Welcome everyone to chapter 7!

Amira gets to show off her bada*s magic skills in this chapter and I'm so excited to (hopefully) see your guys' reactions!

I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!


Amira woke from her sleep-like rest to the sun reflecting off the lake.

She blinked her eyes to get accustomed to the bright light and was soon able to see without being blinded. The purple-haired Alagaesian sat up on her blanket and stretched her arms above her head. She sat for several minutes to allow herself to awake fully before she stood, feeling stiff from sleeping on the uneven sandy ground.

She stood and brushed the sand from herself that the wind had blown onto her in the night, buckled her sword belt around her waist, then picked up the blanket from the ground and shook it off as well. She folded the large cloth neatly and tucked it under her arm. Then she started walking along the beach, trying to find where she had come from the night before.

She walked slowly, enjoying the reflection on the water, but soon came to the clearing. She looked around the camp but saw that there was no one in sight and frowned. Then the young Rider heard voices talking and followed the sound. A big building-like structure appeared in her vision and she saw that it was crowded with what seemed like hundreds of people. Her eyes widened slightly but she continued despite being intimidated by the number.

She appeared at the edge of the building but once she stepped onto the stone, like a spell, all the people stopped talking and turned to her. Amira swallowed, suddenly very self-conscious. Then she saw Chiron and started towards him though she kept her head tilted downwards a little as she tried to hide her flushed face with her long hair.

'What is wrong with me? I am a Dragon Rider of Alagaesia! I have been faced by the Evil King! Why do these people make me so nervous?' Amira thought to herself.

She tried to ignore the eyes watching her as she walked through the rows of demigods. She stopped when she reached Chiron at what looked like the head table and held out the blanket he let her use.

"You have been very kind to me, Chiron. You have my sincere thanks." Amira thanked him with a kind smile. The centaur returned her smile, accepting the blanket.

"You are welcome, my dear. And you are welcome to stay here as long as needed until you find your dragon and a way back home." Chiron whispered the last part so only Amira could hear him and she smiled gratefully. He then turned to the rest of the campers who had started talking amongst themselves again. "Campers! Many of you were wondering what happened yesterday during Capture the Flag-"

"You mean when that girl beat up Jason and stopped the game?!" Someone shouted out from the crowd. Amira's eyes found Jason Grace to see him frowning towards the voice.

"Her name's Amira and you wanna try to fight with her? She's a lot stronger than you would think," He retorted. He sent a knowing winking to Amira when she caught his eye and her purple eyes twinkled as she allowed a slight upturn of her lips to show.

Looking around the strange building, Amira also saw Percy and the other people whom she met the night before. Percy looked up and his eyes locked on her.

He smiled softly at her and Amira could see the unspoken message: 'Thank you for listening.'

She smiled slightly and nodded. Annabeth whispered something into Percy's ear and his lips turned to a half-grin. Amira's smile slowly slipped off her lips and her heart clenched painfully.

That grin… It was almost exactly the same as the grin Eragon would wear when he teased Amira. He could almost hear his laugh… Amira felt her eyes water and forced herself to hold the tears that threatened. She could cry later when she was alone.

"Why is your hair purple?" Someone shouted. Amira held back a groan as she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Why does everyone ask me that?! I do not know! This is how I was born! I could not control it..." She trailed off as a spell Arya taught her came to mind. She had an urge to use it now, just to see the reactions she'd get.

So she bit her lip to hold back a smile and casually moved her hand behind her back, hiding her Gedwëy Insignia from sight. She gave Chiron another bow before turning and walking down through the rows of tables.

"Moi pömnuria sja." She whispered as she walked. Her palm glowed silver, still covered.

(Change my look)

Campers gasped and murmured when Amira's appearance suddenly began to change: her waist-length hair began to shorten until it was the height of her shoulders, the color changing from purple to black. Her skin tone changed as well and darkened significantly. Amira placed a confused look on her face as she looked around at the campers then gasped when she looked at herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amira saw Chiron covering a smile with his hand as he watched her. She also saw that her new friends looked confused as well as they didn't know about all of her magic.

Amira could barely hold back her laughter as she continued to "panic". She glanced around and started backing away from the large group of whispering demigods with her now green eyes wide. The demigods were now staring at her in either shock, confusion, and some in wonder. Her hands going to her mouth, Amira turned and ran out of the building.

She continued running until she reached the beach but once there, she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. She laughed until she was bent over, holding her sides as they cramped. She reached up to brush her hair away and smiled when she saw her now dark skin instead of her usually pale color. She thought of the looks the campers had and laughed again.

"How the Hades did you do that?!" Someone behind her exclaimed.

Startled by their sudden appearance, Amira jumped up, spun around, unsheathed her dagger, and grabbed the front of the person's shirt. In the blink of an eye she found herself standing with her weapon pressed against Leo Valdez's throat, her face inches from his as she held him.

"AH! I SURRENDER!" Leo exclaimed with his eyes as wide as plates, throwing his hands up in surrender.

Amira sighed and relaxed when she saw who it was. Looking behind Leo, she also saw Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Frank.

"You should not sneak up to me like that. I may end up hurting you in ways that I do not wish to." Amira scolded him sternly as she stepped back and sheathed her dagger. Leo's breathing was faster than normal as he sheepishly apologized.

"Woah. How did you move so fast?" Frank asked her.

"Again: practice. I have spent nearly a year in weapons training." Amira explained with a shrug. She had been apprenticed for a little less than a year to Eragon as a Dragon Rider but all who were chosen by dragons had the ability to move as fast as elves. She neglected to mention that.

"So how did you do that trick? Change how you look, I mean." Piper wondered. Amira raised an eyebrow as she smirked.

"Magic." She said with a smile, using the same response as before. Piper rolled her eyes but she saw a smile pulling on her lips. "Speaking of which… Losna pömnuria galdr." Amira looked down and was happy to see her natural light skin color and her long purple hair. She chuckled at the demigod's stunned expressions. "I told you already that I have magic. Why do you continue to be shocked?"

(release my spell)

"We've never seen anyone use magic before…" Annabeth trailed off. She frowned. "Where are you from, Amira?"

"I live fairly far from this place," Amira tried, hoping to be able to bluff her way out of the question.

"What's the name of the city?" The blonde pressed. Amira gulped, nervous. She had a feeling that Annabeth was starting to realize that she wasn't from this world. Or she at least had a theory close to it.

"It is a very small town, you would not know of it." It wasn't a complete lie. Amira had been born in a town in Surda, known by few as it was so small. "But I have been away for a very long time. I left for my training with a friend when I was quite young."

Annabeth nodded slowly but Amira could tell that she wasn't completely convinced. She tried to think of a response when a horn suddenly rang through the camp. Shouting was heard and they could see campers running around all over the place.

"BORDER ATTACK! BY THE STATUE!" Someone shouted as they ran by the beach. The Seven demigods quickly exchanged looks before they too ran off, calling for Amira behind them.

Not sure what else to do, the Rider followed, having no idea what she was in for.

== Ω Ω Ω ==

Amira saw nearly all the demigods at Camp Half-blood running in one direction so she followed but when she saw the creatures at the border, it almost made her miss Urgals or even the Ra'zac.

Some of the creatures looked like women but they had snake bodies instead of legs, giant dogs larger than a man, tiny winged people shouting the names of grains, and some sort of creature with claws, one donkey leg and the other mechanical, and fire for hair.

Yeah, Amira wanted Urgals.

She stared with an open mouth and probably would have kept staring if someone wouldn't have grabbed her.

"Come on!" The camper, a blond boy around eighteen called, shouting to be heard over the yelling and clashing of weapons.

Amira shook her head clear and drew Arvindr. The boy raised a brow, surprised at the color of the blade, but she ignored the look and charged towards the battle.

Amira fought for what seemed like an hour. The monsters just kept coming in endless supply. Once she spotted Percy and Annabeth fighting and another time she spotted Jason. Her purple eyes widened when she saw he was completely surrounded and about to be overwhelmed.

"Thrautha hrygr!" She shouted as she threw out her hand.

(Throw back)

Her Gedwëy Ignasia glowed and the monsters around Jason were thrown back by an invisible force. Jason caught her eye and mouthed a quick thank you. Amira stumbled, having been a while since she used stronger magic in a battle, but she recovered quickly. She turned only to see a monster raising it's claw a foot away from her, far too close to raise her sword.

She was saved when somebody grabbed her arm and she was yanked back from the creature right before it would have impaled her. Amira found herself pulled into their chest and the creature exploded, the person having stabbed the monster through its stomach. Amira looked up to see the blond boy she had been fighting beside.

She could feel his strong arms around her back, holding her tight. He was about an inch or two taller than her and had bright blond, almost white hair. The young Rider found herself staring at the boy's eyes, which were a breathtaking blue the color of sapphire gems.

"You alright? That one almost had you." He asked her quickly, worry seeping into his features. Amira nodded, shaking free from her daze.

"Y-yes, I am alright." She assured him. "Th- Thank you."

She managed to divert her gaze and she pulled herself from the boy. She turned in time to slice Arvindr though a fire-haired monster, her purple hair spinning around her as she turned. The boy also went back to fighting but Amira could feel him glancing at her several times. She tried to ignore him and focus on the moment at hand.

Amira heard yelling and looked around the battle. Her purple eyes widened when she saw the number of monsters that surrounded the camp. She knew that she had to do something or they would be completely over-run but she hesitated, knowing that casting a spell too large would drain and could even possibly kill her. But looking around once more told her that she had to at least try.

So she ran to the top of Half-Blood Hill, ignoring the boy's calling for her, slicing through monsters. When she stood beside the large statue of Athena and was able to see the entire battle, she cleared a spot where she could stand without fear of being attacked. She only had a few seconds so the half-elf stabbed her sword into the ground beside her and raised her hands, Gedwëy Ignasia held high.

"VERGARÍ ALLR PӦMNURIA FJANDÍ EKA SJON!" Amira chanted her spell and her palm shone brightly.

(Kill all my enemy I see)

Lightning-type energy suddenly shot from her hand and flew across the battle, jumping from monster to monster, and in seconds there was nothing but piles of sand. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood stared in shock at the dust then up to where Amira stood with the light of her Gedwëy Ignasia fading.

The young Alagaesian Rider didn't even have the energy to feel tired. She collapsed to her knees and saw the ground rushing toward her.

Then black.


And that concludes the seventh 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!