Spoilers for all works set before the end of Fairy Tail are unmarked. Examples pertaining to 100 Years Quest can be spoiler tagged if deemed necessary.
open/close all folders
In General
- Badass Normal: The treasure hunters don't have any magic at the outset, but they way they use their wits and weaponry to handle giant monsters, crowds of ordinary thugs, and even wizards (when mano a mano at least) is pretty efficient. Then they actually learn magic, and it becomes a whole other story.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Before learning magic, the treasure hunters made up this group. Yuri (the Mage) used flash bombs, Precht (the Thief) was a Dance Battler who favored chain blades, and Warrod (the Fighter) was a Mighty Glacier who could plow through an armed crowd.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Mavis and the treasure hunters essentially start out as enemies bickering over the rightful ownership of the former's cherished relic. When they team up to get it back, Mavis sees and draws out the better qualities in the latter, who conversely warm up to her charm and intelligence.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Mavis is Sanguine: outgoing, sweet-hearted, and a natural-born leader.
- Yuri is Choleric: hot-headed, reckless, and extremely passionate about his goals.
- Precht is Melancholic: humorless, analytical, and not the best at talking with people.
- Warrod is Phlegmatic: easygoing, personable, and capable of bringing people together.
- Zera is Leukine: doesn't stand out as much as the others (quite literally), but keeps Mavis' head out of the clouds.
- Freudian Trio: The Sylph Labyrinth trio, especially defined in the anime: Yuri is the impulsive one who gets the others into trouble; Precht is the meticulous one focused only on achieving their missions; and Warrod is the one who keeps the other two from getting themselves killed.
- Training the Gift of Magic: At the beginning of the story among the 4 only Mavis is able to use magic, thanks to her years of study and training. When finally all four are effectively instructed by Zeref in a very short time they all become quite adept (to the surprise of their teacher), Precht in particular is literally described by Zeref himself to have The Gift in manipulating and using magic (and considering that it becomes one of the most dangerous and powerful Big Bad that the protagonists have ever faced, the Black Wizard was not wrong, plus it is also the creator of an almost unlimited source of magic power coveted by the same dark wizard). At the time of the mother series they are all 4 remembered and cataloged among the most powerful wizards of the entire series.
- Treasure Hunter: Yuri, Precht, and Warrod started out as treasure hunters from Sylph Labyrinth, the same guild Fairy Tail would later confront at the Village of the Sun. Their search for one such treasure, the Sirius Orb, is what first brought them in contact with Mavis.
- True Companions: The treasure hunters are already a tightly knit bunch by the time they meet Mavis, who ends up one of their closest companions later on.
- Two Girls to a Team: Mavis and Zera, though it's later discovered that Zera is an illusion, making Mavis the only true female on the team.
Mavis Vermillion
Mavis Vermillion
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Leah Clark (English)note
Mavis is the first and founding master of Fairy Tail, whose grave is located on the guild's sacred ground of Sirius Island. Although a tragic incident in her past stunted her physical maturity at the age of 13, Mavis commands her guild's respect with her compassion, wisdom, and brilliant tactical knowledge. Her spirit remains to guide and protect Fairy Tail, though only those with the guild mark are able to see her.
- The Ageless: Before her death, she remained stuck in the body of a 13-year-old since she cast an unmastered version of Fairy Law, which halted her physical maturity. However, it turned out that she was stuck with Complete Immortality just like Zeref.
- All-Loving Heroine: She's so loving and compassionate, she's the only known person able to befriend Zeref, at least for a time.
- Ambiguous Situation: This is her ultimate fate at the end of the series. One year after Mavis sacrifices herself to permanently kill Zeref, a girl who looks exactly like her named Mio appears at Lucy's award ceremony, but is unable to remember Mavis's past. What's more, she falls for a young man named Alios, who resembles Zeref. It's uncertain if they were resurrected without their memories, or Identical Strangers, or simply a part of Lucy's recollection of the evening. The fact that she and Zeref appear in Natsu's Personalized Afterlife in 100 Years Quest further muddies the situation.
- Apocalypse Maiden: Mavis's body serves as the vessel for Lumen Histoire, or Fairy Heart, a source of infinite magic power that would upend the laws of magic and potentially wipe out the world if used unwisely. Zeref in particular wants it to power Neo-Eclipse, a spell that would let him relive his own life at the expense of the rest of history.
- An Astral Projection, Not a Ghost: The Mavis seen in the present is not a ghost, but a thought projection of her immortal body, which is kept in stasis beneath Fairy Tail's guildhall.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: She was one of the greatest military strategists of her time. For instance, in the four days that the Grand Magic Games take place, she records and memorizes all the rival teams' stats and battles, and uses them to give Fairy Tail a strategy for victory.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Using Law before she was able to work out its kinks left her afflicted with the same curse that plagues Zeref: the more she values life, the more lives she is forced to take. To keep this in check, she is forced to view her beloved guild more as soldiers than a family.
- Badass Bookworm: She learned everything she knows about magic and battle stratagems from Sirius Island's library.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is the sweetest and cleverest girl anyone could ever hope to meet, but she shows no mercy to those who threaten the safety of her friends, even if that someone is one of her own old friends.
- The Big Damn Kiss: She and Zeref shared one (albeit silhouetted) right before her death. More specifically, their kiss is her cause of death; the fact that Zeref loved her as strongly as he did meant he was unable to not kill her (as was the nature of his curse), even though she was supposed to be immortal.
- Big Good: As one of the driving forces behind the formation of Fairy Tail and the Good Counterpart to Zeref, the Big Bad, she automatically outranks the previous Big Good Makarov as soon as she sets foot off of Sirius Island. She remained in this role for Fairy Tail until her death.
- Body Motifs: Feet, with hers being exposed. Initially to highlight her poor situation, then later to emphasise her ethereal nature.
- Breakout Character: She was originally meant to have a minor supporting role upon her initial introduction on Sirius Island, but wound up getting promoted to the series' Big Good, and became the star of the prequel Fairy Tail Zero.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She's childish, ditzy, and obsessed with fairies, but she's also a master strategist and has knowledge of all three of Fairy Tail's ultimate spells.
- Complete Immortality: Casting Law didn't merely take her ability to age; it also took her ability to die just like Zeref. The only thing that managed to end her life was Zeref's love for her, which was so strong that his curse allowed him to kill the unkillable, and even, then she remains Only Mostly Dead.
- Curse Escape Clause: Like Zeref, Mavis was cursed by Ankhselam with immortality and magic that steals others' lives the more she values life. She likely would've begun taking names left and right had she not been drafted into the Second Caravan Road War immediately afterwards, which dulled her respect for life as wars usually do to anyone. Tragically, this did not last when Makarov was born, as it renewed her love for life and killed his mother. As for her immortality, she managed to (sort of) die when Zeref fell in love with her, which made his curse powerful enough to kill the unkillable.
- Child Mage: At the age of 6, she learned to master illusory magic at a rather high level, to the point of unconsciously deceiving herself. At the age of 13, she was educated in the knowledge and use of the most powerful forms of the Black Magic, and succeeded in establishing herself as one of the most formidable strategists of her time.
- Child Prodigy: She is an entirely self-taught Master of Illusion since the age of 6, and personally liberated Magnolia from a dark guild at the age of 13, the same age she established one of the world's most powerful and notorious guilds.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: She was only 13 years old when she founded Fairy Tail. Considering her fellow guildmates were all young adults who went on to become some of the most powerful and respected wizards in history under her guidance, this speaks volumes of Mavis's power and intelligence, as well as their trust in her.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Her parents were dead long before she went down the road that led her to becoming the Big Good of the series.
- Cute Ghost Girl: She's so carefree and friendly, it's easy to forget that she's an incorporeal being who only people with Fairy Tail's guild mark can see.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The prototype of Fairy Law, then known simply as Law, essentially gives the caster complete jurisdiction over who lives and who dies. As a consequence, it permanently halted her physical growth when she used it to save her friends and all of Magnolia. This later turns out to be part of Ankhselam's curse, because the god of life and death doesn't take kindly to mortals toying around with this kind of magic.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fairy Tail Zero shows she had a rough childhood, losing her parents, having to Work Off the Debt to a cruel guild, and losing the Only Friend she managed to make at the age of 6. However, it gets even worse when her attempt to save Yuri's life left her afflicted with the same curse that turned Zeref into the Big Bad, leading her to accidentally kill Yuri's wife and countless others. And when she finally thought she and Zeref could have a chance to make things right and fell in love, Zeref finally stole her life by mistake.
- Dating Catwoman: Mavis is not just a friend, but the ex-lover of the Big Bad Zeref, and still maintains a degree of love and sympathy for him despite all the horrible things he has done. That love is what finally allows them both to die.
- Death of Personality: After she appears to return as Mio, she has a new personality and can't remember her past life, let alone Zeref, showing that the "Mavis" everyone knows her to be has disappeared.
- Died Happily Ever After: After she and Zeref depart to the afterlife, Makarov dreams of them running through a field together, happy as can be.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: She died in Zeref's arms after they professed their love for each other. Though not before they fostered a son together.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: She was highly attuned to feeling the ground beneath her feet, and as such always went around barefoot in life. It originally was a case of Barefoot Poverty thanks to her old abusive master taking everything worth money away from her, but spending most of her life forcibly shoeless eventually turned her into a natural bare-footer. These days it also makes her an Undead Barefooter, since her status as a ghost (or in truth a projected spirit) means she floats around instead of walking, rendering shoes unnecessary anyway.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her main outfit is a frilly white dress. She also dolls up in a black dress in Fairy Tail Zero.
- Empty Eyes: Her eyes rarely reflect highlights. No particular reason is given for this, though, seeing how she's always had them.
- Eternal Love: Subverted. Once she became immortal like Zeref, Mavis told Zeref that even if the world rejected both of them, they still had each other and could find a way to break the curse together. The purpose of the curse, however, was to deny the cursed happiness—Mavis and Zeref fell in love because of it, which proved to be the ultimate contradiction, and empowered Zeref's curse enough to kill her. They eventually manage to at least be Together in Death.
- Faking the Dead: Despite her grave being on Sirius Island, her body is preserved underneath the Fairy Tail's guild hall. That's because her body is a Fairy Heart, a potentially world-changing magic that would cause guilds and potentially entire countries to invade just to get their hands on it, and its origins could also seriously damage Fairy Tail's reputation. Because of this, Mavis and every guild master after her told everyone she was dead (a Half-Truth), and that the form she is in when she's introduced is a ghost when it's actually an astral projection. The ruse is finally dropped in the Alvarez Empire arc.
- Fatal Flaw: In Fairy Tail Zero, her overconfidence in her own abilities proves costly for her allies, leaving them hopelessly unprepared and outnumbered during their first confrontation with Blue Skull.
- Foil: To Makarov. Both are leaders of Fairy Tail who care a great deal for their members, but it's implied that Mavis is significantly more pragmatic than Makarov, particularly when it comes to battle plans. The difference between them is best shown when Makarov knows that Fairy Tail can likely get out of the seemingly hopeless battle against the Berserker-enhanced Alvarez army with Mavis's strategies, but he decides to perform a Heroic Sacrifice so he won't prolong his kids' suffering. Her Pragmatic Hero tendencies are fully justified, however, given that she has the Curse of Contradiction like Zeref, so she can't allow herself to give too much thought to casualties, or else she'll be the one causing them.
- Freak Out: Mavis had such a huge freak out after accidentally killing Yuri's wife and Makarov's mother that she ran away from the guild and never returned for the rest of her life. After a year of doing the same to countless innocents, Mavis became a broken shell of a girl who couldn't even starve to death on account of her immortality. She found solace in Zeref, the one person who could possibly empathize with her, which helped bring her back to her old self (even if she did die afterwards).
- Friend to All Living Things: She is fond of the fauna that inhabit Sirius Island, and even manages to invoke this trope with her illusions as a kind gesture for Zeref. This would backfire very badly after she was afflicted with Ankhselam's Curse.
- Friendless Background: In the prequel Fairy Tail Zero, she had no friends growing up and was bullied by the only other girl her age whom she interacted with. That changed when she decided to befriend said bully, although she died right afterward and was recreated as a sentient illusion to keep her company. But then she met the Sylph Labyrinth treasure hunters who would become Fairy Tail's co-founders with her, and the rest is history.
- Friendly Ghost: She's still friendly, cheerful, and always appears to aid members of her guild long after her death.
- Godiva Hair: Appears in many a Furo Scene with this, as does her naked, crystal-encased body beneath Fairy Tail's guildhall. A colorspread by Mashima shows her lying in a bed of white flowers entirely naked with just her long hair covering her extremities but leaving her arms, legs and stomach bare.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: For about the first half of the series, she's Only Mostly Dead and revered by the guild as its original founder who inspired its unwavering belief in The Power of Friendship. She's later "downgraded" to the Big Good when she takes a more direct role in the guild's adventures, starting with her return as an Astral Projection to save them from Acnologia at the end of the Sirius Island arc, before ultimately leading the guild against Zeref's forces in the Alvarez Empire arc.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has light blonde hair and is easily one of the most charitable characters in the series.
- The Hero Dies: One of the main heroines of Fairy Tail, she departs to the afterlife along with Zeref after their curse is lifted at the end of the series.
- Idiot Ball: Zig-Zagged. The purpose of the war with Alvarez is to keep Fairy Heart inside her away from Zeref, yet her strategy for beating Zeref requires her to profess her love to him, which comes at a time when he's unwilling to listen to reason and ultimately costs her Fairy Heart. However, she's exonorated by the fact that she needed to be nearby when Natsu defeated Zeref, in order to have her and Zeref's love for each other lift their curse and allow them to die together, while ensuring Natsu's victory by giving the book of E.N.D. to Lucy so that she could rewrite it.
- Idiot Hair: A permanent cowlick on the very top of her hair. She's no idiot, though.
- Immortal Immaturity: Mavis has been conscious for over a century, but she still keeps up a plucky and cheery attitude befitting a 13-year-old girl.
- Improbable Age: She founded a guild and became its master at the age of 13. Considering she's a Child Prodigy both in terms of magic and sheer intellect, it's not outrageous, but still damned impressive.
- Invisible to Normals: Downplayed. It's indicated that she can choose to let others see and hear her spirit whenever she wants, but she's made it so that only those who bear the Fairy Tail guild mark—i.e., those she trusts the most—can do so at all times. To her shock, Jacob Lessio's ability to detect and interact with invisible things not only means he can see her, but also hurt her.
- Light Is Good: Has long blonde hair, brightly colored clothes, is responsible for the creation of Fairy Tails three great spells, all of which are light based, and is the Big Good of the setting.
- Little Miss Badass: She's one of the most brilliant tactical minds in all of Earth-land, and she is able to use Fairy Tail's three most powerful spells.
- Living MacGuffin: Her body is Lumen Histoire, or Fairy Heart as it's less commonly known, a wellspring of infinite magic power that Zeref wages war over to claim her.
- Locked Out of the Loop: She is the only character in Fairy Tail Zero who doesn't realize Zera is just an illusion only she can see and hear, which makes sense considering no one else was around when she created Zera right when the real Zera died. The others don't have the heart to tell her the truth until they decide they can trust her enough to handle it.
- The Lost Lenore: To Zeref. She was the first and only woman he ever loved, but his curse wouldn't allow him to be happy with her. Her "death" was where his real Start of Darkness began.
- Master of Illusion: This is her primary magic in the series, allowing her to create highly detailed animals, monsters, and soldiers that can fool all but the savviest of people. She even manages to fool herself when she unknowingly creates an illusion of her best friend Zera to cope with the real Zera's death.
- Mercury's Wings: She has a pair of tiny white wings on her head. It's hard to tell if they're hair decs, seeing how they twitch and move with her expression.
- Merlin and Nimue: Zeref was her magic teacher and eventual lover. Because she used an incomplete version of Law that he taught her, she ended up cursed like him. Mavis wanted her and Zeref to form an Eternal Love relationship to have each other and find a way to break the curse together, but sadly, them falling in love with each other got her killed (sort of). Mavis's "death" drove Zeref even further into darkness and despair, and he eventually resolved himself to wipe out humanity.
- Mirror Character: Lucy Heartfilia and Mavis Vermillion: Both are kind, suffered abandonment from their parents as children, and now use their wits to beat their opponents. Both girls are close to one of the Dragneel brothers; Mavis is in love with Zeref while Lucy is ship-teased with Natsu. As if to cement how much both girls mirror each other, they only two characters to learn the spell Fairy Sphere and us it against the dragon Acnologia with Mavis protecting everyone from one of Acnologia's attacks while Lucy traps Acnologia's body inside one.
- Morality Chain: Ends up becoming an unknowing one to August, her son. When he prepares to unleash a suicide attack that will destroy Fairy Tail, thus removing the last obstacle to Zeref's goals, seeing her in the middle of the devastation causes him to lose his will to do it, instead sacrificing himself to stop the release of his magic and dying in the process.
- A Mother to Her Men: Downplayed. She loves her guild and will become fiercely protective of them if they're put in harm's way, but it's not quite to the same extent as Makarov, who literally views them as his children. This is because her curse would steal her guild's lives if she allowed herself to grow too attached, forcing her to view them more as soldiers than family.
- My Greatest Failure: Everything leading up to and surrounding the creation of Lumen Histoire has caused her a great deal of regret. For one, her decision to name Precht her successor was a big mistake in her eyes, as it's because of him that word of Lumen Histoire leaked to Makarov's son Ivan, and eventually to Zeref himself. It was also her Curse of Contradiction that killed Makarov's mother right when he was born, the shock and guilt of which was enough to drive Mavis away from the guild, eventually leading to her death and the creation of Fairy Heart.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Being the compassionate girl she was, Mavis took pity on Zeref and became his only friend. In return, Zeref taught her and her allies magic, including a forbidden spell that halted her age and turned her into an immortal life-stealer just like himself.
- Not Growing Up Sucks: Her physical maturity was halted after she used Law. However, she was never bothered by it until she found out she was actually afflicated with the same curse Zeref suffers from.
- Not So Above It All: She initially appears to be a dignified and mysterious figure, but is later shown to be just as quirky as the rest of the guild.
- Older Than She Looks: She was 24 when she died, but due to being The Ageless as a consequence of casting Law, she retains the appearance of a 13-year-old girl. And given how she never actually died, that technically puts her at 118 years of age by the end of the series.
- One True Love: With Zeref. She was the only person to have ever made him happy, and after she was cursed, the only person that could ever understand and empathize with him. In spite of everything that has happened between them, Mavis is still in love with Zeref, and always will be. It's also because of this fact that she opposes him: Zeref wants to reset the world, and Mavis wants to keep the world going as it already is, because despite all the tragedy that followed, it was in this world she and Zeref were allowed to meet.
- Only Friend: To Zeref. Not only was Zeref the one who taught Fairy Tail's founders their magic, but throughout the entire main series and Fairy Tail Zero, Mavis is the only person that Zeref has ever been shown to allow to be in close physical proximity to him. Zeref even says that the time they spent together were his most cherished memories. She's also the only person who can truly relate to him, seeing as how she has the exact same curse as Zeref himself.
- Only Mostly Dead: Because she was completely immortal after being cursed, it became impossible for Zeref to kill her, but his love for her became so strong that his curse "killed" her anyway, leaving her in a state between life and death. She's able to come back only after she's gained consciousness as an astral projection and getting her stasis lacrima destroyed.
- Opposites Attract: Mavis is a kind-hearted and cheerful All-Loving Heroine who fell in love with Zeref, an evil wizard whose moods constantly switch from brooding and melancholic to wrathful and violent.
- Passing the Torch: She designated Precht as her successor as guild master in her will. She has since come to regret her decision due to his Face–Heel Turn.
- Pillar of Light: Fairy Glitter, which she presumably knows how to use since she gives Cana the spell twice.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Although she's Only Mostly Dead in this case, her demise is responsible for a significant amount of the plot, primarily regarding Lumen Histoire/Fairy Heart. It's implied that Precht's transformation into Hades resulted from his inability to revive her, and that Ivan's eventual expulsion from Fairy Tail was the result of trying to acquire and use Fairy Heart for his own ends. Ivan also spread the information around, which drew the attention of the Alvarez Empire. Then there is Zeref, whose true Start of Darkness began when their curse destroyed any chance of them being together, and thus his one shot at happiness.
- Plucky Girl: She has one of the most traumatic backstories in the series, especially for someone as adorable as her. The simple fact that she went beyond the Despair Event Horizon and still came back as bright and compassionate as ever proves just how iron-willed she really is.
- Pragmatic Hero: Downplayed, but while Mavis cares for the lives of her friends and allies, she's not entirely averse to casualties, which is why it took a while for her curse to actually start affecting people around her, and why Makarov, despite trusting her to find a winning strategy, chose to use Fairy Law to instantly defeat the enemy even though doing so would kill him.
- Really 700 Years Old: Due to being sealed alive in a lacrima, she is chronologically 118 years old by the end of the series.
- Red Baron: She is known as the "Fairy Tactician" due to her aforementioned Awesomeness by Analysis abilities.
- Sealed Good in a Can: Her spirit serves as the Big Good while her physical form is secretly preserved within a lacrima beneath Fairy Tail's guildhall, the reason being that Precht was trying to resurrect her before realizing she was cursed with the Black Magic of Ankhselam.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She has fallen in love with Zeref despite knowing full well who he is and what he is capable of, seeing he is much kinder and more noble than the rumors surrounding him suggest. She is immensely disappointed in the man he is today, though she still recognizes and understands the circumstances that caused his change in character.
- Sphere of Power: Fairy Sphere, one of the Three Great Fairy Magics, is a barrier powerful enough to completely deflect Acnologia's Breath Weapon. The downside is that it sends those inside it into suspended animation for seven years.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Zeref's curse all but guarantees that she and Zeref can never truly be together. They only can be Together in Death when their mutual love kills them both.
- The Strategist: Her Awesomeness by Analysis abilities earned her the nickname "Fairy Tactician" during the Second Caravan Road War, since her strategies were the only reason her side won. She also comes up with the guild's nearly foolproof plans during the Grand Magic Games and the war with the Alvarez Empire.
- Supernaturally Young Parent: Because of the curse, she's physically 13 years old, compared to her son, August, who looks as old as Makarov.
- Sympathy for the Devil: She immediately feels sorry for Zeref because of his curse and befriends him during their first encounter, despite not recognizing who he is at the time. Even after learning his identity, she completely shrugs off the bad rumors about him because of his kindness. Much of that sympathy is lost when she discovers what kind of atrocities he was capable of, yet she still continues to harbor some pity for him while vowing to destroy him.
- Teacher/Student Romance: She developed a crush on her magic mentor Zeref, although they didn't become romantically involved until long after he mentored her.
- Together in Death: She and Zeref they confess to each other that, despite everything that has happened between them, they still love each other. This proves to be the final contradiction, allowing the One Magic to lift both their curses. As shown in 100 Years Quest, they return in Natsu's Personalized Afterlife as a Happily Married couple, and are raising a younger August (their lovechild) and Larcade (Zeref's adopted demon son) as a family.
- Tsurime Eyes: Normally Tareme Eyes would seem more fitting for a sweet and cheerful girl like her, but her sharply-shaped eyes foreshadow her keen intellect and unwavering sense of justice.
- Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk too much about her without revealing that a.) She's not dead, b.) She has a deep connection to Zeref, and c.) Her physical body is Lumen Histoire, a.k.a. Fairy Heart.
- We Used to Be Friends: As first established in Fairy Tail Zero, Mavis was good friends with the present Big Bad Zeref while she was still alive, and eventually fell in love with him. The two have since become mortal enemies after Mavis realized just what horrific acts Zeref was capable of and willing to do, setting aside whatever feelings she may still have for him to ensure he is stopped at all costs. As she realizes in the end, the only way she can finally kill Zeref is by embracing her love for him.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: She didn't mind losing her ability to age until Zeref told her the terrible price of immortality that came with it. The next time he saw her, she'd been starved for half a year and outright begged Zeref to end her suffering.
- Why Can't I Hate You?: Despite Zeref being the cause of her life going to hell, among countless other atrocities, she can't shake off the fond memories she had with him. It's justified by her Curse of Contradiction, which prevents her from thinking and feeling any single way without contradicting herself; even when screaming at him with all the rage and hatred she can muster, a tiny part of her still loves Zeref and doesn't want to lose him. It's ultimately through fully accepting that she loves him despite hating him that she is finally able to kill him.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: She may be a child at heart, having a lifelong dream of meeting fairies, but she shocks many older and more skilled people with her keen observational skills.
Yuri Dreyar
Yuri Dreyar
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Clifford Chapin (English)note
The father of Makarov Dreyar and paternal great-grandfather of Laxus Dreyar, Yuri is a lightning wizard who died a few years after his son's birth. Before forming Fairy Tail, Yuri was a greedy and selfish treasure hunter from the Sylph Labyrinth guild who sought to steal a sacred treasure from Mavis's home island. In time, though, Mavis helped bring out his better nature, and he became one of her dearest friends in return.
- Anti-Hero: He starts out as a selfish treasure hunter who is willing to manipulate a young girl for personal gain. However, he has a close circle of True Companions, and helps save innocent lives when the chips are down. Eventually, he evolves into a more traditional Hot-Blooded Shōnen hero.
- Bad Liar: In Fairy Tail Zero, he tells Mavis that he is a botanist who came to Sirius Island to study the local plant life. She sees right through it and tricks him into spilling the truth by telling him about (ordinary) plants that are used to cure a (made up) disease on her island.
- Declaration of Protection: After Mavis knowingly sacrifices her ability to age in order to save his life, Yuri pledges to return the favor by protecting her at all costs.
- Doomed by Canon: Since Fairy Tail Zero takes place 100 years before Fairy Tail, we know that he will die at some point during the intervening years. Although he doesn't die in the story of Fairy Tail Zero because it ends when Fairy Tail is just founded.
- Dracolich: Towards the climax of Fairy Tail Zero, Yuri gets taken over by the Sirius Orb's dark magic and fuses with a giant blue dragon skeleton, which then goes on a mindless rampage. It takes the ultra-powerful spell Law (the prototype to Fairy Law) to purge the dark magic from him while leaving him unharmed.
- Family Theme Naming: He has a Russian name just like his descendants.
- Fatal Flaw: Like many treasure hunters, he was driven by Greed and wouldn't always consider the consequences of his actions so long as he got what he wanted. He had a history of falling headlong into traps because of this before, but it wound up costing him dearly when he refused to listen to Mavis' warning about the orb's evil properties, thinking it was another lie so she could keep the treasure for herself. The sacrifice Mavis made to save him was big enough of a shock to help him shake off this aspect.
- Greed: Yuri is greedy for money and would not stop until he gets the treasure he wants. His two comrades, Precht and Warrod, don't share the same greed as him; Warrod was more than willing to give Mavis the Sirius Orb back, and Precht lost interest to find and sell it. Even when he fused with the dragon skeleton of Blue Skull and became a mindless monster, his greedy instinct for gold and money still lingered inside him and he went after the illusion of raining gold that Mavis created.
- Hot-Blooded: He'd make a convincing ancestor for Fairy Tail's resident hot-head Natsu if he weren't related to the Dreyars. The anime also demonstrates his hot-bloodedness during his magic training, where he is only able to master magic through constant action and exercise rather than meditation.
- I Owe You My Life: His whole reason for sticking by Mavis after the Sirius Orb debacle was so he could dedicate his life paying Mavis back for sacrificing her own age to save him.
- Identical Grandfather: He's the spitting image of his great-grandson Laxus with longer hair, less bulk, and eyelashes. When talking about him with Laxus, Mavis also emphasises the similarity in their loyal and selfless personalities between generations.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He starts out perfectly willing to extort Mavis so long as it meant getting his hands on a treasure she was supposed to be protecting. On the other hand, he'd never go so far as to deliberately harm her, and he has a genuine sense of camaraderie with Precht and Warrod. Getting saved by Mavis helps iron out whatever negative traits he had before.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He’s the one who caused Mavis to use the incomplete Law, resulting in her being afflicted with the Curse of Contradiction, and his wife becomes the first person Mavis kills with her curse.
- Lie Detector: He uses an A-Class treasure that functions as this during his game of truth with Mavis.
- Lovable Rogue: Of the Jerk with a Heart of Gold variety. He's a treasure hunter who is willing to deceive Mavis purely for financial gain, but he draws the line at physically hurting her, and he has a close bond of companionship with Precht and Warrod.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He felt tremendous guilt for stringing Mavis along in their adventure to claim the Sirius Orb so he could beat her to the punch. Otherwise, Mavis wouldn't have had to use a Dangerous Forbidden Technique that permanently stunted her physical growth to save his life when he became possessed by the treasure's evil energy.
- Out-Gambitted: In Fairy Tail Zero, Yuri challenges Mavis to a "truth or lie"-type guessing game in order to get her to lead him to the Sirius Orb. One of the rules of their game is that neither of them can guess something about the other that they both have in common. Mavis outsmarts him by telling him he blinked 57 times since the game began, while she didn't blink even once. Since Yuri didn't keep track of his blinks and thus can't answer truthfully even if he guesses right, he's forced to admit defeat.
- Posthumous Character: He's long-dead by the time the main series starts, and is developed solely through flashbacks and Fairy Tail Zero.
- Rule of Cool: He learned lightning magic specifically because it sounded awesome.
- Shock and Awe: He used lightning magic just like his great-grandson Laxus.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When trying to take the Sirius Orb for himself, he ends up transformed into a monster under its control, and forces Mavis to use the Law to save him, resulting in her being unable to age. It later turns out that the consequences are even worse than they thought, since Mavis actually has the same curse as Zeref, one that kills anyone near her so long as she values life, and this results in Yuri's wife dying, forcing Mavis to flee and meet up with Zeref. Mavis falls in love with him, which leads to his curse killing her, and many other developments that essentially lead to the plot of the series taking place.
- Younger Than They Look: Mavis mistook him for a man in his 20s back when he was only in his teens.
Precht Gaebolg
Precht Gaebolg
See his entry on the Grimoire Heart page under Hades.
Warrod Sequen
Warrod Sequen
Voiced by: Tesshō Genda, Hiroshi Shirokuma [young] (Japanese), Garrett Schenck, Cris George [young] (English)note
Click here to see him in his youth
Warrod is the fourth most powerful of the Ten Wizard Saints, which places him among the Four Emperors of Ishgal. He uses Green Magic to control nature, turning the most arid deserts into lush forests. Despite his highly respected title, he is a jolly old man who always finds a joke to crack at the most inopportune of times. Currently retired from Fairy Tail, he is called to serve on the Magic Council following the incident with Tartaros.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the anime version of Fairy Tail Zero, the younger Warrod is shown to feel far more insecure about his usefulness to his friends than his joking nature would imply, which also keeps him from tapping into his true magical potential as quickly as Yuri and Precht. That goes away when he learns how to use magic for support rather than combat.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His hairstyle, the shape of his face, and the wrinkles he's gained from age make him look much like a deciduous tree. It's pretty fitting considering his magic.
- The Big Guy: Among the main cast of Zero, Warrod was the tallest and most muscular of the group and relied on brute strength before learning magic. When Yuri and Precht were incapacitated during their first encounter with Blue Skull, Warrod managed to run his way out through the enemies with raw strength alone while carrying his two friends on his shoulders and having no hands free to fight back.
- Can't Catch Up: Subverted. In the anime, he takes the longest to perform magic out of his team, but once he gets the hang of it, he's capable of growing a tree as tall as a skyscraper.
- Elemental Motifs: Trees, being the focus of his magic and his own tree like appearance.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: He is the last definitively surviving member of his team: Yuri died a few years after Makarov was born, and Precht was murdered by Zeref seven years before Warrod's debut. It gets a bit murkier with Mavis when one considers the whole group of founders, as she technically never died to begin with, and may or may not have reincarnated after she gave sacrificed her life to kill Zeref.
- Fan Disservice: In the manga, Warrod climbs into a hot spring with Natsu's team completely naked, to their revulsion. The same happens in the "Natsu vs. Mavis" OVA.
- The Gadfly: He has an odd habit of telling nonsensical jokes and screwing around with his guests at the most unfitting of opportunities, which makes him incredibly exhausting to deal with.
- Gentle Giant: Bigger than all of his friends and he's the most easy going of the group and has a caring nature. He was also willing to let Mavis have the Sirius Orb back, even early on in the story.
- Green Thumb: His Green Magic takes this to the extreme, which allows him to grow trees as tall as skyscrapers in an instant.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: The anime reveals that he feels like that he does nothing but hold his teammates back, which is only refortified when he can't seem to master magic as quickly as them. The others feel the exact opposite way about him, especially since he'd just saved them in Magnolia.
- Humble Hero: Despite being considered god-like among the Wizard Saints, he's very modest about himself. He even mentions just because he is on the top four in the continent, doesn't mean he is top four in the world.
- I Was Just Joking: He jokingly suggested that Gajeel join the Council's law enforcement division after Fairy Tail disbanded, only to become distressed when Gajeel took him seriously and actually joined. He breathes a sigh of relief when Gajeel resigns to reform Fairy Tail.
- Mundane Utility: Despite him being among the four most impressive wizards on the continent, he still mainly uses his awe-inspiring powers for things such as gardening or transportation.
- Non-Action Guy: By his own admission, his Green Magic is not suited for battle, despite its immense power. This does not stop him from using it to protect Ishgal and fight God Serena anyway.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Even as a young man when he looks less plant-like, his design is pretty out of the ordinary with a rectangular head and no chin.
- Obi-Wan Moment: After having his ass thoroughly kicked by God Serena and knowing he may be taking his last breaths, he says that he's "ready to be with Yuri and Precht", but decides he'll go fighting and hopefully take God Serena with him. Subverted since he lives in the end.
- Out of Focus: He doesn't get nearly as much focus as the other founders in the Fairy Tail Zero manga, which makes him come across as something of a Flat Character. This is fixed by a bit of Adaptation Expansion in the anime, which fleshes out his character and his insecurities.
- Plant Person: His tree-like appearance in the present gives off this vibe. He looked more ordinary when he founded Fairy Tail around a century ago, though.
- The Reliable One: Yuri and Precht consider him to be this in the anime, saying they probably would've kicked the bucket long ago without him being there to get them out of a jam. This motivates them to grow stronger so they don't have to stay indebted to him forever.
- Retired Badass: He retired from Fairy Tail many decades ago, though he comes out of retirement to reform the Council.
- Scarf of Asskicking: He wore a scarf around his collar as a young man, giving him a tough-looking appearance.
- Sole Survivor: With Mavis's death, Warrod becomes the guild's last surviving founding member.
- Spell My Name With An S: The Crunchyroll translation of the manga spells his name as "Warod Shirken".
- Stronger with Age: He's presently well over 100 years old, not to mention one of the Four Emperors of Ishgal, who are said to be so powerful, they can hardly be considered human.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Downplayed. He butts heads with Yuri for his reckless behavior every once in a while, getting mad at him when he leaves out how he nearly got his whole team killed in a story of one of their crazy adventures. Despite their bickering, though, they manage to put their arguments behind them fairly quickly.
- You Shall Not Pass!: He and his fellow Emperors (plus Jura) stand between Fairy Tail and former Wizard Saint God Serena during the war between Ishgal and the Alvarez Empire. Try as they might, even the four of them combined are no match for him.
Zera
Zera
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Jeannie Tirado (English)note
Zera is Mavis' childhood friend from Sirius Island. She used to pick on Mavis as a kid until Mavis rushed in to save her from burning wreckage during a raid on their village, which marked the beginning of a long, close friendship...except that Zera actually died from her injuries as soon as their friendship took root, and Mavis' magic brought forth an illusion of her that would accompany her until Mavis found some real friends. While not officially a member of Fairy Tail, she played an instrumental role in the guild's creation.
- Always with You: Before disappearing, she tells Mavis how they'll always be together in her heart. She means this literally, as when Mavis is fully revived from her stasis, Zera briefly comes back.
- Ambiguously Gay: During the Furo Scene in Fairy Tail Zero, she strips naked, invites Mavis into the lake with her, and then proceeds to cuddle with her after her Declaration of Protection.
- Baby Talk: The English dub gives the six-year-old Zera an obnoxiously cutesy dialect, which she noticeably drops when she asks to be Mavis's friend.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: She plays the straight man to the more whimsical and silly Mavis.
- The Bus Came Back:
- She was assumed to have disappeared forever at the end of Fairy Tail Zero. Then she is reborn in the Alvarez Empire arc as a result of Mavis's resurrection.
- She is fully reborn at the very end of the original manga, this time as a Fairy.
- Dead All Along: She actually died during Blue Skull's attack on the Sirius Island, likely from smoke inhalation around the smoldering wreckage she was trapped in. Mavis' magic activated at that point, creating the illusion that Zera recovered and continued to live with her so Mavis wouldn't be alone.
- Declaration of Protection: She demands that Mavis teach her magic so that she can protect Mavis the same way she protected her. Her being an illusion doesn't exactly give her much power to enforce this, though, at least in a physical sense.
- Expy: Mashima based her on Éponine from Les Misérables, a Spoiled Brat who is cruel to the impoverished Cosette (Mavis) until she finds herself in the same boat as her.
- Girlish Pigtails: She wears these as a child and a teenager. In the anime, her pigtails give Mavis the idea of whether fairies have tails, which inspired the guild's name.
- The Hero Dies: She's one of the main Zero leads who don't make it out alive, as she died in Blue Skull's attack on the island.
- I Owe You My Life: When Mavis saves Zera from getting killed despite all the ill she'd spoken of her, they end up becoming friends. Unfortunately, these were her last words before she died.
- Invisible to Normals: Because the illusory Zera was made when no one else was around, Mavis is the only one who can see and hear her, but also doesn't realize that she isn't real. Yuri and the others don't have the heart to tell Mavis the truth, so they humor her by pretending they can see Zera, too. By the time of the Alvarez Empire arc, Mavis's powers have developed to the point that Zera can be seen by and talk to other people, but Mavis can only do this subconsciously.
- Kids Are Cruel: As a young girl, she insulted Mavis within earshot, such as refusing to wear the same pair of shoes Mavis wore. She also insulted Mavis' love of animals in the anime, which made the other children on the island avoid her. The fake Zera lacks any of these unpleasant qualities, and feels awful for how the real Zera treated Mavis.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The reader is informed she was Dead All Along from the moment she's mentioned in the main series.
- Meaningful Name: Zera's name is the word "Zero" spelled with an "A", and is meant to symbolize Mavis' ability to move on from her friends' death; in other words, moving from zero to A. This is further symbolized when the "O" in Fairy Tail Zero gradually vanishes each chapter until it is replaced with an "A" when the truth of Zera comes to light.
- Mythical Motifs: Fairies like her friend Mavis, being one of the founders of Fairy Tail and becoming one near the end of the series.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Downplayed. From the perspective of others, Mavis treats Zera exactly how one would treat an imaginary friend. However, Yuri and his friends figure out who Zera really is long before Mavis does, and Yuri is actually able to see her briefly before she fades away.
- Only Friend: Though technically an Imaginary Friend, she was this for Mavis before Yuri, Precht and Warrod came to Sirius Island.
- Our Fairies Are Different: In the Alvarez Empire arc, she introduces herself as the world's first fairy, so evidently fairies in this verse are intelligent, self-aware illusions who are cast subconsciously. A classic small-child-with-wings version appears in the anime's finale but is not noticed by anyone in-universe.
- Playing with Fire: She learns fire magic while studying alongside Mavis, taking after her father.
- Puff of Logic: She could continue to be seen by Mavis as long as Mavis was unaware that Zera was an illusion. Once Mavis is made aware of it, Zera gradually fades away. She is able to return once Mavis revives after over a 100 years in stasis, but vanishes again as soon as Mavis is made aware of her return.
- Reformed Bully: The illusory Zera takes on this persona, feeling responsible for all the times the real Zera picked on Mavis.
- Shrinking Violet: Zera is the shy type who hides behind the nearest convenient object whenever faced with someone unfamiliar, terrified of interacting with people besides Mavis after spending seven years in social isolation. Ironically, no one can see her anyway.
- Spoiled Brat: The real Zera was incredibly haughty and obsessed with getting nice clothes from her dad, and she would belittle Mavis every chance she had. She was genuinely touched when Mavis tried saving her, however.
- Tomato Inthe Mirror: The Zera we are acquainted with is actually an illusion Mavis unknowingly created to replace the real Zera after her death. She herself doesn't seem to be aware of this at first, but by the time Mavis learns the truth, Zera has already figured it out and come to terms with it.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At least from Mavis' perspective, Zera went from a Spoiled Brat who teases Mavis to a more pleasant teen.
- Tsundere: She can be snarky and warmhearted to Mavis at the same time.
- You Can See Me?:
- After Mavis acknowledges her as an illusion, Yuri and the others are finally able to perceive Zera for the first and only time. Zera uses this opportunity to entrust Mavis to them.
- When she returns in the Alvarez Empire arc, she is delighted to find that others can still see and hear her (but only so much), which she takes to mean that Mavis' powers have greatly improved.
