Rufus Lore

is a Mage of Sabertooth, formerly the strongest Guild in Fiore. He is also known as The Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon (赤い月に歌う吟遊詩人 Akai Tsuki ni utau Ginyūshijin).

Appearance
Rufus is a slim young man of average height with very long, straight blond hair, reaching down below his back, which is gathered near the end and tied in a small ponytail by a large, dark band. Framing his face are two bangs, which reach down to his shoulders and then flow backwards with the rest of his hair. Rufus possesses deep, slanted black eyes, delicate facial features and a mildly prominent nose. Most of his upper face, aside from his eyes and forehead, is hidden by a crimson mask with golden edges, similar to those found in traditional Italian Commedia dell'arte and Carnival, circling both of his eyes and covering the upper part of his nose, which adds to his theatrical appearance. Rufus is often shown retaining a laid-back stance, resting either one or both of his arms behind his back.

Rufus' outfit matches his flamboyant personality and demeanor: he's shown wearing a very long, crimson vest with golden edges, reaching down to his knees and closed few inches above his waist on the front, something which leaves his legs free, over a cream-colored shirt, with a prominent collar, whose corners are held in place by buttons, and mildly loose sleeves, ending in cuffs decorated by intricate motifs. Standing out on Rufus' chest is an extremely large, flimsy cravat tie, matching his shirt in color, which consists of three layers of cloth, each growing larger than the one above it, and is secured to his neck by its thinner part, passing below his shirt's collar. Covering his legs are a pair of mildly baggy, light-colored pleated pants, tucked inside light boots with large cuffs. Rufus' attire is completed by a large crimson hat, with a prominent brim curving upwards on the sides and golden edges, matching his vest and mask, which on its upper left side bears an extremely long, massive and spiky pink plumage, falling down from the rear part of the hat and almost reaching down below Rufus' back.

During the fifth and final day of the Grand Magic Games Rufus dons a slightly altered, more elaborated version of his usual attire: his vest is replaced by a dark, closed jacket of similar length and shape, possessing puffy shoulders, buckles on the chest and a light inner side, which is closed by a light belt and paired with light gloves covering part of the man's forearms, complete with thin bands near their edges, and a more elaborated collar with ruffles edges, again circled by Rufus' standard cravat. His pants now lack pleats, and are tucked inside boots sporting plain upper edges, each crossed by a slash on the front, but bearing a thick series of horizontal lines throughout their length. Rufus' hat has a light band circling it, while his mask remains unchanged.

Personality
Rufus appears as a calm individual, retaining a mild demeanor in most occasions, and only changing his attitude to show surprise if the situation really demands for it. Due to his Memory-Make Magic, he tends to often mention things related to memory in his dialogues, such as noting things he recalls or advising others to remember given facts, as well as stating that he'll memorize someone's Magic when he considers doing so worthy. The very control he has over his Magic grants him the utmost confidence in his abilities, and as a result makes him extremely laid-back even during battle, as shown from him leaving his afterimages casually exposed to enemy attacks during the Grand Magic Games' Hidden event, perfectly aware that foes wouldn't manage to strike his real body. Also, true to his epithet and flamboyant appearance, Rufus can sometimes be heard making poetic or theatrical remarks, even when confronting an opponent; such remarks seem to be musical in nature, with Rufus seeing the fact that "birds are singing a sweet song" as a good sign for the incoming Hidden event, or stating that his battle with Gray Fullbuster is a "requiem" for him. He can be sly at times, such as when, regarding the presence of both Gray and Juvia Lockser, two Mages from Fairy Tail, in the Hidden event, he maliciously pointed out the possible ways an enemy might use someone's comrades against them.

This trait of him seems to border on sheer cruelty, with Rufus smiling calmly as his guildmate Minerva grievously injured Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia for no reason, and similarly grinning when Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, his own teammates, were about to be judged by Master Jiemma for their failure in defeating Natsu Dragneel. It's worth noting, however, that Lector's seeming death at Jiemma's hands left him with a shocked expression, hinting at a certain degree of moral self-restraint on the Mage's side.

Grand Magic Games arc
After successfully claiming first place in the preliminary round of the X791 Grand Magic Games, Rufus enters the arena with the rest of his team to enormous applause. He later decides to participate in the first event, causing the crowd to go wild for the singing poet who sings to the crimson moon. Before the Hidden event begins, he replies to Nullpudding's complaints about Fairy Tail's advantage, saying that having two teams will become Fairy Tail's weakness, since allies can be taken hostage or be interrogated in order to find out the allies' strengths and weaknesses.

The game turns out to be like "hide-and-seek" only there are various clones of all competitors and they must attack the real ones. During the course of the game, Rufus simply watches and analyzes everyone's movements. He finally reveals his location to the other participants, while also insulting the game organizers for making such an easy game. He then uses his Memory-Make Magic to cast Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars , which attacks everyone one the field, except for Nullpudding, but he eventually hits him by hiding behind a "memory" of himself. After the game ends, Rufus scores ten points for Sabertooth, putting them in the lead.

As Orga's fight starts, Rufus states that he'll memorize Warcry's Magic. Just as Warcry is about to cast his Tear Magic, Sting asks Rufus whether Orga will be able to dodge it, to which Rufus calmly says that he doesn't know. Rufus is present the night Natsu Dragneel attacks their lodging and is just as shocked at the sight of Natsu's rampage as the rest of his guildmates.

Rufus is seen beside Minerva during the third day of the Grand Magic Games, where he watches Orga head out to compete in the event portion of the day, and is shocked by Erza Scarlet's reckless choice to battle all 100 monsters in the Pandemonium event. When the battle portion of the third day begins, Rufus is chosen to battle with Eve Tearm, thus reuniting once them again after the first day. Eve makes the first move by attacking with White Fang, but the attack proves futile. After memorizing his opponent's Magic, Rufus attacks Eve using his Memory-Make: Karma of the Burning Land spell, defeating him.

On the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games, during the Naval Battle, Rufus is seen agreeing with Sting as he comments that Minerva is a devil. He then quietly smiles as Minerva is declared the winner. After the end of the Event, the Fairy Tail Mages run towards Minerva in anger, prompting Rufus, Sting and Orga to appear in front of her, intimidating the Mages. However, Erza prevents a fight between the teams, but warns Sabertooth that they've made enemies of the worst possible Guild to anger. Later, along with the rest of Team Sabertooth, he is seen having a stare off with the new team of Fairy Tail where Rufus glances at Gray slyly.

As Rufus watches the Sabertooth vs. Fairy Tail match of the battle portion, he shows surprise when Natsu is able to block Sting's Holy Nova attack. Despite Sting and Rogue fighting with all their might, Rufus watches disbelievingly as Natsu calmly deflects all of their attacks. When both groups then unleash their most powerful attacks simultaneously on each other, Rufus stands tensed, waiting to see who will emerge victorious.

Upon Orga commenting on Sting and Rogue's surprising loss, Rufus states he felt the fight was interesting, saying that he memorized it all. Like the rest of his Guild, Rufus gathers in the Sabertooth lodgings to witness Jiemma's punishment for Sting and Rogue. He remains silent throughout the procedure, remaining so even after Jiemma causes Lector to disappear, before his subsequent fall at the hands of Sting and while Minerva reveals her plan to use Sting, fueled on his emotions, to take victory in the final day of the Grand Magic Games. Rufus' only expressed feeling is shock.

As the fifth and final day of the games begins, the emcees announce the entry of the teams who are scheduled to participate. When his 2 nd place team is called out, Rufus proceeds to the arena with his teammates, ready to compete. As the rules of the final day are explained, Rufus listens in with the rest of his team. After the start of the games, Rufus takes a stroll and suddenly notices something unusual. When questioned by Orga, he states that Team Fairy Tail has not moved from their position.

Soon after, said team makes their move and heads out to fight. Rufus, as predicted by Mavis Vermilion, attacks with his Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars technique, but all of Team Fairy Tail's Mages dodge it, with the exception of Laxus Dreyar, who blocks it, due to it being a Lightning Magic spell, through his Lightning Dragon Slayer powers, surprising Rufus. Soon after, the Sabertooth Mage takes cover in a library and is found by Gray Fullbuster. Rufus claims his memories of the Ice-Make Mage are growing weaker and asks to be refreshed, which Gray tells him is unnecessary, noting how it's the end for him.

As the fight between Gray and Rufus is announced, Rufus stands across from Gray, still reading his book. As Gray attacks with various spells one by one, Rufus dodges them and memorizes them. He then explains the nature of his Magic to Gray: he memorizes all the Magic that he has seen and brings brand new spells to life. Rufus thus proceeds to combine the Magic of Gray and Orga and creates his own Memory-Make: Sword of Frozen Black Lightning, injuring Gray. He continues his assault, this time with the wind spell Memory-Make: Shrine of Turbulent Fang and, as Gray guards himself with Ice-Make: Shield, Rufus forgets this ability, causing Gray's shield to shatter, and his attack to again injure Gray.

Rufus declares that there is no way Gray can beat him, but the Fairy Tail Mage replies that he has never lost to the same opponent twice, much to the Sabertooth Mage's amusement. As Gray performs his next attack, Ice-Make Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance, Rufus finds his memorization unable to keep up with the spell's speed, which causes him to be hit by this attack. However, he states that he has memorized flames strong enough to defeat Gray's ice, and uses his own Memory-Make: Karma of the Burning Land to do so. Gray, however, replies that he has memorized even stronger flames, and is able to deliver the finishing blow with Ice-Make: Ice Bringer, defeating Rufus and knocking him unconscious. Rufus lays on the floor as he mourns over his loss to Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster, stating that it is in his memory that he lost to Fairy Tail.

Soon after his defeat, Minerva enters a battle between Erza and Kagura, moving the fight to a three-way struggle between the powerful women. As many members of the audience and other guilds ponder over the potential winner, Rufus smiles from his place on the ground, stating that he has memorized both Kagura and Erza's strength, but that they have nothing on Minerva, whom he claims to be the strongest member of Sabertooth, surpassing even Sting and Rogue. Rufus, along with the rest of Sabertooth, wonders if the Dragons have arrived, unbeknownst to him that a part of the city is being destroyed by an attack of a Dragon. With the Dragons attacking the city, Rufus, along with Sabertooth, begins his assault on the Dragons. When the Dragon begins overpowering them, Rufus recalls that both Sting and Rogue claimed to have killed Dragons, however, they reply that it's only half true as the Dragons themselves asked them to do so.

Rufus, not long after, sternly looks at Sting, who is fiercely attacking the Dragon, as he states that Natsu's words gave him the courage to protect his comrades. Several days following the Mages' successful attempt at protecting the country from Future Rogue Cheney and his seven Dragons, Rufus is among the many Mages who attends the banquet held for them at the Royal Palace. Sitting with Orga, the Memory-Make Mage pays attention to Sting's nonchalant and exuberant display of joy, noting that the Sting he's observing doesn't exist in his memories. Not long after, Kagura interrupts Sting's asking of Yukino to rejoin Sabertooth, demanding that the Celestial Spirit Mage join Mermaid Heel instead, shocking Rufus. When the other guilds express their desire in having Yukino join them instead of Sabertooth, Rufus joins the brawl and has a small scuffle with Gray.

Magic and Abilities
Memory-Make (メモリメイク Memori Meiku): An Ancient Spell from past times and a rare type of Molding Magic that grants him control over the peculiar "element" of memory. Memory-Make allows Rufus to "memorize" other forms of Magic he happens to behold and, in a similar fashion to Mimic, to utilize them as his own. What makes this Magic so special, however, is the possibility to combine more memorized spells to create completely new ones, which merge the effects of the original ones together; something which makes Memory-Make extremely versatile. Once a spell has been memorized, Rufus is also shown capable of "forgetting" it, rendering it utterly useless when employed against him, and thus making him immune to techniques he's happened to see at least once. In addition, he can use memories of himself to a degree, creating afterimages which can act as distractions when engaged in battle. While employing this Magic of him, much like many other Molding Mages, he's most commonly shown assuming a stance, which has him point the outstretched index and middle fingers of both hands towards his temples; a gesture which is followed by the generation of several spiraling glyphs in close proximity, usually behind him. While acknowledged as an amazing form of Molding Magic by two specialists the likes of Gray Fullbuster and Lyon Vastia and as a fearsome set of skills by many other Mages, Memory-Make does have a limitation, this residing in the time required to memorize others' techniques: if those were to be performed too swiftly, Rufus wouldn't manage to keep up and properly get hold of them.
 * Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars (星降ル夜ニ Hoshi Furu Yoru ni): After pinpointing his foes' location through memories of data related to them, Rufus assumes his Memory-Make stance and then extends his arms outwards, releasing light from his body, which is subsequently shaped in a series of large beams, reminiscent of shooting stars, which scatter and change their trajectory to target different opponents no matter their position, striking them with great force, and were shown capable of bypassing the intangibility granted to Juvia Lockser by her water body, hitting her. This spell's use during the Grand Magic Games' Hidden event caused the area it was cast into to momentarily become dark; something which, together with the bright beams Rufus generated, really gave the impression of a night of falling stars, hence the name. This move is revealed to have lightning as its element, as is thus ineffective against a Lightning Dragon Slayer; in addition, while possessing remarkable speed, the generated beams can be avoided if targets are given previous notice of their arrival.


 * Memory-Make: Afterimage: By manipulating the memories his opponents have of him during a certain situation, Rufus can create intangible copies of himself, capable of talking but impervious to damage, which, if attacked, will simply waver like a Thought Projection, not being affected whatsoever. These ethereal bodies are shown to be extremely realistic, enough to fool Nullpudding, a Mage noted for his perceptive abilities during the Grand Magic Games' Hidden event, into attacking one of them. Rufus made claim that, even if his foes were to find him, they wouldn't be able to hit him, given that the only thing left of him in a given place would just be a memory. It's worth noting, however, that Gray Fullbuster managed to physically injure (and eventually defeat) Rufus during their confrontation, with the Sabertooth Mage not shielding his real body with any afterimage; something which leaves the mechanics behind this technique unknown. (Unnamed)


 * Memory-Make: Karma of the Burning Land (燃ユル大地ノ業 Moyuru Daichi no Gō): An offensive move replicating the effects of Fire Magic which Rufus memorized in the past, Karma of the Burning Land allows him, after he has assumed his usual stance, to set fire on the very ground he touches with one of his hands, causing large and fierce blazes, growing larger and larger as they get farther from him, to be directed at his targets from below. This spell was shown to be damaging enough to defeat Blue Pegasus' Eve Tearm in a single shot during his match with Rufus in the Grand Magic Games. The heat from this move's flames is also high enough to melt the ice from Gray Fullbuster's Ice-Make Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance; however, Gray noted how he had felt hotter fire before.
 * Memory-Make: Sword of Frozen Black Lightning (凍エル黒雷ノ剣 Kogoeru Kokurai no Tsurugi): An offensive technique showcasing the combination capabilities of Memory-Make which Rufus came up with by combining his memories of Orga Nanagear's Lightning God Slayer Magic with the memories of Gray Fullbuster's Ice-Make. By moving one of his outstretched arms, fingers extended, towards his target, he is able to summon forth a rather large number of black lightning bolts, striking the targeted area from above. When each of such pillars of electricity hits, it is shown to generate a spiky formations of ice, which surges upwards from the point of contact. The technique's exact power remains unknown, as it was shown to leave Gray, whom it was used against, relatively unscathed; however, the combination of ice and lightning did indeed shatter the ground when connecting with it, and the Ice-Make Mage appeared to be partially frozen when struck.


 * Memory-Make: Shrine of Turbulent Fang (荒ブル風牙ノ社 Araburu Fūga no Yashiro): By swiping one of his arms in the opponent's direction, Rufus can generate several vertical whirlwinds of medium size, which rapidly hone in on the target by moving across the ground to reach them. When they connect with the foe, such spiraling currents of air seemingly combine into a single, much larger one, which strikes the desired target with enough blunt force to lift them in the air and sweep them away.
 * Forget: Just like he can memorize enemies' spells, Rufus is subsequently capable of "forgetting" them, something which allows him to nullify said spells no matter who's casting them. By making things "forgotten", Rufus thus becomes immune to their use, with techniques he's already seen becoming completely ineffective against him. He employed this skill of him on Gray Fullbuster's Ice-Make: Shield, memorizing the spell and immediately after forgetting it through simple verbal commands, prompting Gray's ice defense to disappear in the air, and leaving the opponent open to his Shrine of Turbulent Fang. It's unknown whether Rufus can still use as his own or combine techniques which he expressly "forgot". (Unnamed)
 * Memory-Make: Line of Ancient Master Swordsmen: By memorizing Magic he read about in a book, Rufus is able to form a different kind of personalized Magic. Combining a form of Ancient Magic with Gray's Ice-Make, Rufus creates a horde of lance-wielding swordsmen made of ice, those of which are capable of blocking the Fairy Tail Mage's attack, and at the same time injuring him with their attacks.
 * Memory-Make: Blade of Flashing Lightning: Combining forms of Magic he memorized, Rufus creates a giant trapped in ice, carrying a weapon enhanced with lightning. The giant then proceeds to attack with its weapon, capable of knocking Gray to the ground.
 * Memory-Make: Colorful Slashing Attack Flames: Memorizing certain forms of Magic from books, Rufus lets out a red wave, further enhanced with lightning, that is powerful enough to throw Gray from quite a distance.
 * Memory-Make: Showering Ancient Wisdom: Rufus summons forth a Magic Seal made of brilliant light above his targeted enemy. The light is capable of making Gray unable to move in the ground, with a similar effect to Gravity Change.

Telekinesis (テレキネシス Terekineshisu): Rufus is also able to manipulate inanimate objects, as shown to what he did to several books while he was "memorizing" the Ancient Magic there.

Enhanced Perception: One of Rufus' greatest assets is his otherworldly tracking and pinpointing ability, allowing him to find the precise location of specific targets even when those are far away from him: during the Grand Magic Games' Hidden event, he was shown capable of identifying his foes among the multitude of their clones through, according to his own words, the use of several data he had at his disposal, and a similar feat was accomplished when he correctly localized all of Team Fairy Tail's members scattered throughout Crocus without fail. Rufus' abilities were noted by Mavis Vermilion to be vital in Sabertooth's strategy for the battle of the Grand Magic Games' fifth day. Whether such prized skills of him are Magical in nature is as of yet unknown, though, when making use of them during the Grand Magic Games' fifth day, he was shown closing his eyes and nearing one of his hands to his head with his fingers positioned nearly the same as in his Memory-Make stance.

Enhanced Speed: Rufus has proven himself remarkably fast and agile, being shown easily avoiding many of his foes' attacks, even those targeting him from different directions, such as Eve Tearm's White Fang or Gray Fullbuster's Ice-Make: Lance, with a variety of swift, sometimes acrobatic leaps. In addition, much like his teammates, he was able to interpose himself between Minerva and the members of Team Fairy Tail A who were going to assault her, covering the meters which separated the woman from the Domus Flau's stands in the blink of an eye.

Welcome Back, Frosch
Rufus tilts his head away as Sting, now the Master of their guild, tells Yukino to remove her clothing so that they may party in their new indoor pool. Rufus does the same and quickly puts himself in an inner tube. As he floats around, Rufus smugly states that according to his memory, Sabertooth is the only guild with a pool on the inside.

Trivia

 * In Volume 32's extra content, Mashima provided the battle statistics for 31 of the 40 X791 contestants in the Grand Magic Games. The stats, however, were provided not from Mashima's point-of-view as the author but from the view point of Sorcerer Magazine reporter Jason. Which explains why some stats are missing and why others may be inaccurate. According to Jason from the Sorcerer Magazine, during his participation in the Grand Magic Games of X791, Rufus's stats are:
 * Rufus dislikes memo pads.

Quotes

 * (To Hidden participants) "This challenge is far too simple. I remember perfectly... The nuances of your movement.. your footsteps.. your magical presences' signature.. I remember.. I remember it all.."
 * (To Mato) "This challenge isn't interesting at all, organizer. So I have no need to hide whatsoever. Even if I were to be found, I wouldn't be able to be hit.. what's left of me there is just a memory, after all.."
 * (To Gray Fullbuster) "Well well... I seem to have forgotten you. Will you manage to make me remember?"
 * (To Gray Fullbuster) "You should remember it. You can't win against me."
 * (To Orga Nanagear) "Memories are, in a word, learning. And there's no shame in learning from a great enemy!"