—August to Leif
August is a non-playable character from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Formerly a bishop of the Bragi Church, he is initially employed by the pirates led by Lifis, only to enter the service of Leif of Leonster as his tactician throughout his campaign to liberate the Munster District from Grannvale's control.
Profile
Prior to Leif's expedition, August entered the employ of Lewyn, the king of Silesse, who was working to orchestrate the liberation of Jugdral. Under his orders, he sought to act as an advisor to Leif. He joined up with Lifis's pirates as part of his attempts to search for Leif, intending to abandon them once he had found him. He achieved his task during a raid on Ith led by Bucks, which Leif and the Fiana Freeblades repelled. Once the pirates were defeated, August approached Leif and volunteered to lead him to Lifis's hideout, then travelled with him to Munster, parting ways at Fort Kelbeth, intending to make his own way to Munster from there, but not before revealing his knowledge of Leif's true identity as Leonster's prince.
Upon learning of Leif's capture by Raydrik, August started working on a plan to rescue him, which proved to be unnecessary as Leif escaped himself with the assistance of the Magi Squad. Rejoining Leif's group, August helped direct his escape from Munster, recommending that Leif seek refuge from the Munster pursuit with Thracia's General Hannibal. Upon the formation of Leif's army, comprised of Leonster army refugees, the Magi and the Fiana Freeblades, August continued to serve as Leif's two tacticians alongside Dorias in their journey to reach Tahra and their subsequent defense of the city from the Friege army.
Following the fall of Tahra and Leif's escape with Linoan, the army's next destination was Leonster itself, held by Friege. August's recommendation was to travel through the Melfiye forest to get there, citing it as a safer route owing to the lax security its reputation as a dark forest ensures. Under Dorias and August's direction, Leif's army successfully traveled to Leonster and liberated it. In the aftermath of Leonster's liberation, news reached them of the plight of Alster; both August and Dorias opposed Leif's demands to go to its aid immediately owing to their army's fatigue from the previous battle, instead proposing to lead a smaller army first with Leif following with the rest of the army the next day. August initially volunteered to lead the first wave, but Dorias requested to do so instead on the grounds of Leif's need for August's support.
When Dorias's unit was overwhelmed and slaughtered by the Friege army, and August and Leif were forced to defend Leonster against a Friege onslaught, barely succeeding for six months until Seliph's liberation army arrived from Isaach and launched an assault on Alster, forcing the Friege army to retreat from Leonster. Since the Friege army was defeated at Alster by Seliph before Leif could get there, forcing King Bloom to retreat to Conote, Leif's next plan of action was determined to be the capture of Munster itself, while Seliph assaulted Conote. August directed Leif's march on Munster, the crossing of the Great River of Thracia, and the invasion of the Loptyrian temple to defeat Veld. Following Veld's defeat, at Leif's request August remained in Leif's employ as a tactician and advisor.
Personality
A realist and pragmatist in his approach to tactics and plans, August has no interest in honor or glory, seeking to preserve the lives of Leif's army without wasting lives on frivolous public displays, and is willing to take chances on unconventional or dangerous routes if their risks mean they are less likely to be defended. Such approach often led him to conflict with Dorias, an example of this being his belief that the ideal route to Leonster was through the less defended Melfiye forests contrasted with Dorias's insistence on putting on a show of a march to Leonster by taking the heavily-guarded high road. To this end, he is similarly blunt and tactless in his delivery of plans, cutting straight to the point without dressing it up and harshly responding to interfering possibilities, including the emotions of others.
Initially, August was skeptical of Leif's chances at liberating the Munster District, remaining as his advisor solely out of Lewyn's orders. However, in time he came to be inspired by Leif's determination and hope and the subsequent victories, becoming a confident believer in Leif as a leader.
August has an extensive knowledge of torture methods which he taught to Lifis, according to Bucks, who believes this was the reason he was excommunicated from the Church. He was nonetheless disgusted by the brutality of Lifis's pirates and worked to restrain their murderous actions as much as possible, mostly unsuccessfully.
Etymology
August is a name of the eighth month of the current calendar, taken from the emperor Augustus, the successor of Julius Caesar; the Roman Senate renamed the month (previously Sextilis) in his honor.
Trivia
- Leif gains a leadership star when August joins the party as their tactician. The only other instance of this is when Dorias is with the party, although unlike him, August is with the party until the game's end.
Gallery
