| “ | I am praetor of the legion. I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome. | ” |
–Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, in The House of Hades | ||
Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano[1] is a Roman demigod, the daughter of Bellona, younger sister of Hylla, and praetor of Camp Jupiter.
History
Bellona, her mother
Reyna and her older sister Hylla were born to the war goddess Bellona and Julian Ramírez-Arellano in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[1] Millenia before Reyna and Hylla were born, Bellona declared that the Ramírez-Arellano family would play pivotal roles in many battles. Hylla described their father, saying that he used to be gentle before Reyna was born. When he came back from the war in Iraq, where he was a soldier, he was never the same. He never got over the thinking about the war, and as Reyna grew up, he changed. He saw enemies everywhere and made their house a fortress. When he had become so paranoid that he had been reduced to a ghost, or a mania, he tossed a chair at Hylla. Reyna was so angry that she attacked him with an Imperial Gold saber, and not knowing it was Imperial Gold, she vaporized him.
Some time later they came to 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.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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 latter claims that Carter reminds him of her.
After Leaving Circe's Island
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 Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
When parts of Jason's memory comes back to him, he remembers Reyna as someone really close to him and a good friend, 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.
The Son of Neptune
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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 Zhang, 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 called 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
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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 Chase 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 Grace, 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 Valdez 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
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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 Roman 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 Frank 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. |
The Blood of Olympus
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Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Nico Di Angelo, and Coach Hedge head back to Camp Half-Blood with the Athena Parthenos in tow using Nico's shadow-travel. Nico struggles with shadow-travel, but is assisted by Reyna sharing her strength, a power granted by her mother, Bellona. After reaching Pompeii, Reyna learns from her dreams that they are being hunted by a giant. At Évora, they are attacked by Lycaon and his aides. They defeat him and shadow-travel to San Juan, Reyna's homeland. Reyna is captured by the Hunters of Artemis, led by Thalia Grace, who are working together with the Amazons, who are led by Reyna's sister, Hylla. The giant, revealed to be Orion, appears and massacres both the Hunters and the Amazons, but before he could reach Reyna, she, Nico, and Hedge shadow-travel to South Carolina. Reyna reveals her life before she and Hylla worked at Circe's island to Nico, but they were secretly being spied upon by Bryce Lawrence, an ruthless legacy who was once exiled from New Rome by Reyna before being reinstated by Octavian. He tries to execute Reyna for patricide when she reveals her "killing" her father's insane spirit, but is turned into a ghost by an angry Nico. Arriving at Camp Half-Blood with the help of Pegasus and several of his brethren, like Blackjack and Guido, Nico and Hedge head out to the camp while Reyna lands on the yacht Mi Amor in Long Island Sound. She is confronted by Orion and manages to kill him with help of her mother, Bellona, and Athena, who grant her a magic cape that deflects Orion's arrows. Before the two camps are about to clash, Reyna reveals the Athena Parthenos, ending the warfare between the Greeks and Romans before it even starts. However, Gaea suddenly rises and begins to attack the camp. After the seven are returned to camp, Piper and Jason are shown to fight alongside Reyna. She organizes the forces of the legion with Frank, the newly appointed Praetor, and charges into battle fighting herds of monsters and Gaea's minions. Reyna is seen befriending a new Pegasus, Guido, who is mentioned later to have adopted Reyna as his human. After the battle is concluded, and Gaea is defeated, Romans and Greeks gather for a campfire the following night. The situation between the two camps finally concluded with peace and coexistence. Reyna promises Greeks a ton of parties saying that "We Romans invented parties." Finally, the night is concluded by Reyna telling the two camps about Nico's part in selflessly saving them, after which she brings Nico out of the shadows and 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. Reyna also lets him know that he is always welcome to visit Camp Jupiter. The following morning, before the Romans were set to leave, Piper and Reyna have a conversation relating to Reyna's love life, and how Reyna thinks that Venus had cursed her by not finding a demigod to heal her heart. Piper assures her that there is love out there for Reyna, and it might be a mortal or a god instead. This sparked a bond of friendship and family between the two girls, and Reyna shakes her hand before departing. |
The Trials of Apollo
The Hidden Oracle
Nico mentions the daughter of Bellona, saying that she and Frank are busy running the Twelfth Legion Fulminata and Camp Jupiter.
The Dark Prophecy
Leo mentions her when wondering how the Romans will react to him.
The Burning Maze
She is revealed to help Apollo escape death if she can open the doorway of the soundless god, Leo also mentions that Reyna survived Caligula’s attack on Camp Jupiter.
The Tyrant's Tomb
Reyna will play an important role in the upcoming book. She is mentioned in this prophecy-Apollo faces death in Tarquin’s Tomb unless the doorway to the soundless god is opened by Bellona's Daughter.
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, as she still dislikes him with a fierce passion, even though he didn't intentionally 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.[1] 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. She is often described as having a regal and beautiful face in Hispanic descent, and described as having a gaze as if she could take on any challenge. Percy also describes her as having the 'poise of a sword fighter' as if she was ready to spring in action at any moment. 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."
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. From her time with pirates, Reyna noted that she learned several tricks from them, including fighting with two weapons when fending of an army of earthen ghosts. Her skill is such, that she was able to incapacitate Thalia Grace even while tied to a chair. When aided by the power of Athena and Bellona, Reyna ultimately defeated the very formidable Giant Orion. She has shown that she is skilled with a sword, a javelin, a dagger, and an expert in hand-to-hand combat.
- Enhanced Strength: Being a demigod, Reyna is stronger than the average mortal as shown when she knocked aside Lycaon's overgrown wolves with ease with her knife.
- Enhanced Agility: Being a demigod, Reyna is more agile than the average mortal as shown when she used her javelin to launch herself up like a pole-vaulter with ease, and flipped around Orion's bow.
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 lycanthropes.
- 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. Scipio gets critically injured after a wild Gryphon attack in the House of Hades and Reyna kills the pegasus to put him out of his misery.
- Guido: After being named Horse Friend by Lord Pegasus, his son Guido "adopts" Reyna.
Relationships
Love Interests
Jason, her former co- praetor and first love interest
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 slightly 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, her fellow praetor and second love interest
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.Family
Julian is Reyna and Hylla's father, who was reduced to a mania and vaporized by Reyna. Reyna often feels guilty about this fact.
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, Reyna's former rival and good friend.
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 god 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, Reyna's rival and enemy.
As seen in The Son of Neptune, Reyna does not have a good relationship with the legacy of Apollo as Octavian always tries to put her down. She is also shown to be annoyed by Octavian constantly questioning her authority and as Percy put it, when he is in front of the Senate he becomes the powerful one. Whenever the Senate proved of her he would try to make it appear as if the idea was his, much to her annoyance. 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 outrage is displayed by her agreement with Frank Zhang to load Octavian into a catapult and launch him as far away as possible as their first official act as Co-Praetors. Hence, Reyna does not mourn the death of Octavian at all during the end of The Blood of Olympus.Friends
Frank, Reyna's current co-Praetor and ally.
Hazel, Reyna's friend and ally.
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, an ally and very close friend of Reyna's
Through their relationship is not directly shown in The Son of Neptune, it can be concluded 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, an ally of Reyna.
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, a good friend of Reyna.
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.Etythmology
Reyna is Spanish for “Queen”, a possible nod to her being a praetor is the Twelfth Legion.
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 of Ramiro”. Ramiro is the Spanish form of the “Ramirus“, a latinized form of the Visigothic name derived from Germanic elements “ragin” (advice) and “mari“ (famous).
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 it can be seen that her hair is brown and is curled over her left shoulder, however in the book it is stated that she has black glossy hair kept in a single braid.
- Prior to The House of Hades, Reyna has 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, Ramírez-Arellano, was revealed in The House of Hades.[2]
- 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 in several ways:
- Both are daughters of war goddesses (Bellona, Athena).
- Both are respected leaders at their respective camps.
- Both fought in the Titan War.
- Both fell for Percy Jackson.
- Both were hurt by a boy they liked (Jason Grace, Luke Castellan)
- Both have/once had bad relationships with their fathers
- Reyna is similar to Thalia Grace in several ways:
- 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 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. 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 favorite drink is hot chocolate.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The House of Hades chapter 33
- ↑ Rick's Twitter