Biography

Most of Seifer's childhood, like the rest of the main characters of the game, is clouded in mystery. His parents are never mentioned and it is a common theory that Seifer's parents died during the Sorceress War involving Adel and Laguna several years before the start of Final Fantasy VIII. Orphaned and with no place to go, he somehow was taken under the care of a woman named Matron (also known in the future as Sorceress Edea), along with Squall, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, and Ellone. How he came to the orphanage or how long he had been there is also unknown, but all seven children resided in a little white lighthouse on the edge of Centra during their early adolescence.

Through flashbacks in the game, you learn more about the group's antics as children. It was during this time that all of the children established roles and personalities that they would later identify with many years into the future: even then, Seifer was the bully and was more often than not teasing "Chicken-wuss" and intimidating others around him. Unfortunately, Seifer was never adopted into a family and eventually was transferred as a young student to Balamb Garden military academy, along with his "brother" and rival Squall Leonhart. It was during this time that Guardian Forces were introduced to him - as powerful and helpful they are to a cadet, they cause you to slowly lose your memories, and therefore his life at the orphanage was forgotten, a life from long ago stored in the far back of his mind.

During his stay at Garden, he developed the reputation of being an extremely gifted soldier with one large handicap - his ever-problematic and rebellious ways caused him to loose his chance of attaining the rank of SeeD more than once. Teachers seemed to despise him and students seemed to be intimidated by his presence. However, his headstrong persona and commanding voice earned him the position of Head of the Disciplinary Committee; Seifer and his friends Fujin and Raijin are constantly seen scoundering the Garden hallways for cadets breaking the rules during the first portion of the game.

Seifer's fateful and life-changing event occured during his third attempt to pass the SeeD test. As the captain of his squad, he led his comrades Squall Leonhart and Zell Dincht into trouble as they diverted from their main goal during the mission and thereby lost yet another chance of becoming SeeD. What he did not know was that finding that diversion would lead to a whirlwind of political and war-threatening entanglements that would forever change the course of the world and time itself.

Squall, Zell, and Selphie, a student transferred from Trabia Garden, pass the SeeD Exam, while Seifer does not. He shows his humble side by being the first to clap and congratulate all three. The day after the test, they are all assigned a small mission which required them to go to Timber to help the rebellious group known as the Timber Owls headed by Rinoa Heartilly. Outraged that this job was given by amateurs, compelled to help his ex-interest, or perhaps interested in playing the role of hero, he storms out of the Disciplinary Room during detention and heads to Timber, where eventually he was seduced into joining sides with Sorceress Edea.

By doing so, Seifer has turned his back on his home and has joined sides with the figure all SeeDs are sworn to protect citizens from. He has betrayed all that he has worked for and meets Squall and the group whenever their are battles with various Sorceresses because it is, of course, his job as the sorceress' knight to protect them. Time passes, and eventually the group starts to get their childhood memories back - while it seems that the "good guys" start gaining a clearer picture of what they should do and how they should achieve it, it seems that Seifer, the odd-man out, starts spiraling even more into his dreams until he seems to break. However, as he finally does become released from his desperate dream after the final battle with Ultimecia, Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin are seen at Fisherman's Horizon, where you get to see Fujin and Raijin fishing as Seifer throws back his head to laugh.

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