He is the grandfather of Richard Rahl and thinks of Kahlan as something of a daughter. He is a wizard of the First Order, the most powerful class of wizards. Zedd is the one who sparked Richard's hunger to learn and know as much as he could. Zedd's wizard powers are restricted to the additive side of magic and as a result, he is limited to adding to elements that are already present in the world (i.e. he can change one coin into 10 coins). He cannot negate elements; for example, he cannot make a coin disappear into true nothing; he can only move it to another location thereby making the coin only appear to disappear. He has always been an explorer and as a child often found himself in trouble with the elder wizards by exploring the restricted areas of the Wizards Keep. When traveling incognito, Zedd prefers to use the alias "Ruben Rybnik".

Murdered by Irena, the sorceress of Stroyza (Severed Souls).He lives on as a magical spirit.( sword of truth )