Cid Kramer Cid Kramer , more commonly known as Headmaster Cid , is the founder of SeeD and headmaster of Balamb Garden in " Final Fantasy VIII " . He is the overseer of both school operations and SeeD operations in general , meaning he has little time for other endeavors despite his wish to the contrary . Profile . Appearance . Cid wears a burgundy vest over a long - sleeved white collared shirt and green tie , brown trousers and black shoes . He has blue eyes , floppy brown hair , and wears round glasses . Personality . Cid is a cheerful man full of hope , being the man who founded SeeD . He is caring and nurturing , wishing his SeeDs to think for themselves rather than become mindless machines . Cid can be disheartened at times , particularly when the Garden Faculty talk over him and order him about . When he doesn ' t know what to do , Cid prefers to hide from the situation . Story . Cid married a young sorceress named Edea , becoming her Sorceress Knight . Edea was a caring woman who raised children in an orphanage in Centra . On a fateful night a dying Sorceress Ultimecia appeared from the future attempting to pass on her sorceress power , which Edea accepted so none of the orphans would become a sorceress . Ultimecia was accompanied by a teenaged Squall Leonhart , who also came from the future . Squall told Edea he was a SeeD , an organization apparently founded by her , and then disappeared back into the time portal . Edea was bewildered by these events , but concluded that in the future Squall , a boy currently living in the orphanage , would kill a powerful sorceress , and to help him accomplish the feat she and Cid would need to found an organization called the SeeD to train Squall to one day face this destiny . Cid was thus tasked with the creation of Balamb Garden , while Edea , along with Squall ' s " Sis " Ellone and some other children from the orphanage , went into hiding on the White SeeD Ship ; Cid and Edea felt they could no longer stay together , after all , Cid was founding an anti - sorceress task force . Cid set about generating the funds required to start the SeeD . He found a business partner in the Shumi NORG and together they set about establishing Balamb Garden to train SeeD members . Other Garden s were established later , and while they are not under Cid ' s jurisdiction , close diplomatic ties are held , with Trabia Garden students enrolled in an exchange program to become SeeD , and Cid being friends with the Master of Galbadia Garden , Martine . The Gardens were built from the shelters used by those from Centra who had escaped the Lunar Cry decades ago . The SeeD were not originally intended to work as mercenaries , and were created as a force that would one day face Ultimecia , but to generate the funds needed to run Balamb Garden till that day would come , NORG came up with the idea to send SeeDs out to do mercenary work . During the years NORG and Cid drifted apart as NORG ' s goal was to earn money while Cid still waited for the day the SeeD would fight the powerful sorceress . The rift is seen with Cid ' s communication with the Garden Faculty , who work for NORG : the Faculty members belittle Cid and talk over him , whereas the SeeD members and Garden instructors , such as Xu and Quistis , are respectful toward him . It can be concluded the Garden has divided in half , with NORG running the day - to - day operations and taking care of the Garden funds , whereas Cid is in charge of the SeeD training aspect . Years later , Sorceress Ultimecia from the future , using Junction Machine Ellone to go back in time , possesses Edea , and uses her body as a vessel . Within Edea ' s body Ultimecia embarks into political plans in Galbadia . Ellone and some of the White SeeD come to Balamb Garden at this time , likely to warn Cid that something is wrong with Edea , and that she has abandoned her old life to become a Galbadian ambassador , working for Vinzer Deling . Squall graduates after an eventful field exam , and Cid promotes him to SeeD , praising his gunblade skills . During the SeeD graduation ball Cid is approached by Rinoa Heartilly of the Forest Owls resistance movement in Timber , who insists on hiring a SeeD party despite her lack of funds . All of her previous requests had been turned down , so she had come to the Garden to personally talk to Cid and persuade him . Cid overrules the Garden Faculty ' s decision and hires out Squall ' s SeeD party , drawing up the contract personally . The next day he attends the briefing and gives Squall the Magic Lamp to lend him a new Guardian Force for the mission . Squall and his party are tasked with kidnapping Vinzer Deling , but the mission fails and Seifer Almasy , a rogue SeeD cadet , breaks out of Garden and travels to Timber and takes the president hostage live on air . He is rescued by Edea , who spirits Seifer away . Now that Edea has been publicly made Vinzer Deling ' s ambassador despite there being no real peace talks in progress , Cid comes to believe Edea is the sorceress they need to defeat . NORG , however , is not in the same boat . Making the sorceress their enemy has no monetary benefit for the Garden , and NORG doesn ' t want to take a chance against her . Cid has Fujin and Raijin deliver a message to Master Martine of Galbadia Garden , who asks Squall ' s SeeD group — that has taken refuge at G - Garden — to take part in an assassination mission on Edea , apparently on Cid ' s orders . The assassination mission fails , and Edea exiles Martine and takes over G - Garden , destroys Trabia Garden via a missile attack , and targets Balamb Garden for the next attack . When NORG hears of the failed assassination attempt on Edea he tries to take over Balamb Garden to get rid of Cid , but his takeover fails as the SeeDs side with the Headmaster . Cid hides in his office during the Balamb Garden Revolt , and during this time Squall and his party return to the Garden to bring news of the impending missile attack . As the Garden is in lock - down due to the riot and thus evacuating it would be difficult , Cid decides to try and activate the ancient mechanism the Garden was built upon . Squall volunteers to do the deed instead and Cid lends him the activation key . Squall and his party travel to the depths of the Garden ' s basement and activate its mobile functions , moving the Garden away from the spot the missiles were programmed to target . The riot subsides as the Garden flies into the ocean and becomes seaborne . NORG has a meeting with Cid that ends in a shouting match , Cid accusing NORG of money - grubbing and not respecting the Garden ' s foundations . NORG summons Squall and his party , who were part of a failed assassination attempt on Edea , to his chambers . NORG is furious the other Garden leaders were scheming behind his back to organize the assassination , and to undo the damage incurred on Balamb Garden by making the Garden the sorceress ' s enemy , NORG wants to hand over Squall and his friends to her . Squall ' s party defeats NORG , after which he disappears and is never heard of again , him and the Garden Faculty disappearing altogether from the Garden . After the encounter with NORG Squall seeks Cid out , finding him from the infirmary . Cid tells Squall the truth of the Garden ' s origins , but doesn ' t reveal Squall ' s part in it : Cid and Edea are married , and the Garden was founded as an anti - sorceress army . Now that a sorceress is taking over the world , SeeD can finally be used for its true purpose , although Cid is conflicted over the sorceress being his wife . The now mobile Balamb Garden is intercepted by the White SeeD Ship who take Ellone away to keep her safe , as Edea is looking for her . The Garden crashes in Fishermans Horizon , and Cid tasks Squall with making a formal apology to the mayor . After a conflict with the G - Army — now under Edea ' s command — that tried to raid FH in their search for Ellone , Cid steps down and hands over the Garden ' s leadership to Squall , the one he believes is destined to defeat the sorceress as per told to him by Edea herself . Although it is made sound as if Cid is merely stepping aside , in truth Cid leaves the Garden and returns to Centra and Edea ' s old orphanage . The SeeD confront Edea in the Battle of the Gardens , and in a near - death experience Edea ' s sorceress power passes on to Rinoa , breaking Ultimecia ' s spell on Edea . Edea returns to her old self , and everyone retreats to the old orphanage to talk things over , where they find Cid , overjoyed to have his wife back . Edea tells everyone how she was possessed by an evil sorceress from the future called Ultimecia who wants to destroy the world via a time compression spell . Edea soon embarks along with the SeeD to Esthar , but Cid stays behind in the orphanage . After Edea talks with Dr . Odine and learns she is no longer a sorceress , she returns to Cid , and the two welcome Squall and his friends as they return to the orphanage after a trip to the Estharian space station . The SeeD get a message from the president of Esthar who wants to hire them to a mission to vanquish Ultimecia once and for all , and Cid and Edea wish them good luck on their mission . Squall and his friends travel to the future and defeat Ultimecia , and with the threat to the world removed , the SeeD organize a party at the Garden with Cid and Edea also attending . Gameplay . Battle Meter . Cid gives the party the Battle Meter in his office if the player talks to him after Squall receives his graduation diploma . If the player leaves without talking to Cid , the meter will be permanently missed . Battle Meter records the party ' s kills and escapes , and has two enhancements the player can obtain later : Character Report for the party members ' kill and KO stats ( from floor 10 of D - District Prison ) and GF Report for the same stats for the party ' s GFs ( from CC Joker in Balamb Garden training center ) . Triple Triad . Cid holds Seifer ' s Triple Triad card . He can be challenged for it on disc one in Balamb Garden ' s headmaster office after being assigned the mission to Timber , on disc two at Fishermans Horizon right before going ashore , or in disc 3 while he resides in Edea ' s Orphanage with Edea . It is preferable to win Seifer ' s card from Cid on discs one or two , because Edea ' s Orphanage uses Centra ' s card rules , which makes the game more challenging . Other appearances . PocketStation Memorycard Icons . An icon sprite of Cid Kramer appears in the PocketStation memorycard file manager . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Cid appears in a trading card in " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . His card is Thunder - elemental . " Triple Triad " . Cid appears on a Triple Triad card in the version available via the " Final Fantasy Portal App " . Etymology . Cid is a recurring name in the " Final Fantasy " series . Cid ' s surname might be taken from Heinrich Kramer , the writer of " Malleus Maleficarum " ( Hammer of the Witch ) , which lead to Witch Hunt Incident in medieval age .