Welcome everyone to chapter 5!
More familiar faces here! It felt like it was beginning to be more of an OC story and less of a PJO story so I decided to add in some more of our favorite characters.
I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!
Notes:
Totally random thought: Amira's hair is purple, right? Then does that mean that her eyebrows are purple too? XD
Amira's purple eyes were beginning to droop.
She felt tired and worn out, mentally and physically from everything that had happened that day and knew she needed to rest somewhere. Her magic had drained her energy as well, being weaker in this world and requiring more strength. Then she had a thought and stopped; if there was no magic in this world then would it have taken the magical energy stored in Arvindr?
Amira pulled her sword from its sheath. Immediately Jason and his friend's hands went to their weapons but she gestured that everything was alright; she already told them she was a friend and meant no harm. The four took their hands from their weapons and watched her curiously.
Amira flipped her blade so it was flat and grabbed the gem at the hilt, placing her other hand on the flat of the blade and closing her eyes. She sighed in relief as she could still feel the energy humming inside the sword. So she opened her eyes and took her hand off the blade. Then she hid a grin, deciding to show off a bit.
Instead of sheathing her blade, she flicked her wrist up. She let go of Arvindr and sent the blade flipping into the air. Amira leaned slightly and Arvindr sliced straight down her back into the sheath on her hip, having turned a millisecond before the blade would have pierced her. Amira couldn't help but laugh at the four shocked looks directed at her.
"Is this the way?" She asked casually, pointing the direction they were heading before. She got mute nods. The half-bloods followed after shaking themselves from their stunned stares.
"How did you do that?" Percy asked with shocked admiration in his voice, speed walking until he was beside her.
"For me, it was quite easy. I only say that the movement takes practice, speed, and quite a bit of luck." Amira winked. Percy just shook his head.
The small group entered a clearing that Amira guessed was their destination and looking around, her eyes widened. The Alagaesian could only stare. If she thought that living with the elves would be odd then this place was absolutely insane!
The sky was darkening fast but Amira could still count more than a dozen small buildings, each one looking completely different: one looked to be made completely of gold, one of silver, another looking like a large temple, and so on. She also saw a large field filled with strawberries, a smaller field used for what looked like archery, a sword fighting arena, a climbing wall with… was that lava? pouring from the top, an amphitheater, stables with winged horses (she wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be, seeing as she rides a flying dragon), an armory and forge, and what Percy called the Big House.
The four demigods noticed her expression and chuckled, gesturing for the Rider to follow.
"Where are you taking me?" Amira finally asked.
"To talk to our camp director, Chiron. He's like the leader here." Annabeth answered.
Amira nodded though she remained a little cautious. She still didn't know where she was. From what she saw in Jason Grace's mind she knew only that she wasn't in Alagaesia, these people were only half-humans, and that the people here had no idea about anything from her world.
"JASON! PIPES!"
Jason and Piper looked to the direction of the voice and smiles came to their lips. Amira followed their gaze and saw a curly-haired boy running towards them, a girl and two other boys following behind, though they were walking. The first boy reached them, skidding across the dirt towards them but tripping and falling onto his face. He jumped back up to his feet, smiling as if he didn't just do a face-plant.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" He asked as he brushed dirt off his grease-covered clothes.
The boy had curly black hair, dark brown eyes, pointy ears (though not as much as Amira's), a cheerfully mischievous smile on his face, and was slightly shorter than average height with a relatively scrawny build. He had a strange belt on his hips and his eyes held a look that said he had taken much more sugar then was healthy.
Amira's hand brushed over the hlt of her dagger as she got a distinct feeling that not to leave anything sharp near him.
The girl and the other two boys had reached them now and Amira looked them over as well. The girl had shoulder-length curly brown hair and golden eyes. Her skin was dark and reminded Amira of Nasuada but her smile was kind and her eyes were gentle. Looking down, she noted that she also had a mark on her arm like Jason.
The shorter boy had messy black hair that looked like he just got out of bed. His skin was a pale white that almost looked unhealthy. He was wearing all black clothing with weird designs of skeletons. At his hip rested an intense black sword and he wore a silver skull ring, which Amira found strange.
The last boy looked tall and strong with broad shoulders and muscular arms. He had short black hair but a kind smile. He too had a mark on his arm and from the angle of his arm, Amira was able to see the letters SPQR, an image of crossed spears, and two lines. She found the symbol odd as it seemed that the only ones without those marks were Annabeth, Piper, the boy in black, and the curly-haired boy.
"There you guys are. Chiron just sent us to look for you." The curly-haired boy told his friends.
"How come?" Percy wondered, slipping his hand into Annabeth's. Amira guessed they were in a relationship and judging from the look Annabeth's grey eyes gave the dark-haired teen, were very close.
"After Capture the Flag, Jason disappeared then you disappeared and we weren't sure- wait, who's this?" The curly-haired boy then seemed to notice Amira, mixing his question into his sentence.
"Guys, this is Amira. Amira this is Hazel, Frank, Leo, and Nico." Jason introduced her, again gesturing to each of the four in turn.
"You're the girl that we saw Jason fighting during Capture the Flag. How were you moving so fast? I haven't seen you here before so does that mean you're a new camper or are you visiting from Camp Jupiter?" Leo then asked her in a rapid-fire talk.
'How are you talking so fast?' Amira mentally wondered, her purple eyes widenening slightly as she felt a bit overwhelmed by the sudden bombardment of questions. She was again caught in the center of attention and hated it but was confused by one of his questions.
"Um… I was moving no faster than I normally would." Amira explained slowly. "It seemed to me that Jason Grace moved quite slowly, though I admit that I was surprised by his ability to block my attacks. The only ones able to do so easily are Eragon and Arya-"
Amira cut herself off, eyes slightly widened at her slip. She hadn't been planning to tell these people of her friends back home quite yet. Eyebrows were raised.
"Who's Arya? And Eragan?" Nico asked. He had been so quiet that Amira had almost forgotten he was there.
"Eragon." Amira corrected sharply, then scolded herself at the weird looks received. "They, um… Eragon and Arya are friends that I happen to be quite close with." She spoke slowly; she wasn't sure why she spoke so freely with these strange people but she had to be more careful with what she said. "I have known them for some time now and we have bested many challenges together. They both have taught me the things I know and have helped me acquire many skills I and another friend of mine have attained."
Silence was her response.
"You talk weird," Leo commented. Amira raised a brow as Piper smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"
Piper opened her mouth to probably scold him, but Amira spoke first.
"You say that my speech is weird yet I barely understand any words that you speak." She retorted. "The way I talk is normal where I come from and so this is how I was raised. Hearing you talk is as easy for me to understand as an infant so perhaps you should think of how you do things yourself before you mock others."
Leo looked properly chastised.
"I have a question. How come Jason randomly froze during your fight?" Hazel asked, her sweet voice sounding innocent though strong. "You said something really weird then he was just frozen!"
"Let it go," Leo muttered. Piper smacked him again.
"He froze because I made him," Amira answered with a sigh, realizing that there was no way out of the questions she was clearly going to be bombarded with.
"How do you make someone stop moving? You didn't even touch him." Annabeth argued, eyebrows furrowed.
"Magic." Amira just used that same answer she gave Jason. Her answer got unbelieving looks. "It is true."
"Sure. Cuz magic is totally real." Leo agreed sarcastically.
"Yes it is. And just as I stopped his movements, I can do the same to you," The Rider argued. He raised his eyebrow.
"Sure it's real. Just like wizards and dragons and elves and-"
"Leo, just shut up," Frank muttered as he rolled his eyes. Amira neglected to say that everything Leo had listed actually existed in her homeland.
"What? I'm just saying…" Leo continued rambling and Amira quickly reached the end of her patience. So she raised her hand and cast a spell.
"Waíse hljödhr." She chanted.
(Be silent)
Her palm (which was at her side) glowed and Leo's voice disappeared mid-word. His eyes widened as he moved his mouth but no sound came out. Everyone stared at Leo in surprise, then Amira, then back to Leo.
"You just… You made Leo shut up! How…?" Piper stuttered, her eyes wide.
"Magic." Amira repeated with a shrug.
"Is that permanent?" Nico wondered. She shook her head in response.
"No. Once I speak a spell of release, his speech shall be returned." She explained. Piper smiled hugely at Amira.
"Gurl, you are so my new bestie!" She gushed. Amira blinked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
"I do not understand." She told her. Piper raised a brow.
"It means I like you."
"Oh. Thank you… I think." The Rider thanked awkwardly.
Leo waved his arms around to get her attention and pointed to his mouth. A smile played at the tips of Amira's mouth as she raised her hand.
"Losna pömnuria galdr." Her Gedwëy ignasia glowed again and the demigods all backed away at the sight (except Jason).
(Release my spell)
"What the hell just happened?!" Leo exclaimed when he realized his voice was back. He looked at Amira like she just grew another head.
"I did as I said I could: I used magic and cast a spell upon you that took your speech temporarily." A blast of tiredness then hit Amira like a slap and she staggered. She would have fallen but Jason reached out and grabbed her before she could.
"Whoa, are you alright?" He worried. Amira nodded slowly, dizzy.
"I- I am alright. I am just… tired. Using too much magic drains my energy, especially here." She told him as she tucked her long hair behind her pointed ears.
"Then we should find you somewhere to sit down." Jason kept his hand on her arm as the group started towards the gigantic fire, Amira's eyes drooping though she forced herself to stay awake.
"Um… you aren't going to magic-ify anyone else, are you?" Leo asked hesitantly as they walked.
'Magic-ify? That is not a word…' Amira thought tiredly. Frank voiced Amira's thoughts but Leo just shrugged.
"My magic has drained my energy and I am now too tired to cast another spell without harming myself. I am not as skilled as some other Riders and so my magic is weaker and drains my energy faster." Amira furrowed her eyebrows; something was ringing in her head, like she said something she shouldn't have. She stumbled and would have fallen but Jason kept her on her feet.
"Geez, you weren't kidding." The blond looped his arm under Amira's.
"Of course not. Why would I speak a lie over a subject so small?" She wondered.
"What's a Rider?" Annabeth then asked. Amira would have cursed but she could barely stand. She mentally cursed the weakness of the magical energy in this world.
"Um, a Rider is a… it is a title that my friends and I gave to ourselves. We enjoy riding so we decided upon the title." She half-lied, leaning on Jason. She mentally cheered when she saw the nods.
"You ride?" One of the girls then said. Amira was too tired to focus but remembered her name was Hazel. "So do I! Maybe we can go riding together sometime?"
Amira was hesitant. These people thought she meant horse riding, not dragon riding. She had only been horseback riding a few times and since Belinda had grown big enough to ride, she hadn't ridden a horse in a long time. Horses never really seemed to like her.
"Um, sure. That- that would be nice." She reluctantly agreed.
"Really? I can't wait!"
And that concludes the fifth chapter of A Strange and Different Land!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you chose to continue the story. Please feel free to leave a review. Criticism, advice, compliments or corrections are welcome.
Have a good one and I'll see you later!
