Sorceress power

thumb|250px|Sorceress Edea casts her Ice Strike Limit Break.
The sorceress power (known as the "witch embodiment" in the original Japanese) is the special power that separates a sorceress from a normal human being in Final Fantasy VIII.
Granted to sorceresses at the beginning of time by the Great Hyne, the sorceress power is a mysterious gift that enables a person to use magic naturally without resorting to a Limit Break, a Guardian Force or a Junction system.
== Profile ==
The sorceress power seems to be an immortal, inexorable power. It attaches to a person and remains with them until their death, at which point it must be passed on to another sorceress or potential sorceress.
A potential sorceress can be rare to find, but is identifiable by people who know what to look for. As an example of their rarity, Sorceress Adel kidnapped hundreds of young girls from all over the world to find the one to be the successor of her power.
The recipient of the power must be physically close to the sorceress at the time of their death to receive it. Adel and Ultimecia are forced to give their power to Rinoa and Edea, respectively, even though they were not the ones they wanted to give the power to. It is not clear what happens to the sorceress and/or her power if there are no recipients in proximity to them. In the case of Ultimecia, it appears that she is forced to bear continued, if painful, existence until she finds a potential candidate. It is also unknown if the power has a cumulative effect when a sorceress receives more than one sorceress's power, such as in Edea and Rinoa's case.
In the Information part of the menu there is a section that can only be unlocked by hacking the game, called "Succession of sorceress power", which says: When a sorceress is about to die, she gives her power to the next person who 'inherits' her sorceress powers. According to Odine's research, the power tends to weaken with each succession. It is unknown if this section was disabled on purpose, or if it is a mistake; therefore it is unknown if the hypothesis of the power weakening with each succession is canon or not.
== Manifestations of the power ==
A total of fifteen different sorceresses are shown exhibiting the sorceress power in Final Fantasy VIII, but only two of them have any background on how they obtained it:
* Edea Kramer; received the sorceress power from another sorceress at the age of five and also received Ultimecia's powers several years later.
* Rinoa Heartilly; received the power from Edea during the Battle of the Gardens and, later, from Adel on board the Lunatic Pandora.
Although the sorceress power is said to originate from the Great Hyne, it seems to take different forms within different people. Every sorceress in Final Fantasy VIII demonstrates a different "specialty" with their power.
Sorceress 	Power
Edea 	Ice (shown in her Draw lists, her weapon, and her Limit Break), Ice Strike.
Adel 	Non-elemental (shown in her choice of spells—Flare, Ultima, Meteor—and her Energy Bomber skill).
Rinoa 	Pure, primal magic (shown by the effects of her Angel Wing Limit Break and her ability to revive those close to death).
Ultimecia 	Time and Space (mainly shown by her choice of time compression as her ultimate spell).
The eleven sorceresses in the Commencement Room	Varies, but each sorceress has a theme, as each sorceress only casts one or two specific spells.
The full extent of a sorceress's abilities is unknown. Throughout Final Fantasy VIII sorceresses are seen utilizing telekinesis, teleportation, telepathy, mind control, mental possession, control over the elements, the installation of life into inanimate objects, projection of kinetic barriers, the capacity to phase through solid matter, and enhanced strength and endurance. Sorceresses also demonstrate the ability to alter their physical appearance to some extent.
A notable physical trait that most sorceresses seem to have is, when utilizing their powers, the appearance of wings or wing-like structures behind them; the appearances of which seem to run parallel with the sorceress's personality traits.
== Other appearances ==
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008) ===
The sorceress power, specifically the obligations to transfer one sorceress's power to another in the vicinity upon death, is briefly alluded to in Dissidia Final Fantasy, in a pre-battle quote by Kefka should he fight Ultimecia, where he says, "How about you give me that power?"
==Other media==
===Dead Fantasy===
In Dead Fantasy II, Rinoa demonstrates her sorceress powers, such as telekinetic abilities where she levitates rocks to hit the Dead or Alive girls. She also uses four offensive spells within her Angel Wing Limit Break. She conjures portals from the moon to send her comrades and their Dead or Alive rivals to another location.
Category:Final Fantasy VIII
Category:Sorceresses