Martine

Martine (ドドンナ, Dodonna) is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy VIII. He is the headmaster of Galbadia Garden as well as its Master. Martine helps Galbadian Fury Caraway mastermind the plan to assassinate Sorceress Edea. He also maintains a business relationship with headmaster of Balamb Garden, Cid Kramer, as well as being the subordinate to NORG.

The Headmaster
About twelve years prior to the start of the game, Martine, a proud military man with a history of service, was appointed headmaster of Galbadia Garden by Cid Kramer and his wife, Edea. Martine took his position very seriously, and worked hard to develop a training program based upon the technological aspects of combat rather than magic. The headmaster also ensured that Galbadia Garden, unlike other Gardens which chose to remain politically neutral, operated in close association with the Galbadian government and its military. Martine befriended Galbadian military leader General Caraway, and created an alumni program which helped Garden graduates enlist in armies all over the world. In addition, Galbadian Garden students who did not achieve the rank of SeeD often joined the Galbadian army.

Although this relationship with the Galbadian government afforded his Garden a great deal of power and influence, it also made it vulnerable to Galbadia's political leanings. When Galbadian President Vinzer Deling began to fall increasingly under the influence of the enchanting Sorceress Edea, Martine grew concerned, fearing the Sorceress' growing power would soon spill over into his Garden. Caraway shared Martine's fears about the Sorceress, and together they hatched a plot to assasinate her in an effort to rid Galbadia of the menace. They enlist Balamb SeeDs Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt to carry out their plan, which involved trapping the Sorceress during a parade celebrating her inauguration as Galbadian Ambassador in Deling City. Once caged within the city's front gate, Galbadia Garden's master sharpshooter, Irvine Kinneas, would fire the killshot while the Sorceress was distracted. The plan failed, however, when the Sorceress managed to deflect Kinneas' bullet.

Following the botched attempt on her life, Sorceress Edea becomes enraged, and claims Galbadia Garden as her main base of operations. Although not legally connected to the assasination attempt, Martine is forced out of his position as headmaster, and flees Galbadia Garden.

Life In Exile
Exiled from Galbadia and banished from his beloved Garden, the disgraced Martine wandered mindlessly until he ended up in Fisherman's Horizon. The kindhearted people of FH sympathized with Martine and welcomed him in their town. They encouraged him to stay and start a new, more peaceful life among them. Martine, grateful for their support, remained. He can often be found sitting outside the home of Mayor Dobe in the center of the town's solar panel.

Triple Triad
Martine is an accomplished Triple Triad player with a diverse card deck, having confiscated all of his students' cards before abandoning Galbadia Garden. He plays a small role in the card game side quest; players must lose their Ifrit card to Martine's friend General Caraway in order to force him into using his rare Rinoa Heartilly card. However, once players have won the Rinoa card from Caraway, the General proceeds to lose the Ifrit card to Martine before the player can get it back. This forces players to travel to Fisherman's Horizon and challenge Martine to a game of cards in order to regain Ifrit.

Trivia

 * Martine is named Dodonna in the Japanese version. In Star Wars, Dodonna was one of the first generals in the Rebel Alliance.