 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | R. A. Salvatore |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Legacy of the Drow |
| Genre | Fantasy literature |
| Published | 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Followed by | Starless Night |
The Legacy is a 1992 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the first book in his series Legacy of the Drow .
The Legacy continues the plot-line of The Icewind Dale Trilogy, with Wulfgar and Catti-brie preparing for their marriage and Drizzt returning from the first of many visits to Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon. Drizzt returns to a disturbed Catti-brie and eccentric Regis, who has returned to Mithral Hall after a stint as master of Pasha Pook's thieves' guild. While Bruenor plans the wedding, Wulfgar's tribe settles the appropriately named Settlestone and begins to prosper. Wulfgar, on the other hand, is straining his relationship with Catti-brie, who feels his possessiveness is excessive and unwise. When Wulfgar unexpectedly attacks Drizzt and appears to have lethal motives, the tension builds, despite the drow defusing the situation.
Newly introduced is the dwarf battlerager, Thibbledorf Pwent. The dwarf, knocked unconscious during the invasion of Mithral Hall, pledges fealty to Bruenor. Among his personality quirks are a disgusting smell, and ungreased, ridged armor, which also serves as Pwent's primary weapon. Meanwhile, in Menzoberranzan, Drizzt's sister Vierna (Taken in by Matron Baenre after the fall of House Do'Urden) is preparing to recapture her brother. Vierna believes that this quest, if successful, will gain her the full favor of Lolth, the chief drow goddess. Vierna enlists the help of Bregan D'aerthe, the most prominent mercenary band in Menzoberranzan. Jarlaxle, Bregan D'aerthe's leader, briefly doubts Vierna's sanity and designs, but is convinced when Vierna turns her brother Dinin into a drider.
The story returns to Mithral Hall, with Bruenor preparing a detachment to investigate a goblin disturbance in Mithral Hall's unexplored lower tunnels. After the goblins are routed, tension builds between Wulfgar and Catti-brie. Wulfgar had wanted his fiancée to stay out of the fight, for reasons that didn't satisfy the woman. A patrol goes missing soon afterward, and Drizzt prepares to investigate. Oddly, Bruenor suggests that Regis accompany the drow. Drizzt, with a few second thoughts, allows the halfling to join him. The pair discover the patrol, slaughtered; Drizzt identifies the murderers as dark elves and leads a pursuit. After the battle with the drow, Drizzt questions Regis on his new-found combat abilities, and discovers that the halfling is actually Artemis Entreri, wearing a familiar magical mask. Drizzt had previously used the item to pass as a surface elf, and had not realized its capabilities. Entreri then turns Drizzt over to the dark elves, who escape to the Underdark.
Entreri then challenges Drizzt, attempting to settle their feud from The Halfling's Gem. Apparently, this was Entreri's price in the operation to recover the wayward drow. The assassin is informed that he cannot kill Drizzt in the duel, because Vierna intends to sacrifice her brother to Lolth. Meanwhile, Bruenor and Wulfgar realize Regis' deception and manipulation: Bruenor was charmed to allow Regis to follow the ranger on his expedition; and Wulfgar was persuaded that Drizzt had kissed Catti-brie. Catti-brie, Bruenor, and Wulfgar, together with Cobble (Mithral Hall's High Priest) and Pwent, move to rescue Drizzt.
The duel between Drizzt and Entreri begins slowly, Drizzt not wanting to give the assassin satisfaction. Entreri counters by successfully taunting the drow with the whereabouts and well-being of Regis. Jarlaxle and Vierna are impressed with the battle, allowing it to continue until Wulfgar and company arrive. In the meleé, Vierna crushes Cobble beneath a steel wall and Drizzt escapes, but violates his vow to never take a dark elf's life. The moral struggle inherently ends with a repudiation of the vow, if necessary to save the lives of those for whom Drizzt cares. Bruenor and his entourage also escape, and Entreri asks for an opportunity to pursue his nemesis. He kills his appointed escorts when alone and fails to find a hidden Drizzt. Drizzt's friends are also searching for him, as are Vierna and Bregan D'aerthe.
The parties of Bruenor and Vierna collide, with another raucous combat. Bruenor attacks the Drider Dinin. Pwent is separated from the group, falling down a pit after overcoming dark elf poison. Vierna summons a Yochlol, a demonic handmaiden of Lolth, which attacks Wulfgar, then wraps a tentacle around Cattie-brie's leg. Wulfgar, desperate, repeatedly strikes the chambers ceiling with his hammer, causing a collapse that kills both Wulfgar and the Yochlol.
The Legacy, TSR's first hardcover novel, leapt to the top of The New York Times bestseller list within weeks of its release. [1]
The Legacy debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at number 9. [2]
The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil spider goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.
Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting.
Catti-brie is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms setting, based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The creation of American author R.A. Salvatore, she is primarily known as the love interest of the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden and has appeared in multiple media alongside Drizzt.
The Dark Elf Trilogy is a prequel to the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Drizzt Do'Urden, a drow, or dark elf, was originally written as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy to Wulfgar the barbarian. However, the author soon realized how popular the character was, and Drizzt became the main character. The final book Sojourn made The New York Times Best Seller list.
The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a trilogy of epic fantasy novels by the American writer R.A. Salvatore. The books are The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver and The Halfling's Gem. They tell the tale of ranger Drizzt Do'Urden the drow, Wulfgar the barbarian warrior, Regis the halfling, dwarf king Bruenor, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter Catti-brie. It is the first of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels which introduces some of the best-known characters in that world. The final book of this series, The Halfling's Gem, appeared in The New York Times Best Seller list.
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy by American writer R.A. Salvatore. It follows the Paths of Darkness series and is composed of three books: The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords. The Two Swords was Salvatore's 17th work concerning one of his most famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. In this series, Drizzt tries to stop an orc king from spreading chaos and war. The series reached the New York Times bestseller list and is followed by the installments of the Transitions series.
Streams of Silver is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the second book in his The Icewind Dale Trilogy.
The Halfling's Gem is a 1990 fantasy novel by American writer by R. A. Salvatore, the third book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy.
The Crystal Shard is a 1988 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. The first book in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, it was his first published novel.
Homeland is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It follows the story of Drizzt Do'Urden from the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow.
Starless Night is a 1993 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the second book in his Legacy of the Drow series.
Passage to Dawn is a 1996 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore. It is the fourth and final book of his Legacy of the Drow series.
The Orc King is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in the Transitions series.
The Ghost King is the third book in the Transitions series, written by R. A. Salvatore.
The Sellswords is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by R. A. Salvatore, whose related works include The Legend of Drizzt series and The Hunter's Blades Trilogy. It contains three books, Servant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch-King, and Road of the Patriarch.
Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, is the barbarian hero of Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and one of the Companions of the Hall along with Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie, Regis the halfling, and Bruenor Battlehammer. He is the creation of R.A. Salvatore.
Gauntlgrym is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting; it is the first book in the Neverwinter Saga. Released in October 2010, it follows the continued adventures of drow elf renegade, Drizzt Do'Urden. This story is set 24 years after the end of Transitions: The Ghost King.
Neverwinter Saga is a saga written in the Forgotten Realms campaign world, a popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing setting, by fantasy and science fiction author R.A. Salvatore. The tetralogy begins with Gauntlgrym which is set twenty-four years after the events of The Ghost King. Gauntlgrym is also the twentieth book concerning one of Salvatore's famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. The saga contains Gauntlgrym, Neverwinter, Charon's Claw, and The Last Threshold. This tetralogy is preceded by The Transitions Series.
The Last Threshold is a novel by R. A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and is the fourth book in the Neverwinter Saga. It was released on March 5, 2013.