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Piper McLean is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus book series, the sequel to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. She first appears in The Lost Hero, the first novel of the series, as a fifteen year-old undetermined demigod who attends the Wilderness School, a boarding school for delinquent teenagers. After getting attacked by a group of storm spirits, Piper learns that she is a demigod along with her friends Jason Grace and Leo Valdez. They are then escorted to Camp Half-Blood, a sanctuary for Greek demigods, where she is claimed to be the daughter of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

Background

Piper is the demigod daughter of Aphrodite and Tristan McLean, a famous mainstream Hollywood movie star of Cherokee descent. Although Piper rarely sees her father due to his busy filming schedule, they have a close relationship. She was sent to the Wilderness School soon after "stealing" a BMW, though Piper argued many times that she never stole the car, but simply talked the dealer into lending it to her.

At the start of the series, Piper believes Jason to be her boyfriend, though she later learns from Annabeth Chase that it was the manipulation of the Mist that caused her to have fake memories of Jason.

Appearances

The Lost Hero

Piper makes her first appearance in The Lost Hero (2010) as a student of the Wilderness School, a boarding school for delinquent teenagers. She and her class are on the school bus for a field trip to the Grand Canyon. She is holding hands with Jason Grace, who she believes is her boyfriend. After getting attacked by a group of storm spirits, Piper, Jason, and Leo are escorted to Camp Half-Blood, where Piper is claimed to be the daughter of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She becomes devastated when she is told that her romantic relationship with Jason was a fake memory due to the manipulation of the Mist, and she embarks on a quest to save Hera with Jason and Leo after Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the current Oracle of Delphi, gives Jason a prophecy that advises him to choose Piper and Leo as his companions.

Characterization

Physical appearance and personality

In the series, Piper is described as a beautiful girl of Cherokee decent with uneven chocolate brown hair and eyes that change color like a kaleidoscope from brown, blue, and green. She is often seen wearing a simple pair of faded jeans and her favorite snowboarding jacket. Despite wearing no makeup, Piper is still described as someone who is "seriously pretty." After being claimed by Aphrodite, Piper becomes beautiful. She often uses her beauty and charismatic voice to distract enemies.

Unlike her demigod siblings, Piper is seen as a tomboy. She is careless of her looks and acts much more aggressive and down-to-earth than her siblings. Before she was claimed by Aphrodite, Piper expressed that she wanted to be the daughter of Athena. Though she is aware that her romantic relationship with Jason is fake due to the manipulation of the Mist, she is still extremely protective of Jason, and expresses slightly violent behavior towards anybody who is flirting with him. By the end of the Lost Hero, Piper shows being a daughter of Aphrodite is about being loving and spreading beauty.

Abilities and power

Like all demigods, Piper is diagnosed with ADHD. She is gifted with the ability to charmspeak, a magical speaking ability that allows her to successfully persuade others. According to some of her demigod siblings, she has one of the strongest charmspeaking abilities in their cabin. Piper can also speak fluent French, the language of love.

Possessions

Piper wields a beautiful dagger named Katoptris, which was once a wedding gift to the Helen of Troy. The dagger is sheathed in worn black leather, which is bounded in bronze. The handle is held in polished wood, with a gleaming bronze blade. Although the dagger is mostly ceremonial and symbolizes status and power, Piper has fought with it against her earthborn enemies on numerous occasions. The reflection on the bronze blade can show much more than the holder's reflection.

External links

• Camp Half-Blood Official Site
• The Heroes of Olympus Official Site

• Child superheroes
• Child characters in written fiction
• Fictional characters with superhuman strength
• Fictional sword fighters
• 2010 fictional characters debuts