Homeland Homeland is the first book in the Dark Elf trilogy by R . A . Salvatore . It was later reissued as book one of the Legend of Drizzt series . Summary . On the night in 1297 DR that Drizzt Do ' Urden was born to Matron Mother Malice Do ' Urden and the weapons master Zaknafein , House Do ' Urden was in the process of eradicating House DeVir to become the Ninth House in the hierarchy of the underground drow city of Menzoberranzan . Drizzt was the third male child of Malice , and by all drow laws should have been sacrificed to appease Lolth , the Spider Queen , the evil goddess of the dark elves . However , at the time of Drizzt ’ s birth , Dinin , Malice ’ s second son , drove his sword through the heart of Nalfein , the first son , substituting him as the sacrifice and thus sparing Drizzt ’ s life . The newborn Drizzt was found to be unique by having lavender eyes , an extreme rarity among the drow . Meanwhile , as part of House Do ' Urden ’ s elimination plan , the wizard Alton DeVir was attacked by Gelroos Hun ' ett , also known as the Faceless One , one of his masters at Sorcere , the school for mages in Menzoberranzan . Alton was saved from death by Masoj Hun ' ett , the younger brother of Gelroos and an apprentice at Sorcere , who killed the master with a crossbow bolt . Masoj then turned the same weapon on Alton , but the now Houseless mage saved himself by making a bargain with Masoj . In return for his life , Alton would assume the Faceless One ’ s identity and mentor Masoj , as well as ease the apprentice ’ s way through his magical studies at Sorcere . To ensure that the illusion was complete , Masoj scarred Alton ’ s face with acid , and the new Faceless One remained at Sorcere , where he began to plan his revenge on the House that had massacred his own . For the first few years of his life , Drizzt was cared for by his sister Vierna and taught that he had an inferior place in drow society because he was a male . During that time , Drizzt was mostly assigned the never - ending task of cleaning House Do ' Urden ’ s private temple to Lolth . However , he proved to be stubborn and was determined to complete tasks assigned to him to the point of exhaustion . Drizzt mastered levitation , an ability that all noble drow shared , at an uncommonly young age and carried an innocence that set him apart from the rest of his race . At sixteen years old , Drizzt was admitted into the noble ranks of his family as Secondboy and met Zaknafein , unknowing that the renowned weapons master was his real father , not the current House patron , Rizzen . At their first meeting , the uniquely honorable and kind - hearted Zaknafein took an immediate liking to Drizzt , forming a bond of companionship that was not a wise move according to Malice . In front of the matron mother and a few of the other Do ' Urden nobles , Drizzt then proved that he was a warrior belonging to the fighters ’ Academy of Menzoberranzan by displaying his above - average agility and hand - eye coordination . Having proved Malice ’ s original idea for the boy to study magic wrong , Zaknafein took Drizzt to his new quarters , a tight training hall that resembled a chapel . When Zaknafein then showed him the armory , Drizzt was stunned by the amount of different weapons that there were and started practicing with all of them until he ultimately chose dual scimitars . For the next three years , Zaknafein trained Drizzt and developed his skills as a warrior . Zaknafein taught Drizzt how to think creatively in a fighting situation and train his muscles to respond to such thoughts . The weapons master insisted that this improvisation was the mark of a skilled warrior . Through Zaknafein ’ s tutelage , Drizzt developed the dual - wielding fighting style that was common among the dark elves and became an incredibly talented fighter for his age . As Drizzt neared the end of his training with Zaknafein , one of the lesser Houses of Menzoberranzan unsuccessfully attacked another . Drizzt , his family , and the other drow nobles gathered together to witness the city ’ s Ruling Council command the instructors and students of the Academy to immediately destroy the House that had launched the failed assault , not because they had assailed another House , but because they had been unsuccessful . Drizzt was horrified by the brutality of the Ruling Council ’ s so - called justice and the lesser House ’ s annihilation , and he would forever hold this against drow society . Noticing Drizzt ’ s disgust at the lesser House ’ s destruction and seeing it as a sign of weakness , Malice decided to put him through a trial to form him into a true drow warrior . The matron mother magically disguised a goblin slave as a dark elf and forced him and her son to fight to the death . Drizzt easily defeated the goblin , but only after enduring Malice ’ s goading did he go against his virtuous nature and kill his opponent . Over the years since his House ’ s destruction , Alton had continually tried to learn the name of those whom he desired vengeance against , but he repeatedly failed . Eventually , Alton ’ s identity was discovered by Matron Mother SiNafay Hun ' ett , but he was accepted into her House and came under her protection . SiNafay also revealed to Alton that it was House Do ' Urden that had slaughtered his family , and he immediately began to anticipate the moment when he would have his revenge . Soon after Malice ’ s challenge , Drizzt was accepted as a noble into Melee Magthere , the school for fighters in Menzoberranzan , with the highest honors from his family , and he quickly made friends with Kelnozz Kenafin of the Fifteenth House . At the entrance ceremony , Hatch ' net , one of the masters of the Academy , intimidated the young drow class with stories of the surface , and they thus began their training in lore . The new class listened to days of hateful rhetoric directed against the drow ’ s many enemies until finally the series of lectures was completed and the Grand Melee occurred , an annual contest in which the students battled each other for rank . Drizzt allied with Kelnozz and defeated many of the other students , but near the end of the competition , Kelnozz , showing typical dark elf loyalty , betrayed Drizzt , leaving him eighth place in the class . Learning that the youngest Do ' Urden was now training at the Academy , Alton decided that Drizzt would be the first target for his revenge . However , his eagerness was quelled by Masoj , who notified him that SiNafay had plans to eventually remove the threat that House Do ' Urden posed to all of the other ruling Houses and that Alton would have a significant role when that time came . The Academy held many disappointments for Drizzt , particularly during the first year as the many dark realities of drow society gradually revealed themselves . Drizzt would measure the masters ’ lectures of hatred and mistrust against the very different logic that had been taught to him by Zaknafein . Drizzt tried to find the ambiguous truth , but all the while he remembered that the only treachery that he had ever witnessed had been at the hands of his fellow drow . The physical training was more to Drizzt ’ s liking , since that was where he could free himself of the disturbing questions of truth and perceived truth . He excelled at that part of his training , until eventually a year went by and it was time for the second Grand Melee . Drizzt swiftly found and defeated Kelnozz during the contest , avenging his classmate ’ s betrayal from the year before , and he went on to become the champion of his class . While Drizzt took little pride in his victory that second year , he took great satisfaction in the continued growth of his fighting skills . He won the Grand Melee in his third and fourth years , so the next year his instructors entered him into the competition with students who were three years his senior ; a Grand Melee he also won . Drizzt ’ s years at Melee Magthere continued to pass in this manner until by the end of his eighth year , he and his classmates had begun conducting practice patrols in the tunnels and caverns that surrounded Menzoberranzan . These patrols allowed the drow class to encounter the many dangerous creatures of the Underdark , and during one such fight , Drizzt killed two hook horrors single - handed , a feat that not even Zaknafein could have easily achieved . After nine years at Melee Magthere , Drizzt finally completed his training there and began his six months of magical study at Sorcere under the tutelage of Masoj . SiNafay had arranged for Masoj to be the young warrior ’ s tutor , and the wizard was determined to find some weakness in Drizzt that he could exploit if their two Houses ever fell into the expected conflict . Drizzt actually found studying under Masoj ’ s guidance to be the most pleasant of his time at the Academy , and he discovered that he was quite proficient in the ways of magic , being able to manage a few lesser spells after only a couple of weeks . For his part , Masoj observed Drizzt very closely and several times saw an opportunity to eliminate him , but SiNafay ’ s instructions had been explicit and Drizzt was not to be harmed . Masoj was not fool enough to disobey a matron mother , but Alton did not exhibit such self - control , and when he and Drizzt met at last , the wizard attempted to kill the young dark elf . Alton was stopped by Guenhwyvar , the magical panther under Masoj ’ s control , and the Hun ' ett mage convinced Drizzt that the attack had just been a lesson . If Drizzt ’ s six months at Sorcere had been the most enjoyable of his time at the Academy , then his last six at Arach - Tinilith , the school for priestesses of Lolth in Menzoberranzan , were the least . His study there was filled with an endless series of eulogies to the Spider Queen and the rewards that she bestowed upon loyal worshipers , though Drizzt thought that the term " slave " would be more appropriate . He suffered through the teachings until his graduation finally arrived , and a ceremony was conducted in which the students inhaled mind - fogging drugs and subjected themselves to the sensual pleasures of the female students of Arach - Tinilith . However , Drizzt , being the unique drow that he was , rejected the offer , and he was then brought to the land of the driders by Vierna as a punishment for refusing a priestess . Drizzt survived the ordeal and was released with the caution to follow Lolth and obey the females of drow society or face death . Drizzt graduated with the highest honors in his class and suspected that none of those present at the graduation ceremony even remembered that he had left . After all of his years away at the Academy , Drizzt finally returned to House Do ' Urden , where , out of all his family , the individual he feared seeing most was Zaknafein . Once , Drizzt had thought that Zaknafein would be his salvation against the dark realities around him , but that was before his family informed him of the pleasure that the weapons master took in killing other drow . These revelations also convinced Drizzt that even though it seemed that Zaknafein pretended to be what he was not , he was actually just like every other dark elf , a fact that both confused and angered Drizzt more than he had ever thought possible . However , Zaknafein truthfully did detest the evil ways of the drow , but he saw no means to escape his fate , so survived by following the same codes that were so hateful to him . Zaknafein thought that the Academy had corrupted Drizzt and felt great regret at what he thought was the loss of his innocent protégé . With her entire family now together , Malice discussed with them the rumors of a coming war against their House . Malice ordered them all to attempt to learn who their hidden enemy was and be prepared for an attack at anytime . Drizzt only spent two days at home before joining one of the many patrol groups that kept the caverns around Menzoberranzan safe . Drizzt was joined in the patrol group by Dinin , Masoj , and Guenhwyvar , and the young Do ' Urden and the magical panther became close friends after they fought together in many battles . For one of the missions assigned to the band , Drizzt and the others were sent to the surface in a raid on the surface elves . For most of the drow , their first experience of the surface was a time of fear , but for Drizzt , it felt like something far different as he beheld the sights and sounds of this new world . During the patrol group ’ s attack , Drizzt became sickened by the gruesome violence and non - existent mercy that the drow showed toward the defenseless surface elves . To cover his disgust , Drizzt pretended to kill an elf child , but he actually saved her by smearing her with blood from her mother ’ s corpse . However , Drizzt ’ s honorable action cost his House the favor of Lolth , a situation that could result in doom for House Do ' Urden . When SiNafay discovered that Lolth had withdrawn her favor from her enemies , she quickly made preparations to take advantage of their weakness and strike . Upon his return to Menzoberranzan and with the awful memory of the surface raid haunting his thoughts , Drizzt met with Zaknafein during a short visit to House Do ' Urden . Believing that Drizzt had slain the elf child , a furious Zaknafein challenged the young dark elf to a sparring match , but both of them knew that it would actually be a fight to the death . Drizzt accepted the challenge with the hope that by destroying Zaknafein , his greatest disappointment , he could remove himself from the evil of the drow race . Since Drizzt ’ s patrol group had already been ordered to investigate activity in the tunnels east of the city , he and Zaknafein planned for their duel to occur in a week . When the patrol group reached the tunnels east of Menzoberranzan , they discovered that a small mining expedition of svirfneblin ( deep gnomes ) had strayed too far into drow territory . During the dark elves ’ attack on the svirfneblin , Drizzt engaged an earth elemental that the leader of the gnomes had summoned . With Guenhwyvar ’ s assistance , Drizzt defeated the elemental , but near the end of the fight , Masoj tried to strike them both down with a lightning bolt . The attack failed to kill Drizzt , but the drow warrior was then captured by the fleeing gnomes . Dinin and the rest of the patrol group quickly tracked down Drizzt with the help of Guenhwyvar and proceeded to slaughter the gnomes who were holding him captive . Only one gnome , Belwar Dissengulp , was allowed to live and return to the svirfneblin city of Blingdenstone through a disguised act of mercy by Drizzt , but Dinin did have the gnome ’ s hands cut off . Malice and her daughters soon summoned a yochlol , a handmaiden of Lolth , in an attempt to discover which House was preparing to attack them . The yochlol refused to give the priestesses any direct answers , but did reveal that the enemy House was already known to them . Only after the Do ' Urden priestesses gathered the rest of the family together to demand answers did Drizzt realize that Masoj had attempted to kill him with his supposedly misaimed lightning bolt . With the knowledge that their hidden enemy was House Hun ' ett , Malice and the other priestesses once again summoned a yochlol in order to learn SiNafay ’ s standing with Lolth , but instead they discovered that a recent action by a member of their family had invoked the wrath of the Spider Queen . Meanwhile , Drizzt and Zaknafein began their duel and fought ferociously until they eventually admitted their secrets . The bond between the two grew even stronger with the understanding of their shared uniqueness among the dark elves and Zaknafein ’ s revelation that he was Drizzt ’ s father . However , unbeknownst to Zaknafein and Drizzt , Malice and her daughters had been scrying the entire fight and now knew the reason that their House had lost the favor of Lolth . Although Malice had specifically ordered all of the family to remain in the House Do ' Urden compound due to the fear of an assassination attempt by House Hun ' ett , too much had happened to Drizzt that day for him to obey . Drizzt needed time to think away from the mayhem in his House , so he set off to work through his inner turmoil in the more peaceful tunnels of the Underdark . Learning that Drizzt had journeyed from his House alone , Masoj decided to try to slay him once again , but this time the mage ordered Guenhwyvar to find and kill the young warrior . Unbeknownst to Masoj or the magical panther , Drizzt ’ s inner thoughts had distracted him to his dangerous surroundings , allowing him to be ensnared by a cave fisher . When Guenhwyvar found Drizzt near death , her concern for his safety briefly overcame Masoj ’ s orders and she helped him slay the cave fisher . Drizzt then helped Guenhwyvar understand that she was her own master and could overcome the commands given to her by Masoj . The panther led Drizzt to Masoj , who with the assistance of Alton , tried to kill the young Do ' Urden , but the ensuing battle resulted in both of the mages ’ deaths . After the fight , Drizzt made a vow to never kill another drow again , and he took possession of the magical statuette used to summon Guenhwyvar before returning to Menzoberranzan . While Drizzt had been battling in the tunnels , Zaknafein had been confronted by Malice and her daughters . The priestesses explained that Drizzt ’ s actions on the surface had cost him his life , so Zaknafein volunteered to be sacrificed to Lolth in his son ’ s place , an alternative that Malice accepted . Drizzt soon returned home to find that his family was preparing for war , but upon learning of Zaknafein ’ s sacrifice , he was overcome with grief and deserted House Do ' Urden . Accompanied only by Guenhwyvar , Drizzt left Menzoberranzan in search of a life outside of the city and the ways of the drow .