Melee-Magthere

Melee-Magthere was the warrior school for the drow of Menzoberranzan. It was part of the Tier Breche Academy. Notably, Drizzt Do'Urden spent time here in training.

Structure
Melee-Magthere was a pyramidal structure in the eastern part of the Tier Breche cavern, and nicknamed the "Pyramid".

Schooling
Melee-Magthere was one of the three schools that noble male children of the drow were expected to attend. Their education usually began at 20 years old and continued on for another 10 more years. Graduates of warrior's academy did not hold as high a prestige as those who graduated from Sorcere, the school of wizardry, or Arach-Tinilith, the school of clerics, but still held a greater distinction than those who were normal citizenry.

One of the events of training there was the Grand Melee, in which Zaknafein Do'Urden was the victor seven years running, three times against older more advanced students. Drizzt Do'Urden followed in his father's footsteps by doing the same and every year after his third year, competing against students three years ahead of him and still ending up the top in his class. The students of Melee-Magthere spent their first fifty days listening to tales that were mostly lies regarding how the elves of the surface world mistreated the drow, then about nine years in combat tactics. A notable training exercise to develop concentration and self-control involved students sitting naked with their eyes closed as masters dropped poisonous, biting centipedes on them. A student's first break in concentration earned them a disciplinary hit; a second break in concentration earned a more forceful hit; and third failure resulted in the student's expulsion. . A deep meditative state afforded healing capabilities and heightened martial prowess. The final year rounded out their education by spending the first six months at Sorcere and the last six months at Arach-Tinilith.

The Ceremony of Graduation was regarded as very holy by the followers of Lolth, and it took place in the hall of Arach-Tinilith. The soon to be graduated would done a ceremonial robe and would sit in circles against the wall of the hall, while circles of priestesses sat and chanted around a large brazier. The matron mistress of the clerical school awarded the highest honor to the best female student that was going to graduate in the same year. After the matron mistress coaxed a narcotic red smoke from the flames, the student would strip naked and summon a glabrezu from the flames. Other priestesses would start selecting males from the outer benches to engage in sexual activities, which would be enhanced by the narcotic smoke. It is implied that the glabrezu also engaged in sexual intercourse with the student that summoned it. It may be that this is how draegloths were actually begotten.

Older students from Melee-Magthere trained priestesses at Arach-Tinilith in the art of swordcraft.

Languages such as Common were taught here.

Organization
In 1372 DR, Malaggar Faen Tlabbar served as the First Sword of Melee-Magthere.

Inhabitants
All of the masters and students of Melee-Magthere were male.

Masters of Melee-Magthere all had rings with dragons on them to mark them as masters. These rings made the bearer's skin as tough as a dragon's. Non-nobles were permitted to become lesser masters and were also given emblems of Melee-Magthere to act as a house emblem, allowing them to levitate.

Masters

 * Dantrag Baenre.
 * Ryld Argith (?-1372 DR).

Students

 * Zaknafein Do'Urden.
 * Drizzt Do'Urden.
 * Berg'inyon Baenre.
 * Dargathan Srune'Lett, Liriel Baenre's combat tutor in 1361 DR.
 * Houndaer Tuin'Tarl, trained (and killed )by Ryld.
 * Tathlyn Godeep, trained by Ryld.
 * Urlryn, trained by Ryld.

Appearances

 * Novels:
 * Homeland