Characters

Andrei Zelezo

Andrei Zelezo was the Wyranth ambassador who brought the Iron Emperor's armistice offer and marriage proposal to King Malaky's court in The Iron Wedding — in truth Ivan himself, disguised by a changeling net.

Andrei Zelezo

Andrei Zelezo

Andrei Zelezo is the name used by the "ambassador from the Wyranth Empire, here all the way from the Wyranth capital" in The Iron Wedding.

Role in The Iron Wedding

Matthias du Gearsmith introduces Andrei at King Malaky's court as the head of the Wyranth Ambassadorial Delegation. Speaking "on authority of the Iron Emperor," he proposes an armistice under which Rislandia would give up nearly its entire southern region. He also shows that the Wyranth know exactly why the rebuilt Liliana cannot fly, and offers the missing airship technology in exchange for Zaira von Monocle's hand in marriage to Ivan, the Iron Emperor. King Malaky refuses to force his subject and dismisses the delegation, which waits at a local inn for an answer.

That night Zaira finds Andrei sitting on her couch. When he turns the dial of a changeling net controller, his face shifts and he is revealed as Ivan himself; Zaira notes his eyes were the same in both guises and that he had padded his clothes to look bulkier. Before leaving he turns the dial again and resumes the face of "Andrei." When challenged about the name, Andrei had remarked, "We all are related to the father of our country."