The Companions by R.A. Salvatore is the first book in The Sundering series. This story helps to explain Mielikki's involvement with the Companions of the Hall that has been hinted at in novels from The Ghost King to The Last Threshold. It partly serves to move Drizzt Do'Urden's story into the new era. It also, along with the other novels in the series, helps to connect the old and new campaign settings using the Second Sundering as its backdrop.