Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Zeddicus "Zedd" Zu'l Zorander is a main character in the fictional "The Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind. He is the grandfather of Richard Rahl and a wizard of the First Order. Zedd is very close with Richard's wife Kahlan and thinks of her as something of a granddaughter. Zedd has a romantic relationship with the sorceress Adie. Zedd has also used the alias Ruben Rybnik while he was traveling incognito.

Zedd will be portrayed by Bruce Spence in the upcoming live-action "Legend of the Seeker", a syndicated TV series produced by Sam Raimi, set to premiere on November 1, 2008.

Physical description

Warning: This section contains spoilers prior to the conclusion of Wizard's First Rule.

Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander is an old man with pale, lucid skin that drapes loosely over a collection of bony projections that make him look as frail as a dry stick, he is 5' 9". He has scrawny, twig-like fingers and spindly arms and his bottom lacks any padding whatsoever. He is anything but frail, though. His voice is normally as thin as the rest of him. He typically wears simple, plain, unadorned robes which show his rank as an extremely powerful wizard. His face has sharp, keen features and angles with thin lips and intelligent eyes. His jaw is smooth and is kept clean-shaven and he has hazel/green eyes and wavy white hair. Despite his thin body, he is notorious for his voracious appetite and will eat almost anything offered to him, and lots of it.

As a young man, Zedd's face was pleasant to look upon and gentle in appearance. His wavy brown hair looked ungovernable, but his eyes seemed to see all, to know all, to understand all. He is in line with Richard--Lord Rahl--who is just starting to learn his part in the world.

General characteristics

He is described as an old unbearded man with locks of white wavy hair. He dresses himself into the simplest robe you can imagine, as it is the symbol of his authority and position as First Wizard. His favorite curse is "Bags!", used extremely often. However, he's extremely sharp-minded, and is possibly the most powerful wizard alive today (excluding Richard Rahl, because his magic is based on the wizards of old, whose power Zedd was not born with).

Life

Early life

Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander grew up in the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril, born of a wizard and a sorceress. He was sometimes watched over by the Mother Confessor herself, who would swat his rear when he misbehaved and twist his ear to make him sit in a lesson. He was mischief on two legs, driven not by guile but by curiosity. Zedd was a prodigy. He could do things no other wizards understood. He was known for having a strong heart, as well as head. He grew into a fine man and married a woman named Erilyn and together they had a daughter. Those who were close to him called him "the trickster", a name he truly earned, more than "the wind of death". Zedd and his wife also had a cat named Lurk. Zedd reuses this name when he convinces his grandson Richard Rahl to go to the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril.

D'Haran War

When Panis Rahl began his ruthless use of magic against the forces of the Midlands Zedd knew that the only hope to save more lives in the end was to fight. Zedd was named First Wizard and with his unique talents used his magic to hold the magic of Panis Rahl at bay and supplied the Midland armies with magical horns to defeat the shadow people created by Panis to aid the D'Haran troops.

Zedd laid waste to countless numbers of the D'Haran army and became known as the "wind of death". His help allowed the Midland armies to push the enemy legions back into D'Hara. Panis Rahl took revenge against Zedd by sending a quad out of D'Hara, to find and harm Zedd's wife, Erilyn. Zedd found his wife still alive, broken and bleeding and in inconceivable agony, her arms and legs all broken. When he used his gift to try to heal her, it activated a worm spell, which ripped his wife's insides apart.

Aftermath of the War

At first things were quiet in the Midlands after the boundaries were put in place as people recovered from the war. As time wore on the council of the Midlands began taking actions that Zedd said were corrupt. He found out the council had reneged on agreements about how the power of magic was to be controlled. He told them that their greed and the things they were doing would lead to worse horrors than those put down in the wars. They made political appointments of the Seeker of Truth, which made Zedd furious. They mishandled the boxes of Orden. The other wizards Zedd had trained, in their greed, sided with the council. He said his wife had died for nothing. As punishment, Zedd told them he would do the worst possible thing to them; he would leave them to suffer the consequences of their actions. He refused to help them further, and left for Westland to be free of the magic, vowing to never return again. As he left, he cast a wizard's web over everyone, making them forget what his name was or what he looked like.

Life in Westland

While in Westland, Zedd lived in a squat house surrounded by tall, wild grasses with a sod covered roof aways from the town of Hartland, along a long and arduous path. A single plank served as a ramp for his big old coon cat. Near the back corner sat a wooden table whose top was worn smooth with years of use, where Zedd liked to take his meals in good weather. White lace curtains hung on the inside of the windows, flower boxes on the outside. The log walls were dull gray with age, but a bright blue door greeted visitors. Other than the door, the whole place gave the appearance of hunkering into the grasses surrounding it, of trying to go unnoticed. The house wasn't large, but it did have a porch running the length of the front.

Zedd's favorite piece of furniture was his "reason" chair. The reason chair was where Zedd sat and thought until he figured out the reason for whatever it was that snagged his curiosity. He had once sat in the chair for three days straight, trying to figure out why people were always arguing over how many stars there were. Zedd was a good friend and mentor of Richard, even while Richard was only a boy, taking him hunting for special herbs and teaching him of the world. Even then, Zedd always treated Richard as an equal. While in Westland, Zedd spent a lot of his time (often naked) on his "cloud rock" (which was actually a wizard's rock) at the top of a small barren hill nearby, watching the clouds.

References

External links

* [http://www.terrygoodkind.com Official Terry Goodkind website]
* [http://www.terrygoodkind.net Unofficial Terry Goodkind website] (endorsed by Terry Goodkind)