Andrei is the birth name of the vampire Armand, as written in The Vampire Armand (1998) and Blood and Gold (2001).
Born in Kiev, Russia, in 1497 of the Common Era, Andrei is a child prodigy in painting Eastern Orthodox icons. Desiring to live with the monks at the Monastery of the Caves because he deeply believes that his talent not only comes from God but is also an instrument of God’s evangelization, Andrei is a profoundly spiritual child and adores the beauty of God and saints as depicted in icons and paintings. His father has no desire for his son to hide his talent in the silence and the simplicity of a monastery, so he seeks highly esteemed commissions for him from prominent individuals, such as Prince Michael, who commissions work to be delivered to Prince Feodor. Andrei, only fifteen years old at the time, accompanies his father on board a ship sailing for Constantinople. But when the ship is captured by Tartars, Andrei is taken prisoner and sold to a Venetian brothel, where he is mercilessly abused until he suffers amnesia and is locked in the dungeon. Not long after, Andrei is purchased from the brothel by the vampire Marius, who takes the boy to his palazzo, where he cleans his wounds, gives him an education, and gives him the name Amadeo. He will later be turned into a vampire and called by the name Lestat knows him as—Armand.
For more perspectives on Andrei’s character, read the Alphabettery entries Allesandra, Amadeo, Armand, Eleni, Eugénie, Everard, and Tartars.