The Great Book of Gummi is an ancient tome housed in the library of Gummi Glen, and one of the most important surviving artifacts of the gummi civilization. A living record of gummi history, tradition, and magical knowledge, the book serves as the primary source of guidance for the gummi bears of Dunwyn.
Overview
The Great Book is the accumulated work of centuries of gummi historians, magicians, and philosophers. It contains information on gummi traditions and the reasons behind them, a broad record of gummi history, and detailed knowledge of magic — including the uses and dangers of specific spells.
The book itself is enormous, even by human standards, and filled throughout with tiny print. It is too large and heavy to be moved easily. It rests on a carved pedestal in the Gummi Glen library, where it has served as the community’s central reference for as long as the glen has stood.
Despite its age and scope, the Great Book is unfinished. Hundreds of blank pages remain at the back, left open for future additions. Zummi Gummi used these pages to record the ongoing history of the gummi bears of Dunwyn, continuing the centuries-long tradition of gummi chroniclers who built the book before him.
The Great Book itself has magical properties, as if it almost has a mind of its own — capable of guiding its keepers and defending against enemies in ways that go beyond its contents alone.
The Great Exodus
When the gummi council prepared for the Great Exodus to New Gumbria, they decided the Great Book was too great a risk to bring along. Instead, they chose to leave it at Gummi Glen — the last place humans would think to look — under the protection of the glen gummies, who remained behind. As a security measure, the book was locked, to remain sealed until those who kept it had proven themselves worthy of opening it.
Because the book was locked just before the Great Exodus, its contents only reach as far as that point in history — save for what Zummi and Tummi Gummi added since it was unlocked.
Unlocking of the Book
The book’s time to open came when a young human boy named Cavin arrived at the Glen carrying a gummi bear medallion, allowing the glen gummies to unlock it and reconnect with their heritage for the first time in generations.
A message inside had been left by the one who originally locked it:
I, the last of the great gummies, locked this book containing all our lore and magic. You who read these pages have unlocked your past. Now find your future.
Help the good fight the wicked. Strive to make gummies great once more.
The glen gummies took this as an extension of their existing mission. The inscription gave them purpose beyond waiting — protecting Dunwyn from forces like Duke Igthorn was inseparable from their mission to make it safe for gummies to return.
In ‘The Gummi Way‘
⚠️ This section contains spoilers. Read the comic to catch up. 😉