Companions of The Hall - Cattie-Brie - Overview

Overview

Catti-brie's mother died in childbirth, and her father moved with his daughter from Mirabar to Termalaine, one of the Ten Towns. For three years, he was quite successful—but then a goblin ended the man's life. All of Termalaine might have fallen to a goblin onslaught but for the dwarves of clan Battlehammer rushing from their valley to turn back the horde. Bruenor himself saved the orphan girl from death. When the smoke cleared, he claimed Catti-brie as his adopted daughter.

Catti-brie has no memories of the time before Bruenor took her in, but she had a pleasant childhood with the dwarves. During the five years Wulfgar spent in Bruenor's service, she helped him to break the bonds of his barbarian upbringing and bring out the compassion and intelligence that was inside him. The bond between them continued to grow stronger as they adventured together with Bruenor, Regis, and Drizzt Do'Urden, and at one time were betrothed. But then tragedy struck their relationship when drow seeking the death of Drizzt attacked Mithril Hall, and Wulfgar was killed by a yochlol (a minion of the spider queen Lolth) and later given by Lolth to the demon Errtu.

Catti-brie was the first person in the Icewind Dale to accept Drizzt, although she was very young when Drizzt came to know her. Catti-brie possesses a stubborn and tough dwarf personality due to her foster-father. Catti-brie was one of the Companions of the Hall, and had a tentative, on-off romance with Drizzt through many of the books. This tension finally culminated in The Two Swords, when Catti-brie and Drizzt finally became lovers.

Catti-brie's dwarven upbringing is clear throughout the series. She is portrayed various times during their adventures as having the same accent as the dwarves she grew up with.

For quite a while Catti-brie mourned the loss of Wulfgar, but as time passed she found herself falling in love with Drizzt. When Wulfgar returned from his apparent death, it caused a great deal of mixed emotions in Catti-brie. Wulfgar fled his friends, eventually finding his own way and accepting Catti-brie's burgeoning relationship with Drizzt (a matter that was finally settled in The Two Swords, the third book in the Hunter's Blades trilogy).

When Regis was being chased by Artemis Entreri, Catti-brie was held prisoner by the assassin. After the finding of Mithril Hall she discovered Taulmaril the Heartseeker, Gift of Anariel, Sister of Faerûn, in the destroyed Hall of Dumathoin. For several years she also carried the sentient blade Khazid'hea otherwise known as "Cutter", the sword that she took from the body of Dantrag Baenre, after defeat and death at the hands of Drizzt. Khazid'hea was stolen by an enthralled Delly Curtie, who was shortly after slain by orcs. Drizzt found the weapon, but lost it in a battle with the orc king Obould Many-Arrows. It was recovered by an exiled drow named Tos'un Del'Armgo, who was in league with the orcs.

In combat, Catti-brie usually supported her friends with Taulmaril and her limitless supply of arrows. She was not hesitant about entering melee, however, and would charge into combat with Khazid'hea at the ready, generally confident in her ability to dominate the blade. However, she was recently wounded by a giant-thrown boulder during the defense of Mithril Hall from the legions of Obould Many-Arrows. This lasting injury has forced her to largely forgo the use of traditional melee weaponry, being physically unable to fight as she once did. To compensate, she has instead started learning magic under the tutelage of the illusionist Nanfoodle and Lady Alustriel.

In The Ghost King, Cattie-brie is touched by a strand of the failing Weave of Magic and put into a comatose state from the effects of the Spellplague. She spends the entirety of the book reliving her memories, and it is discovered that she is caught between realms in a place known as Shadowfell. She eventually dies as a result of the effects and is taken to a personal heaven by Mielikki.