August

August (オーガスト Ōgasuto) is part of the Alvarez Empire as the strongest male member of the Spriggan 12, the protection guard of Emperor Spriggan. His epithets within Alvarez are the "Magic King" (魔導王 Madō Ō), due his mastery of countless Magics from all around the world, and the "Disaster" (災害 Saigai) for his matchless Magical strength.

Appearance
August is a relatively tall, fair-skinned elderly man with blackish eyes and roughly shoulder-length, wavy, silvery white hair, with the majority of his bangs swept to the left side. He has a short mustache, a lengthy, mildly thin beard that reaches down to his upper torso, as well as thick eyebrows, a pronounced nose bridge, and high cheekbones. His many facial wrinkles evidence his advanced age, most prominently those on his forehead and below his lower eyelids, and his laugh lines. He also has a dark tattoo consisting of a thick dot surrounded by two circles on the back of his left hand, and two straight lines going from their bottom end down the front of his forearm.

As for clothing, August sports a long, light-colored robe consisting of two pieces: one long garment that reaches past his knees, with a tattered bottom edge and intricately designed linings on the ends of its sleeves, including a line of dark lozenges, and a shorter, more billowing garment above it, over only his chest area. The longer garb is kept tied together with a thin light girdle made of a seemingly rope-like material. A dark-colored cape is additionally above both parts of the robe, jutting out in sharp lozenge-shaped spikes around the back of his head (longer than the aforementioned lozenges), also having a tattered bottom edge, having the Alvarez Empire's symbol emblazoned on its back, and being kept in its place by a long, less wide cloth tied around it and August's neck, which in turn is held fast by a spherical-shaped dark clip. Finally, a dark ring on his right middle finger and dark high boots complete the outfit.

Personality
Befitting his oldness, August's demeanor is among the more cool and stern of Zeref's Shields, rarely expressing strong emotions; he quickly settled down after seeing God Serena being slain up close. He also cares for and is rather protective of comrades, at least of fellow Shields, saying it's a painful thing to lose one after having saved Ajeel Ramal from Laxus Dreyar, asking if Jacob is still alive after the latter went on ahead to fight Fairy Tail, and saying that the dead God Serena remains inside his heart. Despite his status as one of the world's strongest, he still knows his limits, saying to a fellow Shield that they, together, still had no chance of defeating the "Dragon King" himself, Acnologia.

Whereas, according to Jacob Lessio, August lacks the barest sense of humor, he's, by word of Brandish μ, a very gentle person, reportedly the easiest one to talk things out with among the Spriggan 12. And yet, the elder's loyality to Zeref (whom he addresses as "Your Majesty", unlike Ajeel's informal behavior ) is proved to be inflexible, reminding Brandish of their dedication of their minds, bodies, and very souls to their emperor, while brushing Brandish's inability to find meaning in Alvarez's war against Ishgar aside as her betrayal as an enemy that ought to be eliminated (in spite of knowing Brandish from her childhood days). He, however, accepts the need of Zeref to have the infinite Magic Power of Fairy Heart to kill Acnologia.

History
August and Brandish μ have maintained a good relationship from when the woman was a young girl.

Alvarez Empire arc
In Vistaron's palace, August appears before Zeref, as well as Dimaria Yesta, Ajeel Ramal, and Invel, commenting on the fact that Zeref seems happier than before, implying that it's because he found his answer to Ragnarok. Zeref replies that in Ishgar they actually call it the Dragon King Festival. At that moment, Yajeel appears, bringing Makarov Dreyar in to have an audience with Zeref, and August and his fellow Spriggan 12 members leave upon Zeref's request.

Some time later, August is seen approaching Ajeel after having protected the Sand Mage with a Magic barrier from a lightning blast of Laxus Dreyar. Ajeel confronts him about his actions, while August states that it's painful to lose a comrade. Ajeel asks if August really thinks he'd die from something like that, stating the old Mage has gone senile. Then, at a following meeting of the Spriggan 12, August bows his head and tells Zeref they are all prepared for the end; the war against Ishgar. After Zeref states he wishes for mankind to perish, August responds that they are but his pawns. Eventually, August takes off towards the west by airship to arrive at Fiore's eastern border with two other Shields, God Serena and Jacob Lessio, along with a force a million foot soldiers strong; along they way they've flown over Bosco and annihilated the country and all its guilds between the three of them. Upon leaving their ships, they encounter Draculos Hyberion, Wolfheim, Warrod Sequen, and Jura Neekis waiting for them.

August, alongside Jacob, remains completely uninvolved in the following fight between God Serena and his former comrades, instead watching God Serena easily defeating them all by himself. After observing God Serena's opponents launching a counterattack and leaving him cornered, August stops Jacob from stepping in, citing the rarity of getting to see God Serena's true power. The duo then witness God Serena utilize his various types of Dragon Slayer Magic and leave his foes in critical condition, after which August stops God Serena from killing them, commenting on the latter being the "Hybrid Theory": a man blessed by the Dragon Gods. The three Shields then make for Fairy Tail, but are halted by the sudden appearance of Acnologia, who strikes down only God Serena, leaving August utterly bewildered. As an angry Jacob is about to use his Magic on Acnologia, August halts him, pointing out the Dragon King's strength. Having said that, August reminds Jacob about their primary objective: procuring Fairy Heart.

Later, it's revealed that Jacob has gone ahead of August to "lighten his work", while August deduced that they were being located by Fairy Tail's Magic Radar and hid the both of their positions. After Jacob's eventual defeat, when the captive Brandish μ of the Spriggan 12 warns Fairy Tail of the threat August poses, the old wizard is briefly seen walking through a vast empty, barren landscape.

At last, his walk is halted when he sees Brandish, as well as Mest Gryder, Lucy Heartfilia, and Natsu Dragneel riding a massive, flying Happy towards him, and the elder sternly gazes up at them. When his opposition has gotten off Happy, August asks Brandish about her intentions, with Brandish replying that she's come to negotiate with him. August then quickly asks if Jacob has been killed, with Brandish replying that he's been defeated at the hands of Natsu and Lucy, and that he isn't dead, but a prisoner of war. Brandish proceeds to ask where God Serena is, with the Magic King stating that God Serena is right there with him, and he then points out that Brandish doesn't seem to be tortured, asking if he's to interpret the woman's actions as betrayal. Brandish states that it couldn't be further from the truth, that she'll always be loyal to Alvarez, as she's just can't find meaning in the war. August retorts that those very words are in direct betrayal of his majesty's will, reminds Brandish that the members of the Spriggan 12 have dedicated their very beings to his majesty, and then states that if, in spite of that, Brandish still can't comprehend why she must fight for his cause, then she's nothing more than an enemy whom he shall eliminate.

Magic and Abilities
Magical Aptitude: August is rumored to possess control of every single element of Magic there is, even being able to control more types of Magic than Zeref himself.

Magical Barrier: August can conjure up extremely potent barriers; with one of unknown shape and size he completely shielded the Shield of Spriggan Ajeel Ramal from a massive electric explosion of the Wizard Saint-tier Laxus Dreyar (strong enough to disperse Ajeel's Sands of Death), which had left the Desert King astonished when witnessed; August even implied that he expected Ajeel to die from the blast, although Ajeel dismissed this as a foolish thought.

Magical Camouflage: August can camouflage his and others' Magical presence from Magic Radar detection.

Immense Magic Power: August wields particularly terrifying reserves and strength in Magic Power, being crowned the strongest man and strongest individual among the Spriggan 12, placing comparable with Irene Belserion, the strongest woman of the twelve. His power goes so far beyond what the other ten have normally at their disposal that even Makarov Dreyar, one of the highly esteemed Ten Wizard Saints and Fairy Tail's Guild Master, grew very visibly scared upon simply remembering some of August's Magical capabilities at work. Even fellow Shields Jacob Lessio and Brandish μ hold August's might in very high regard, with the latter one stating that, of all Mages in existence, only Irene has a shot at defeating him. Mest Gryder, Lucy Heartfilia, and even Natsu Dragneel were awed by his immense Magical presence, with Mest pointing out how, despite knowing of August's power level, he didn't expect him to be that powerful, and that his power is in fact in a completely different dimension from even Brandish's (hers already being exceptionally overwhelming).

Equipment
Staff: In his right hand, August carries a long, thin, light-colored wooden staff, matching, if not slightly exceeding, its owner's height, with a rather large, oviform, dark-colored orb fixed on its tip, partly overgrown by the wood. It's currently not known if the staff has some specific purpose.

Quotes

 * (To Ajeel Ramal): "Losing one's comrades is a terrible thing, Ajeel."