Guenhwyvar Guenhwyvar was a 600 - lb . ( 272 - kg ) black panther who resided on the Astral Plane . She was summoned to the Prime Material Plane by the use of an onyx " Figurine of Wondrous Power " . Description . Guenhwyvar was summoned through a detailed onyx figurine of a panther . When summoned , the figurine emitted a gray mist which quickly solidified into the panther shape . Guenhwyvar herself was described as a " huge black panther . " Uses . This figurine was last in the possession of Drizzt Do ' Urden , who treated Guenhwyvar as his ranger animal companion . She could be summoned to her master ' s side for twelve hours every other day . However , it was possible for her to be away from the astral plane for longer , but this caused her to become incredibly drowsy , barely able to lift her head . Due to her nature as an astral being not of the Prime Material Plane , she was highly resistant to biological poisons and quite resistant to physical injuries as well . History . Creation . Guenhwyvar ' s figurine was crafted by the finest dwarven craftsman in the Cormanthor region and enchanted by Anders Beltgarden , a 75 - year - old human ranger / wizard who lived not far outside Myth Drannor in 253 DR . It was to be a parting gift for Anders ' friend , the Bladesinger Josidiah Starym , before Anders died of old age , but Josidiah saw an intelligence in the giant panther ' s eyes that he felt should not be caged , let alone killed ; he thought her body should not be enslaved to magic and a master ' s command . The elf ' s arguments eventually appealed to the ranger in Anders , and he could not go through with the slaying . He let the cat go , only to follow her to a hill where Josidiah was under attack by a trio of giant s and several dozen orc s . With the help of the panther and Anders , the monsters were defeated , but the cat was mortally wounded from the battle . The pair rushed her back to Anders ' tower in a portable hole and decided to quickly carry out the enchanting ritual to save the panther ' s life . Anders called the cat " Whiskers , " but Josidiah objected to what he considered such a silly name for such a noble creature . Josidiah decided on the high elven word for shadow , " Guenhwyvar . " This , he realized , was the panther ' s true name all along . Anders intended for Guenhwyvar ' s spirit to become fused with the onyx statuette ; the statuette was to transform into the panther when instructed by its owner , like any other such magical item . However , during the final stage of the ritual , the magic of the binding also absorbed that of the extra - dimensional hole Guen was partially lying in , causing a brief rift to the Astral Sea . Therefore , rather than being absorbed by the statuette , Guenhwyvar ' s spirit was merely bound to the statuette and came to inhabit the Astral Sea . When she was called forth to test the ritual ' s success , the panther was not a slave like a normal " Figurine of Wondrous power " would produce , but the same panther , with all of her intelligence intact . Also , the figurine summoned Guen rather than transforming into her as a normal figurine would , making the magic item truly unique . Josidiah used the figurine after it was gifted to him , but when he returned from his quest in the Underdark , he no longer carried Guenhwyvar ' s figurine with him . Menzoberranzan . At some point , the figurine fell into the hands of a denizen of the lower planes . The denizen gifted the figurine to the drow apprentice Masoj Hun ' ett after Masoj aided him in some way . However , Masoj ' s master , Gelroos Hun ' ett , took the figurine from him . However , when Masoj killed Gelroos in 1297 DR , he retrieved the statuette for himself . Masoj summoned Guenhwyvar to protect him while spellcasting . Circa 1327 DR , Masoj , now a student of Sorcere , spent six months with Drizzt Do ' Urden , instructing him in the magical arts . Drizzt became acquainted with Guenhwyvar when Masoj summoned her as a distraction from Alton DeVir ' s attack on Drizzt . Drizzt and Guenhwyvar became great friends , sparring together and working together during patrols , despite Masoj ' s frustration . During one patrol , Drizzt and Guenhwyvar defeated an earth elemental . In 1328 DR , Masoj ordered Guenhwyvar after Drizzt to kill him . Because of her friendship with Drizzt , Guenhwyvar fought against the magical compulsion of the order . She was eventually able to overcome the compulsion and saved Drizzt ' s life . Drizzt returned to Masoj and told him his life would be spared if Masoj would give him Guenhwyvar ' s statuette . Masoj refused , and Guenhwyvar aided Drizzt in defeating both Masoj and Alton DeVir , who had teamed up together on behalf of House Hun ' ett . Drizzt subsequently fled Menzoberranzan with Guenhwyvar at his side . Appendix . Notes . In " " , R . A . Salvatore explained that while writing " The Crystal Shard " , he was told by TSR that magical items could not have a gender , despite his arguments otherwise . To his " horror , " he later discovered after the book was published that some of the more awkward uses of " it " were changed — presumably by a copyeditor — to the male pronoun . Salvatore has subsequently responded to hundreds of letters from fans explaining this . For example , on page 182 of " The Crystal Shard " ( of " The Icewind Dale Trilogy Collector ' s Edition " ) and page 155 of the first printing of " The Crystal Shard " trade paperback : Despite these publishing errors , Salvatore explained that Guenhwyvar had always been a " she . " Being a fan of ' s series , he decided to name her " Guenhwyvar " after " Guenhwyfar " , the Welsh version of the name for Jennifer or .