Final Fantasy VIII timeline

The following is a chronological list of events that take place in the Final Fantasy VIII universe.

Unknown Centuries Ago

 * The Great Hyne, became the absolute ruler of the world and creates humans as tools to do his bidding. He later attempts to quell the number of humans that existed but was defeated. He offers half of his body in truce which can be translated to half of his power given to an individual, creating the first sorceress.


 * A war between the humans start over control of the body-half. Eventually the Zebalga tribe emerge victorious but the body ignores their commands. It is later discovered that the body had no real power and the humans continued to hunt Hyne for centuries to come although they never find him.

Unknown Time Period

 * An unnamed Sorceress, accompanied by her Knight, Zefer, stands up for the sake of the people in a country at the time of its collapse.

Around 4000 Years Ago

 * The time of the Centra civilization. Centra created two major empires: Dollet and Esthar. While Dollet began to excel in military force, Esthar grew scientifically advanced.

80 Years Ago

 * The first recorded Lunar Cry strikes the center of the Centra civilization. It is utterly destroyed.


 * The Esthar people began rebuilding its scientific society, while Dollet splintered into diverse countries: Dollet, Galbadia, and Timber.

19 Years Ago

 * Ellone is born in Winhill. She has the potential to be a sorceress and the power to send her consciousness backwards in time.

18 Years Ago

 * Sorceress Adel begins her plans for world domination by starting the Sorceress War and meets heavy resistance from Galbadia.


 * Quistis Trepe and Seifer Almasy were born.


 * Sorceress Adel discovered the existence of the Crystal Pillar, a stone from the Moon capable of reacting from a certain position on the Earth to cause a Lunar Cry. She ordered a special enclosure called Lunatic Pandora to be built around it.


 * Dr. Odine began experiments on magical beings known as Guardian Forces. He discovered that they can be Junctioned to human minds, which allowed people to use magic without having to resort to Limit Breaks. He dubbed this Para-Magic. He also studied the sorceresses' powers, and created Odine-brand jewelry which is capable of inhibiting those powers.


 * Laguna Loire meets a pianist named Julia Heartilly.


 * Laguna, Kiros and Ward were sent to the Centra Excavation Site to patrol. They lost their way and came up against a battalion of Esthar soldiers. They were trapped and only managed to escape by jumping off a huge cliff. Laguna, Kiros, and Ward were badly injured. Ward lost his voice permanently.


 * Galbadia begins its own bid for conquest and takes over Timber. The fathers of Zone and Watts are killed after Timber's capture. Zone and Watts take over leadership of the Forest Owls from their fathers. Soon, many rebel factions are created.


 * A number of scientists and researchers who were not happy with Esthar's actions, left to start their own town called Fisherman's Horizon, dedicated to pacifism.

17 Years Ago

 * Believing him dead Julia Heartilly wrote the song Eyes on Me in Laguna's memory. She later marries Fury Caraway of Galbadia and has a daughter whom they named Rinoa.


 * Sorceress Adel ordered the Esthar troops to search for any possible successors to her, whom she wishes to keep in her custody. Many girls were taken. They attempted to take a girl named Ellone from Winhill as well. Ellone's parents were killed and she was adopted and raised by a woman named Raine.


 * After recuperating from their encounter with the Esthar, Ward took up a job as janitor in the D-District Prison. Kiros roamed around as a vagabond, and Laguna found meaning in protecting the residents of Winhill, who were responsible for his return to health. He took up a job defeating the monsters that roamed around the village, and eventually formed a relationship with Raine. Kiros later finds Laguna in Winhill and joins him for a while in his job.


 * Ellone is captured by the Esthar soldiers. Laguna chased after Ellone but the journey was long. To make ends meet he begins working for Timber Maniacs and many of his articles are published.


 * A movie based on the story of Zefer and his Sorceress is made. Laguna, Ward and Kiros find work as extras in the movie, filming in Trabia Canyon, where they are unfortunately assailed by a real dragon. Upon the movie's release a young Seifer Almasy watches the movie and becomes enthralled with the dream of becoming a Sorceress' Knight.


 * On his way to Esthar, Laguna fell off a cliff and was taken in by the Shumi tribe, who nurses him back to health after about six months. In the meantime he has a profound effect on the tribe, and attempted to teach the Moombas to speak (they manage to say his name).


 * Laguna reached the Lunatic Pandora Laboratory in Esthar, where he was captured and forced to provide hard labour for the experiments of Dr. Odine. He meets up with more Moombas there. Kiros and Ward later rescue him and together they finally rescue Ellone. Before they got her, though, Odine managed to imprint Ellone's brain wave patterns onto his computer, leading him to create a machine that simulates her powers. He called the machine the Ellone Junction Machine.


 * Laguna joined up with a rebellion against Sorceress Adel, and hatches an ingenious plan to get rid of her. Though they cannot harm her physically, they trick her into a special sealing container, which they then launch into space, to be continually monitored by Esthar's space station. The container's anti-transmission waves cause constant worldwide radio static from this point forward. As part of the plan, they dump the Crystal Pillar from Lunatic Pandora into the ocean to prevent the Lunar Cry from occurring.


 * Laguna Loire was elected President of Esthar, and decided to shut Esthar from the rest of the world; partly in penance for their war, partly because he believed the rest of the world was not ready for Esthar's scientific knowledge yet. Kiros and Ward stayed on as his assistants while Ellone was sent home to Winhill. The Sorceress War ends.


 * While waiting for Laguna to return, Raine gave birth to a son named Squall. She dies soon after and a grave stone is erected in her memory. Squall and Ellone are sent to Edea's Orphanage, as orphans of the Sorceress War. Squall receives the surname "Leonhart" based on Raine's maiden name. It was given by the people who helped the birth, because of the absence of his father Laguna Loire.


 * Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas were born.

13 Years Ago

 * Ultimecia arrives in Edea's Orphanage with Squall from the Time Compression and perished; she was succeeded by Edea Kramer. Cid and Edea realized the evil she could cause. They created Garden with the propose of stopping the eminent evil she could anytime unleash. The students/fighters raised there were called SeeDs. Cid received funding for the venture from NORG, a Shumi Villager. Three Gardens were set up: Balamb Garden, Trabia Garden, and Galbadia Garden. Balamb and Galbadia were built over old Centra Shelters. NORG set himself up as the "Garden Master" and dwelled at the lowest level of Balamb Garden. His minions were stationed throughout the Garden, making sure Cid did what he was supposed to do.


 * All the children from the orphanage are later recruited into Garden. Squall, Zell, Seifer, and Quistis end up at Balamb Garden (where Cid Kramer became headmaster), Selphie went to Trabia Garden, and Irvine to Galbadia Garden.


 * Edea trained her own small section of SeeDs, called White SeeDs. She realized Ellone's potential as a sorceress and her special power, and gave them their mission: to protect Ellone at all costs. They were given their own ship and separated from the other SeeDs.

12 Years Ago

 * Julia Heartilly is killed in a car accident. Rinoa moves to live with her father.

1 Year Ago

 * Ultimecia reaches her mind across time and begins controlling Sorceress Edea. By this time Garden has become more or less a center for training mercenaries (the need arose due to financial concerns) and their true purpose has been forgotten. Regretfully Cid begins to prepare to fight against his wife, but delays, hoping she will prove stronger than the sorceress' will which pervades her.


 * Rinoa runs away from her father and travels to Timber, where she becomes embroiled in the Forest Owls. During this time she meets and forms a relationship with a Garden student named Seifer.


 * Possessed by Ultimecia Edea schemes to take over Galbadia. She does so by ingratiating herself with Vinzer Deling, Galbadia's dictator. He resolves to announce his new friendship with Edea via satellite dish, a technology not in use since the radio silence began 18 years back. However, the only remaining radio receiver/transmitter is in the city of Dollet. He orders his army to take it by force and repair the transmitter.

Unknown Time in the Future

 * Ultimecia, a sorceress of the era, defeats SeeD and uses the Junction Machine Ellone, created by Dr. Odine when he served under sorceress Adel, to transfer her mind into the past. Through it she could possess sorceresses of other times and force them to do her bidding. She plots to enter Time Compression, a state in which time is fused and only she can exist.