. After Gaea's defeat, Reyna and Annabeth, along with Piper and Hazel, become inseparable, as they help the camps get along.

Trivia

 * 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 "Justice is the foundation of a reign."
 * 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.
 * She may have her driver's license, as she is seen driving in The Mark of Athena. This makes her the second known Demigod to drive; the first being Percy.
 * Reyna and her sister are the only known demigods born in Puerto Rico.
 * Reyna is similar to Annabeth Chase:
 * Both are daughters of war godesses
 * Both are respected leaders at Camp
 * Both fought in the Titan War
 * Both fell for Percy Jackson
 * Both were hurt by a boy they liked (Jason Grace, Luke Castellan)
 * Annabeth said when they first met that she saw the look on Reyna's face every time she looked in the mirror
 * Both have/once had bad relationships with their fathers
 * 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 Ramírez-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.
 * Despite abandoning her camp to help the demigods in the Mediterranean Sea, she has been reinstated as praetor.
 * Renya's favorite treat from her childhood in San Juan was Piragua (syrup over cold ice).
 * Reyna's favourite drink is hot chocolate.