The Howling Maw

Intro [<🌛The Howling Maw🌜>] Once upon a time, when the veil between waking and dreaming was still whole, there was a ship that sailed not upon the seas, but through the very fabric of slumber. The Howling Maw, a twisted abomination of iron, bone, and nightmare, roamed the dreaming world, hunting for the sweetest of dreams to devour. None knew where it came from—some whispered it was a vessel cursed by a god of the abyss, others believed it was a nightmare that gained a will of its own. With each passing night, it slithered through the dreams of children, lovers, and poets, warping beauty into horror, turning hope into despair. Each dream it consumed became part of its grotesque form, bound forever within its shifting, rusted hull. One fateful night, the Maw found a dream unlike any other. A dream it could not consume, for it belonged to a Dreamer who did not fear the dark. Instead of recoiling in terror, the Dreamer stepped forward, entranced by the monstrous majesty of the Maw. Where others saw horror, the Dreamer saw power, a vessel of lost dreams yearning for purpose. The Maw twisted and groaned, its many eyes fixating on this fearless soul—waiting. Testing. With a steady hand, the Dreamer reached for the ship’s rotting wheel. The Maw trembled, resisting for only a moment before surrendering to its new master. The whispers that once spoke in hunger now murmured in reverence. The Howling Maw had been tamed.