SeeD SeeD is a mercenary force in " Final Fantasy VIII " whose operatives graduate from Balamb Garden . SeeD is a mercenary force for hire , conducting missions around the world as battle support and undercover operatives . Their services are requested by governments and civilians ; their tasks range from providing military support to protecting civilians to slaying monsters . Only Balamb Garden trains SeeD cadets , but members from the other Garden s can transfer to Balamb for the field exam . All SeeD are stationed at Balamb . The SeeD specialize in high - level para - magic via the use of Guardian Force s . " Balamb Garden ' s mercenary force . Students 15 and older can participate in the written and field exams . They must pass both exams to become SeeD . SeeD members are paid by the Garden according to their rank . In the Garden , their status is no different from that of the other students . " " SeeD conducts missions around the world . Most missions involve battle support and undercover work . SeeD is in high demand by groups requiring a small force of undercover specialists . Commissions made through such dispatches are an important part of Balamb Garden ' s income . " " SeeD battle operations are noted for their skillful use of para - magic . Balamb Garden researches the use of GF in conjunction with para - magic . For this , Balamb Garden SeeD members master the most powerful forms of para - magic . " Story . Sorceress Edea and Cid Kramer were a married couple who lived on the Centra coast near a lighthouse . Edea operated an orphanage for the children orphaned by the Sorceress War . One day , a dying sorceress from the future appeared at the orphanage from a time portal alongside a teenage Squall Leonhart , whom Edea recognized as an older version of a boy currently under her care . The sorceress died and passed on her powers to Edea , and Squall addressed her formally with a salute . Edea was confused when Squall introduced himself as a SeeD from Garden , but Squall said they were her idea . Edea said there can be only one Squall in this time , and the teenage Squall disappeared back into the time portal . Edea came to believe that one day Squall , a boy in her orphanage , would defeat an evil sorceress . To prepare him for this future ordeal Edea and her husband Cid started the Garden to train Squall as a SeeD operative , along with other aspirants and children from the orphanage . The establishing of an anti - sorceress military force was seen as a danger for Edea , as she is a sorceress herself , and Cid and Edea decided they can no longer stay together . While Cid went ahead with the Balamb Garden project , meeting the Shumi NORG and receiving his financial backing , Edea went into hiding on the White SeeD Ship with Squall ' s step - sister Ellone and other orphans from the orphanage who did not get adopted or enrolled into the Garden . SeeD ' s true purpose as an anti - sorceress force was concealed , and NORG came up with the idea of selling the SeeD services , and thus the SeeD was formed as a mercenary force for hire . As the SeeD ' s true purpose would be to battle a sorceress , they specialized in magic use , namely in the use of Guardian Forces , despite the controversy on their purported adversarial effects . Squall grew up in Balamb Garden and trained to become a SeeD under Headmaster Cid ' s watchful eye , though he never learned of his significance or role in the Garden ' s founding . Twelve years on SeeD has become a robust military force known around the globe , but Cid and NORG ' s relationship has deteriorated , with NORG pushing for SeeD to be a pure business venture , while Cid is still preparing for the day Squall will take on a sorceress . Squall graduates and is sent out to a mission , but strange events are unraveling as Ellone has arrived at the Garden from the White SeeD Ship and told Cid Edea has abandoned them . Edea surfaces in Timber where the president of Galbadia , Vinzer Deling , announces her as a new ambassador . Seifer , a SeeD cadet and Squall ' s rival , takes the president hostage , and is whisked away by Edea who convinces him to work for her . During the commotion returning to Balamb Garden becomes impossible and Squall ' s SeeD party retreats to Galbadia Garden for further orders . Galbadia Garden ' s Master , Martine , sends out Squall and his team to assassinate Sorceress Edea , Squall being unaware of her true identity . Edea publicly disposes of the president and assumes his role as the Galbadian dictator . Squall faces Edea and her " knight " , Seifer , head on , and she is disgusted upon discovering Squall is a SeeD . Edea defeats Squall with her Ice Strike attack and the SeeDs are taken prisoner . During their captivity Edea has Seifer torture Squall to extract information , namely , to divulge SeeD ' s true purpose and the reason they persecute sorceresses . Squall is confused by the interrogation , as he has no knowledge of SeeD being anything but a mercenary force for hire . The SeeDs escape and return to Balamb Garden where an all - out war has broken out between NORG and Cid . NORG wants to save the Garden from Sorceress Edea ' s wrath by apologizing for the assassination attempt and framing the culpable SeeD members as unaffiliated rogues , and to prove the SeeD ' s sincerity , wants to give up the SeeD members involved in the attack to her . Cid , meanwhile , has come to believe that the evil sorceress Edea formed the SeeD to vanquish is , in fact , herself , and although he doesn ' t understand why his wife has turned evil , he wants to stay true to the SeeD ' s origins as an anti - sorceress task force . NORG is defeated and driven out of the now mobile Garden , and Cid tells Squall of the SeeD ' s true purpose , although he doesn ' t reveal Squall ' s role in its founding . The White SeeD Ship approaches the seaborne Garden to pick up Ellone , and Squall is surprised to find there is another faction of the SeeD he has never heard of , who refer to themselves as " Edea ' s SeeD . " Likely feeling he cannot stay and wage war against his wife , Cid departs the Garden leaving everything in Squall ' s hands , promoting him a commander of SeeD . Squall , still unaware of his true significance , is baffled by Cid ' s decision , and briefly contemplates quitting . While Cid returns to the old orphanage , Squall leads the SeeD to a war against Sorceress Edea . They eventually uncover her true identity as the former matron of the orphanage they all grew up in , but even this revelation doesn ' t divert them from their task . Balamb Garden SeeDs , led by Squall , enter an all - out war against Galbadia Garden ' s G - Forces , led by Squall ' s childhood rival Seifer , in the Battle of the Gardens . Squall leads his team to infiltrate the enemy Garden and face Sorceress Edea , who identifies them as the " legendary SeeD " destined to face her . The SeeDs defeat her and the near - death experience brings Edea back to her former self , and she addresses Squall and his friends with kindness . Confused , everyone retreats to Edea ' s old orphanage to talk things over , where they meet Cid who is happy to have his wife back to her old self . Edea explains she has been possessed by an evil sorceress , Ultimecia , who resides in the future . Ultimecia ' s goal is time compression , and to achieve it , she sends her mind back in time to possess other sorceresses to seek out Squall ' s sister Ellone , who has power over time and mysterious telepathic abilities . Squall no longer cares about the SeeD and the war against sorceresses , however , for a girl he has fallen in love with , Rinoa Heartilly , entered a coma during their battle against the possessed Edea . Squall looks for the White SeeD Ship to reunite with Ellone whose mystical powers he hopes could help him cure Rinoa , but upon finding she has been taken to Esthar Squall decides to abandon the SeeD . He takes Rinoa with him and departs to Esthar , but his friends and Edea follow him . Who is left in charge of the SeeD during this time is unknown . After saving Rinoa it is learned she has inherited Edea ' s sorceress power s and become a sorceress . Rinoa is skeptical of the future , seeing as Squall is still the leader of SeeD , an anti - sorceress army , but Squall assures Rinoa is not his enemy . The president of Esthar , Laguna Loire , calls Squall and his friends up for a final SeeD mission to take on Ultimecia , and with Ellone ' s help , Ultimecia casts the time compression spell and the SeeDs use it to travel to the future . Along the shoreline of the orphanage that no longer exists in the future , they find scattered bodies of soldiers dressed in the White SeeD uniform , with Squall commenting that the SeeD has continued to fight sorceresses throughout the ages . The SeeDs confront Ultimecia at the summit of her castle where she voices her contempt of the SeeD and speaks of the event as if it was foretold . The time compression spell breaks upon her demise and the timeline begins to revert to its original form . While the others find their way back to their own time , Squall and Ultimecia appear at Edea ' s orphanage of the past . Ultimecia dies and passes on her power to Edea , and Squall tells her he is a SeeD from the Garden . Edea tells him he is in the wrong time and he re - enters the time portal . Lost in time , he collapses but is found by Rinoa who brings him back to his own time . Back in Balamb Garden the SeeDs celebrate their victory over Ultimecia with Edea and Cid also attending . To become a SeeD . SeeD candidates must be between 15 years to 19 years old ; at 20 , they can no longer apply . They have to pass a written exam , a field exam , and have to be accepted by the headmaster , Cid Kramer . Field exam . The field exam is usually a live mission assigned to the Garden . While there are active SeeD members at hand during the exams to ensure the mission success , SeeD candidates are expected to conduct themselves professionally and strive to complete their group assigned missions to pass the exam . Sometimes ( usually due to difficulty of the mission ) a prerequisite is required before a student can participate ; either the obtainment of a Guardian Force , or the completion of a low - level mission . In such circumstances , the student must be accompanied by a SeeD member for support and safety reasons . Garden instructors are SeeD members who have been promoted to ( or assigned ) teaching positions at Garden . It is unknown if any non - SeeD instructors work at Garden . Since instructors are SeeDs they can accompany their students on the prerequisite missions , such as Quistis Trepe supporting Squall at the Fire Cavern . The exam is graded via observations made during the mission . Each candidate is judged upon : The grading also includes any additional actions and / or events the examiners deem noteworthy . The highest SeeD rank obtained depends on the difficulty of the mission where the exam was held , but usually the highest rank obtained is Rank 8 , although some exceptions have been made . The initial rank is calculated as such : The tables below show SeeD Scores and Modifiers ; the SeeD Scores are what are displayed in the in - game report card . The score is determined by how fast the player can withdraw from Dollet . The score is determined by how much time is left at the end of the Fire Cavern mission when Squall defeats Ifrit . The less time left , the higher the score , the best score given at 7 or fewer seconds remaining . The player can allow the game to remain in the screen where the player names Ifrit and let the time run out during it to get maximum score ; although the timer does not appear on the naming screen it will keep counting down . The score is determined by how many enemies are killed during the field exam . The score is determined by how often the player escapes from battle . The best score is given if the player only has one escape — the mandatory one from X - ATM092 . Various individual actions determine this score . The score is determined by how many deductions the player suffers from their attitude during the exam , and some violations are more severe than others . Perfect exam score . When escaping the radio tower with a time limit there are two ways the player can deal with the robot spider : evading it , or destroying it ; only the first battle is mandatory . In the screen where Selphie jumped down to follow Seifer , the party must cross as fast as they can . When coming down the mountain trail , the ground is shaking so the party must walk down . If they run , they are stopped by the shaking ground and X - ATM092 will catch up . On the bridge the party must run until X - ATM092 jumps over the party ; the party must then run the other way until X - ATM092 will jump over them again , then turn around and run toward the town ; the X - ATM092 won ' t have time to jump again . In the the town area evading X - ATM092 is easy ; the player just needs to keep heading toward the beach . If the player destroys the X - ATM092 they get a bonus score of 100 points and thus one whole rank to their starting rank . X - ATM092 cannot be destroyed in the initial battle , but if the player engages it in any time after it can be . Uniform and mannerisms . Although casual attire is usually worn due to the covert nature of SeeD missions , SeeD does have a formal uniform issued to its members upon graduation . It is worn during ceremony or due to the SeeD ' s own choice . Both uniforms are reminiscent of Japanese school uniforms . The male uniform , modeled after the Japanese " gakuran " , has a standing collar buttoning down from top - to - bottom . The collar is part of a black tunic with gold trim and maroon cuffs . Pants are straight leg and tucked into black knee - high boots . A black is worn with the tunic and a blue and silver designed shield is worn over the shoulders . The shield tapers to a double point at the back . The female uniform , modeled after the Japanese " seeraafuku " , consists of a black blouse with dark blue shoulders that echo the design of the sailor - style collar . Attached to the collar are two gold - trimmed " wings " that hang over the chest ; a maroon tie is worn with a metal clasp adorned with the SeeD logo . The ensemble is completed with a straight skirt cutting off just above the knees . Although the original design appears to include black knee - high socks and black shoes , in the game , female SeeD members wear black knee - high boots instead for their full SeeD uniform , with the shoes and socks reserved for the SeeD trainee uniform . SeeDs have a signature salute used to greet others of the profession as well as clients . It is used by both SeeD and White SeeD , and Headmaster Cid has also been seen doing it in response . It is used as a formal greeting when meeting for the first time , after a prolonged absence , or when reporting for duty . The salute involves standing in formation and bringing the right hand in front of the saluting person ' s face , covering their right eye . SeeD ranking . All students in the Garden training to be SeeD and have yet to graduate are considered SeeD cadets . SeeD field operatives have a ranking system from 1 to 30 ( 1 being the lowest rank and 30 being the highest ) . They can increase their ranking by completing written tests that cover a variety of subjects . Reaching SeeD rank 30 in the Steam version earns the player the achievement Top Rank . The game uses " SeeD Experience " to calculate the player ' s SeeD Rank . The formula is [ SeeD Exp / 100 ] = SeeD Rank . The formula is rounded down . SeeD Rank A is equivalent to 3100 SeeD Exp and the maximum is 3110 , mere 10 points above the threshold . This is why the player ' s rank often drops from A to 30 when the salary is paid ; to prevent this the player should kill 10 enemies before receiving the next salary . Being paid salary for the first time in the Steam version earns the player the achievement First Salary . Gaining SeeD Experience . For every one enemy defeated the player gains a point of SeeD Experience . Enemies killed by Guardian Forces don ' t count . Every time the player ' s salary is paid they lose 10 SeeD Experience . When passing a written test the SeeD Experience is rounded to the next level . Several in - game events can increase or decrease the player ' s SeeD Exp . If the player handles all events perfectly , they can increase their rank with a total of 4 . 7 . Written tests . SeeD rank tests are multiple choice and must be answered 100 % correctly to raise a SeeD rank . The tests can only be taken up to Squall ' s current level ( i . e if Squall is level 7 , the player will only be able to take the tests up to # 7 ) . Ranking is decreased by misconduct in the field or if the operative is seen lagging behind . Rank A . Above the 1 - 30 ranks lies the A - class SeeD ( or Class A Elite SeeD ) . This is the highest ranking for a SeeD field operative . It can be reached via special consideration or through the written tests . Rank and pay . A SeeD ' s income is dictated by his / her rank . SeeD institutions . Balamb Garden . Balamb Garden is located east of the town of Balamb . Students ( usually orphans ) attend this Garden in hopes of becoming SeeD . It is one of the three Gardens in the world , and it is where SeeDs are trained and stationed . Trabia Garden . While not responsible for training SeeDs , Trabia and Balamb Garden carry out an exchange program by allowing would - be SeeDs from Trabia to take the SeeD written test there . Galbadia Garden . Galbadia Garden does not train SeeDs . However , contact is maintained between the headmasters of Galbadia and Balamb Gardens whenever there is a joint operation . Balamb Garden students can take classes in Galbadia Garden for extra credit , such as with Quistis Trepe . White SeeD . White SeeD is an off - shoot mercenary group charged with protecting Ellone . Musical themes . Played during the various battle meetings between the SeeD , the musical extract " SeeD " is considered to be the theme of the elite mercenary group . Other appearances . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " series . The SeeD uniform appears in " Dissidia Final Fantasy " as an optional outfit for Squall Leonhart . Little to no changes were made to the uniform ' s design for the game , and Squall wields either the Revolver or the Lionheart while wearing it . " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " . The SeeD cadet uniform is an alternative outfit for Selphie . Merchandise . An official Zippo lighter with the SeeD logo was released in 1999 . With only 400 pieces ever manufactured , the lighter is considered extremely rare . A collector ' s item , the lighter comes in a metal container with blue padding and includes a certificate of authenticity .