What has come from evil will return to evil...
The Great Doomwyte Idol was a large obsidian statue of a raven wearing a snake on its head as a crown; it was kept on an island in the middle of the sulfur lake in the Doomwytes' lair in Mossflower Woods. The Doomwytes believed this icon gave them power.
The eyes of the snake consisted of two green emeralds, and the eyes of the raven were two red rubies. During the time of Rigvar Skurr, Gonff the Mousethief stole the jeweled eyes from the statue in an act of vengeance for the Guosim and offered them to Columbine; she, however, refused them, saying they made her uneasy. Gonff hid the eyes and left a series of clues leading to the whereabouts of each jewel. Some generations later, his descendants found one of the rubies, but tried to steal it for themselves and were subsequently kicked out of Redwall Abbey. Countless generations following that episode, Samolus Fixa discovered Columbine's diary, which told the story of the jewels. This sparked a treasure hunt, which involved Bisky, Dwink, Perrit, Umfry Spikkle, Abbot Glisam, and many other Redwall Abbey residents; they eventually uncovered all four jewels. It also sparked an enmity between the Doomwytes and the Redwallers, when Griv discovered that it was the long-lost Idol's eyes the Redwallers were searching for.
During the collapse of the Doomwyte cavern, instigated by Zaran the Black and Bosie, a heavy rock slab fell upon the eyeless Doomwyte Idol and smashed it, driving it down into the sulfur lake. The four jewels, gathered together for the first time since Gonff stole them, were buried near the site of the landslide, in honor of four brave moles who had died in it while trying to rescue a mousemaid.
Locations of the Jewels[]
- Hung on a door below the cellars, later moved by Aluco
- Inside a kitchen tray crafted by Goody Stickle
- With the "Wild Sweet Gatherers"; eventually inherited by Blodd Apis
- First hiding place unknown; later stolen by the Gonfelins
Books[]
The Great Doomwyte Idol appears in Doomwyte.