A striking form cut against the blazing sun, tall and statuesque. A strong chiseled profile both handsome and masculine. His skin is a warm, dark confection of red tinged toasted bronze. His eyes, the shape of almonds, are as dark and wonderous as pure trappistine chocolate, and long straight black hair billows in the hot summer wind.
We've all wondered at least once about Piper's dad. He was mentioned in the chapters and he was mentioned in one of the descriptions. What does that mean? To me, it means that this man must play a big part in the story. So we've got to go over what we know, first.
What we know:
He's Cherokee (Native American)
He's powerful/famous
He's missing
He's in danger
Now, I know that wasn't a long list, but R.R. has a way of keeping things a secret, so we are moving on to other things.
First off, to understand the character maybe we should ask where he comes from. In the first chapters we were told that he was Native American. More specifically Cherokee. There have been many famous and powerful Cherokees, but as of right now, unless you are a member of one of the three Cherokee tribes you are not allowed to claim your heritage. What does this mean? This means that he has to belong to a tribe. There are three principle Cherokee tribes in the U.S. They are the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation, and the United Keetowah Band of Cherokees. Each of these tribes has their own lacation. THe Eastern Band is located in Cherokee, North Carolina, which is a lovely little town in the mountains just past the Tennessee boarder. This is the area in which the Cherokee population was centered before they were relocated. The other two are quite close to one another. The Cherokee Nation is centered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and boasts the most members in it's tribe. Lastly the Keetowah Band is located in the same area. So, one of these places has to be the home of Piper's father and of Piper. My guess would be Cherokee, North Carolina because it is closer to camp and it is a big tourist destination (I've been there umpteen times!)
Now that we've established a place, some of you may be wondering about my "Piper's dad is a demigod" theory. You may think that there's no way he can be half Olympian and still live on a reservation...well I've got an answer for that, too. Each tribe is different but they all have a rule. The rule: A person wishing to join the tribe must meet certain requirements to become a citizen.One of those is Blood quantum, which is the amount of Native blood of the specific tribe coursing through one's veins. Each tribe has a different amount, but I assure you it isn't much for any of them. The Eastern band that I suggested may be the tribe he belongs to requires that applicants have a minimum of 1/16 Cherokee blood which is the equivelent of one great grandparent and they must have an ancestor marked on the Baker Rolls. The Keetowah Cherokees require a 1/4 blood quantum which is equal to one grandparent. The Cherokee Nation is the only tribe that doesn't require a blood quantum, but the applicant must have an ancestor marked on the Dawes Rolls. So, as you can see it isn't hard to be a tribe member and, if he does live on a reservation, his mortal parent was probably a resident of the reservation that he is on.
Ok, we've covered his Cherokee blood, but what if he really is a demigod? Who would be his Olympian parent? Well, we haven't really gotten to know anything about him, so it's hard to say. Based on the little we know of him I can make a few guesses. So, if we base it off his heritage, I would say that he is the son of an earth deity. There are two different kinds of earth deities: Rustic and Agricultural.
Guess number one. Dionysus. Now, I know you all are thinking "Hey! Mr. D is married!" So what? He had Castor and Pollux, and he is imfamous for his wild affairs in myth. Sure, he may have a loving wife that he adores, but sometimes people slip up. He could've found a beautiful native american woman that captivated him in such a way that he couldn't resist the urge to make another demigod.
Next deity in line, Demeter. Yeah I said it. I'm sure she has just as many hormonal impulses as the rest of us. Besides, (to the girls) have you ever browsed the romance section of your bookstore and run across a romance novel with a Native American on the cover? Yeah, I thought so. Total show stopper.
Next up, Persephone. I've heard this one before, but I'm more apt to believe that she wasn't his mother because I'm still of the assumption that Persephone is a very likely choice for Piper's mom.
Next. Ok, well there are any number of agricultural and rustic gods I could choose from, but I won't list them all because the reason is pretty much the same. They rule over nature and agriculture which has long been associated with Native Americans.
The next deity I could list as a parent is a direct result of some information we were given about Piper. As we know Piper seems to have abilities that can't be attributed to just one goddess, so we've theorized that Piper's dad might be a demigod, too. We know that a majority of her attributes, the earthy smell, the shifting eye color, the beauty without effort, can be linked to Persephone, but another more amazing piece of evidence points to someone else. Piper supposedly persuaded a car dealer to lend her a BMW! So, maybe Piper's dad is a child of Peitho. Peitho is the goddess of Persuasion, after all. If this is the case, then their might be more behind the story of Piper's birth. Lets say that Persephone (who I think is Piper's mom) was out on a walk or something on her spring/summer vacation. She came across a Cherokee demigod who was totally her type, but she wanted to remain faithful to her husband. As we've all seen she is very subserviant. Well, if he was the son of Peitho he could've persuaded her to love him, talked her into cheating. Thus Piper would've come into the world with traits of both her Grandmother and her mother. I personally love this idea because it seems to explain a lot, the only thing is I'm not sure if R.R. has the same ideas about power transferance as I do.
We've got soemthing important, really important, to talk about. In one of the book descriptions we found out that Piper's father is missing! What's more, he's been missing as long as Percy has! So, what've I cooked up in the way of ideas for a reason? Read on, my friends.
First off I thought maybe he could be on a quest with Percy. Maybe they were an extraction squad that'd been sent after some demigods. Perhaps the demigods were Leo and Piper, and Piper's dad was sent along to make the transition easier for her. They could've been looking for something, too, or possibly fending off some baddies or fortifying a weak point in a defense somewhere. I think this is a highly possible idea, as well as him being with Jason or both Jason and Percy. There is also a chance that something belonging to one of his Olympian connections went missing and he is off to find it. Maybe a powerful magic item or something to that degree. The problem with that is it is a little too much like PJO (ya' know the missing lightning bolt?) He may have also recieved a summons from one of his Olympian connections or someone posing as one of the aforementioned connections.
This last one deserves it's own paragraph, mostly because it's very long. Leo pretty much told us that Piper's dad was very powerful and/or very important. This also ties in with the idea of being a demigod, because R.R. has said that most demigods that reach adulthood go on to live fruitful, successful, and often famous lives. So, lets say that he is one of these adult demigods. He should've already been claimed via Percy's law, and seeings as he would be in the public eye he would be an easy target. His smell would've increased ten fold and the constant camera attention would make him very accessable. Let's say that he was doing a press conferance or something and he was kidnapped! He could've been a Native American representitive in a government body, or a celebrity. Either way it goes, I don't think his importance was mentioned for no good reason. This very well may be an important factor not only in his dissappearance, but in the story!
If you think Piper's father was just a character mentioned in passing, I feel you are very wrong. I think, nay I know, that he will play an important part in the Heroes of Olympus. If you want a refresher of what we've read, please head over to the link and enter the password "newhero". Please join me next week for the fourteenth installment in the H of O article series. If you want, while you wait for the next article, please feel free to browse through the assorted fan fiction, articles, and discussions here on the Heroes of Olympus Spot and, if you haven't already, become a fan. Until next time, this is the walking Encyclopedia of otherwise useless knowledge, Amphitrite, signing off.
We've all wondered at least once about Piper's dad. He was mentioned in the chapters and he was mentioned in one of the descriptions. What does that mean? To me, it means that this man must play a big part in the story. So we've got to go over what we know, first.
What we know:
He's Cherokee (Native American)
He's powerful/famous
He's missing
He's in danger
Now, I know that wasn't a long list, but R.R. has a way of keeping things a secret, so we are moving on to other things.
First off, to understand the character maybe we should ask where he comes from. In the first chapters we were told that he was Native American. More specifically Cherokee. There have been many famous and powerful Cherokees, but as of right now, unless you are a member of one of the three Cherokee tribes you are not allowed to claim your heritage. What does this mean? This means that he has to belong to a tribe. There are three principle Cherokee tribes in the U.S. They are the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation, and the United Keetowah Band of Cherokees. Each of these tribes has their own lacation. THe Eastern Band is located in Cherokee, North Carolina, which is a lovely little town in the mountains just past the Tennessee boarder. This is the area in which the Cherokee population was centered before they were relocated. The other two are quite close to one another. The Cherokee Nation is centered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and boasts the most members in it's tribe. Lastly the Keetowah Band is located in the same area. So, one of these places has to be the home of Piper's father and of Piper. My guess would be Cherokee, North Carolina because it is closer to camp and it is a big tourist destination (I've been there umpteen times!)
Now that we've established a place, some of you may be wondering about my "Piper's dad is a demigod" theory. You may think that there's no way he can be half Olympian and still live on a reservation...well I've got an answer for that, too. Each tribe is different but they all have a rule. The rule: A person wishing to join the tribe must meet certain requirements to become a citizen.One of those is Blood quantum, which is the amount of Native blood of the specific tribe coursing through one's veins. Each tribe has a different amount, but I assure you it isn't much for any of them. The Eastern band that I suggested may be the tribe he belongs to requires that applicants have a minimum of 1/16 Cherokee blood which is the equivelent of one great grandparent and they must have an ancestor marked on the Baker Rolls. The Keetowah Cherokees require a 1/4 blood quantum which is equal to one grandparent. The Cherokee Nation is the only tribe that doesn't require a blood quantum, but the applicant must have an ancestor marked on the Dawes Rolls. So, as you can see it isn't hard to be a tribe member and, if he does live on a reservation, his mortal parent was probably a resident of the reservation that he is on.
Ok, we've covered his Cherokee blood, but what if he really is a demigod? Who would be his Olympian parent? Well, we haven't really gotten to know anything about him, so it's hard to say. Based on the little we know of him I can make a few guesses. So, if we base it off his heritage, I would say that he is the son of an earth deity. There are two different kinds of earth deities: Rustic and Agricultural.
Guess number one. Dionysus. Now, I know you all are thinking "Hey! Mr. D is married!" So what? He had Castor and Pollux, and he is imfamous for his wild affairs in myth. Sure, he may have a loving wife that he adores, but sometimes people slip up. He could've found a beautiful native american woman that captivated him in such a way that he couldn't resist the urge to make another demigod.
Next deity in line, Demeter. Yeah I said it. I'm sure she has just as many hormonal impulses as the rest of us. Besides, (to the girls) have you ever browsed the romance section of your bookstore and run across a romance novel with a Native American on the cover? Yeah, I thought so. Total show stopper.
Next up, Persephone. I've heard this one before, but I'm more apt to believe that she wasn't his mother because I'm still of the assumption that Persephone is a very likely choice for Piper's mom.
Next. Ok, well there are any number of agricultural and rustic gods I could choose from, but I won't list them all because the reason is pretty much the same. They rule over nature and agriculture which has long been associated with Native Americans.
The next deity I could list as a parent is a direct result of some information we were given about Piper. As we know Piper seems to have abilities that can't be attributed to just one goddess, so we've theorized that Piper's dad might be a demigod, too. We know that a majority of her attributes, the earthy smell, the shifting eye color, the beauty without effort, can be linked to Persephone, but another more amazing piece of evidence points to someone else. Piper supposedly persuaded a car dealer to lend her a BMW! So, maybe Piper's dad is a child of Peitho. Peitho is the goddess of Persuasion, after all. If this is the case, then their might be more behind the story of Piper's birth. Lets say that Persephone (who I think is Piper's mom) was out on a walk or something on her spring/summer vacation. She came across a Cherokee demigod who was totally her type, but she wanted to remain faithful to her husband. As we've all seen she is very subserviant. Well, if he was the son of Peitho he could've persuaded her to love him, talked her into cheating. Thus Piper would've come into the world with traits of both her Grandmother and her mother. I personally love this idea because it seems to explain a lot, the only thing is I'm not sure if R.R. has the same ideas about power transferance as I do.
We've got soemthing important, really important, to talk about. In one of the book descriptions we found out that Piper's father is missing! What's more, he's been missing as long as Percy has! So, what've I cooked up in the way of ideas for a reason? Read on, my friends.
First off I thought maybe he could be on a quest with Percy. Maybe they were an extraction squad that'd been sent after some demigods. Perhaps the demigods were Leo and Piper, and Piper's dad was sent along to make the transition easier for her. They could've been looking for something, too, or possibly fending off some baddies or fortifying a weak point in a defense somewhere. I think this is a highly possible idea, as well as him being with Jason or both Jason and Percy. There is also a chance that something belonging to one of his Olympian connections went missing and he is off to find it. Maybe a powerful magic item or something to that degree. The problem with that is it is a little too much like PJO (ya' know the missing lightning bolt?) He may have also recieved a summons from one of his Olympian connections or someone posing as one of the aforementioned connections.
This last one deserves it's own paragraph, mostly because it's very long. Leo pretty much told us that Piper's dad was very powerful and/or very important. This also ties in with the idea of being a demigod, because R.R. has said that most demigods that reach adulthood go on to live fruitful, successful, and often famous lives. So, lets say that he is one of these adult demigods. He should've already been claimed via Percy's law, and seeings as he would be in the public eye he would be an easy target. His smell would've increased ten fold and the constant camera attention would make him very accessable. Let's say that he was doing a press conferance or something and he was kidnapped! He could've been a Native American representitive in a government body, or a celebrity. Either way it goes, I don't think his importance was mentioned for no good reason. This very well may be an important factor not only in his dissappearance, but in the story!
If you think Piper's father was just a character mentioned in passing, I feel you are very wrong. I think, nay I know, that he will play an important part in the Heroes of Olympus. If you want a refresher of what we've read, please head over to the link and enter the password "newhero". Please join me next week for the fourteenth installment in the H of O article series. If you want, while you wait for the next article, please feel free to browse through the assorted fan fiction, articles, and discussions here on the Heroes of Olympus Spot and, if you haven't already, become a fan. Until next time, this is the walking Encyclopedia of otherwise useless knowledge, Amphitrite, signing off.