The Iron Wedding
The Iron Wedding was the proposed marriage between Zaira von Monocle and Emperor Ivan of the Wyranth Empire—an alliance of politics and genuine affection that was dramatically interrupted by a Nightmen assault. The event took place at Carnait Cove during the 20th Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign.
Overview
In The Blood of Giants, Zaira was faced with a difficult choice to bring peace to Rislandia. The Iron Wedding represented that choice: a proposed union with Emperor Ivan that carried significant political weight for a nation already devastated by war.
In The Iron Wedding, the circumstances of the proposal are detailed more fully. Ivan had stated his intention to ask Zaira for her hand a total of three times. The first two requests occurred prior to the events depicted in that novel. The third and final proposal was delivered formally through an ambassador, Andrei Zelezo, in the audience chamber—though Andrei Zelezo was in fact Ivan himself concealed by a changeling net. The formal offer, as delivered, was: "The Iron Emperor requests Ms. Zaira von Monocle's hand in marriage in exchange for our airship plans." Zaira declined this offer. Ivan subsequently visited Zaira privately in her apartment to press the matter further, stating that this was the last time he would request her hand.
The Proposal
With Rislandia devastated and the Liliana destroyed, Ivan proposed marriage in exchange for peace, airship technology plans, and joint defense. Zaira agreed despite her feelings for Ethan von Lantern, feeling responsible for Rislandia's suffering.
Note: Events in The Iron Wedding indicate that Zaira initially declined the formal proposal delivered via ambassador. The novel-based account on this page states she agreed. These accounts may reflect different stages of the negotiation—the formal refusal followed by a later acceptance after Ivan's private visit—but the author should confirm whether Zaira ultimately accepted or whether the alliance formed without a formal acceptance of marriage.
The Attack
During the ceremony at Carnait Cove, more than 150 Nightmen soldiers attacked using bat-gliders and explosive bags. The scale and coordination of the assault revealed that the Nightmen invasion was not a series of random raids but a continental-scale military campaign.
The Earth Crystal
Zaira and Ivan, working together, used an earth crystal device to create an earthquake that sank the wedding grounds into the sea, killing the Nightmen attackers. Zaira later reflected: "I recalled the wedding, how we used the device Ivan made from what he called an earth crystal." This event revealed that both carried giant's blood lineage and could use crystal magic together more effectively than either could alone.
Aftermath
The wedding was never completed, but a Rislandian-Wyranth alliance was formed in its wake, establishing joint military command, shared crystal technology, and combined resources directed against the Nightmen threat. Following the botched wedding, Marina du Willet was assigned to scouting parties, and she and Zaira were separated into different groups afterward.
Spoiler: The Crystal Conspiracy
This section reveals events from “The Crystal Conspiracy”.
In A History of Rislandia
According to A History of Rislandia, the Iron Wedding is recorded as a landmark event in the history of the Rislandia–Wyranth Empire relationship, treated by the sourcebook's in-universe scholarly narrator as a pivotal moment in the broader Nightmen Invasion.
The sourcebook confirms that the wedding was planned between Zaira von Monocle and Ivan, the Iron Emperor, and that it was held at Carnait Cove. According to A History of Rislandia, Carnait Cove was deliberately chosen as neutral ground, situated far from both Rislandia City and the Wyranth Capital, and the beauty of the setting was understood at the time to symbolize hope for peace between the two nations—a detail not addressed in the novels.
The sourcebook corroborates that the ceremony was interrupted by a Nightmen invasion of more than 150 soldiers using bat-gliders, that Zaira von Monocle and Ivan, the Iron Emperor used an earth crystal together to trigger an earthquake, that the wedding grounds sank into the sea killing the attackers, and that the wedding was never completed. It further states that the event demonstrated the scale of the Nightmen threat and solidified the Alliance between Rislandia and Wyranth.
The Iron Wedding took place in the 20th Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign.