Bloody August
"When the day sky will darken and black lightning strikes, one will appear, steeped in the blood of August. To kill and to steal, the lightning of darkness -- it is a sign, a warning that it is coming. The Bloody August!"
Category: Sorcerous Beast
The Bloody August (a name borrowed from the anime for the sake of this profile) is a horrible creature that was created when Azalie impaled herself on the Sword of Baldanders. The sword wielder's failure to control that magic resulted in a beast that would subsequently spend five years of its life running in fear.
This is where it all began. The quest that sent Orphen and his friends on their grand adventures. The bond that severed his attachment to the Tower of Fang.
Is the creature really as mindless as they say, though? Or is there still hope to bring her back to her true form?
Concept Art
Bloody August
The Bloody August is a strange creature, and its form has been heavily stylized throughout the different medias. The most common description is a dragon. Not any normal dragon, however. The creature is coated in a viscous material that sits upon large plated scales. Above those, is a thick bristly fur. There are tendrils coming off of its form, some so thick that they're not entirely distinguishable from limbs. Large nodules can be seen on the body, looking like sores in some cases. Especially above the eyes, to a point that these swords blind the eyes, making the creature blind. To top it all off, two giant wings are attached to its oval shaped body.
History
The Bloody August was created when Azalie impaled herself on the Sword of BalDanders, believing that the artifact could give her great power. Unable to understand that power, her mind was flooded with fear, and the form that she took on resembled the emblem of the sword.
The creature, hunted mercilessly by the sorcerers, held an incredible trump card. The powers of the sorceress it originated from: Azalie. A white magic sorceress, wielding some of the rarest capabilities in the world. Once she realized that she wouldn't stay ahead of Childman forever, and running out of options (unable to find where he had stashed the sword) she decided to put that power to use.
She used her white magic to switch her body with Childman's, putting his soul into the body of the Bloody August. After that she could watch his movements, tracking him as he beelined towards the Sword of Baltanders: Straight towards the Everlasting household. It was her chance to reclaim the sword, and once the creature was located, she used Childman's influence in the tower to hunt him down and kill him. She ensured that the creature was destroyed before her secret could get out. What she didn't count on, was that he would reveal that secret to Orphen before his death.
Kill Count
During the final encounter, Childman (as the Bloody August) killed four black magic sorcerers from the Tower of Fang, including his former student, Comicron. This was seemingly without remorse. The attacks were instant, and in addition to these sorcerers, he also killed a White Magic sorcerer that had been sent by the kingdom.
The original hunting unit consisted of: Childman, Hartia, Comicron, 3 other Black Magic sorcerers, and 1 White Magic sorcerer from the kingdom.
Magic
The abilities of the Bloody August aren't distinct. Rather, it seems to retain the spells of whoever possesses the body. After Azalie trades places with Childman, Orphen notices that the beast never casts white magic, not during any of its major fights. This implies that the spells it's using are all from those two sorcerers. So, refer to those pages for the story version of its spells.
Anime Appearance
Mythos
The Bloody August is a horrible monster from five years before the story began. This creature was forewarned by black lightning, and foretold to repeat the murders that once occurred.
The origin of these murders are left out of the legend. However, it can be assumed that it's a reference to the faked death of its original form, a sorceress named Azalie. Perhaps the creature seeks vengeance for the lies of its people. The sorcerers tell that the creature has no mind of its own, that it is merely a beast of distruction. This is the lie.
The Sword of Baldanders
Azalie's switch with Childman didn't occur until much later in the anime. In this timeline, she succeeded on her second try to claim the sword from the Everlasting family, but she still wasn't able to control its power. Her attempts to do so left her miserably disfigured. Her limbs twisted into several additional joints, open wounds forming in her flesh. Most notably, the giant gaping hole in the left side of her face, over her eye.
The interesting part of this is that it was never fully clarified in the books that Azalie could not transform herself back. Instead, in the anime, her attempts lead to even greater damage. This implies that she would never be able to return to her true form if she were the one casting the spell. Only a specific sorcerer (in this case, Orphen) would be able to.
Death
In the anime, the end of the Bloody August is peculiar. Instead of being destroyed outright (though it certainly came close) the beast was actually returned to its former form: Azalie's body. A complication arose when the two souls, her and Childman's, could not inhabit the same vessel. This problem was solved by using the Sword of Baldanders to impregnate Azalie with Childman's soul, to be reincarnated as her son.
- Capabilities In The Anime
Regeneration
The Bloody August appears to have a natural regenerative ability, restoring small wounds in their entirety. It is not capable of healing more severe injuries.
Spiritual
Command over spirits: It's said that the Bloody August uses lost spirits to do its bidding.
Black Magic
Destructive Orbs:
Although it can't be confirmed to be an Orb of Destruction, it is very similar to Childman's blast. It explodes on impact.
Dimensional Travel:
The capability to retreat into a unique world of crimson light. It tears a portal through the fabric of space.
Black Lightning:
Supposedly from the Realm of Darkness, this lightning is so powerful that it can destroy stone.