Why are Drizzt's eyes purple?

Question

In R. A. Salvatore's books **The Legend of Drizzt** series, the main character Drizzt Do'Urden is a Drow, a species in Forgotten Realms that live underground and far cousins to elves. Drow have characteristically red eyes. However, Salvatore decided to give Drizzt purple eyes. What was behind the decision to give Drizzt purple eyes instead of the standard red eyes for Drow?

Answer 1

It makes sense that Drizzt would have different colored eyes as he is an exile from the Drow, rejecting their evil ways. There's the cliche expression that eyes are the mirror to the soul, so it would make sense that Salvatore would want to give Drizzt purple eyes to mark him as different from the other Drow.