Ingrid & Maw
Human - Warlock, Mimic Wearer, Seductress

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Backstory

There was a time where Ingrid's name echoed through noble halls, she was the daughter of a prominent arcanist family in the grand city of Cracia. Her father was a man of pride and order, who believed in legacy above love, and perfection over affection. Her mother was a quiet and sickly woman who passed when Ingrid was still young. In their sprawling castle of grand architecture and silence, Ingrid was raised to be perfect, a lady meant to be polished, pristine, and obedient.

Ingrid's fate however was not made for golden cages, the paths of the world would lead her to somewhere more distant.

She discovered a book hidden behind loose bricks in the family crypt, something bound in flesh, pulsing with secrets. It whispered, it watched, and she listened.

She made a pact but it was not a demon, not a god, but something forgotten and hungry. A mimic that hungered for knowledge, a being that desired form and meaning, that latched onto her spirit and fed her power in exchange for companionship. When the bond was forged, it took shape as a wide brimmed hat with a toothy grin, ever hungry, and ever watching. She named it Maw, on the nose, but quite fitting.

When her father found her communing with it, he called it blasphemy. He tried to burn the mimic, and her with it, but the pact had already woven itself into her soul.

The fire consumed the estate, the flames washed over her body, but she would emerge from the ashes alone, save for her new companion.

Ingrid wandered after that, with no home tying her down, and no purpose in sight to be found. She would travel through burned villages, forgotten roads, and slums that never know her name. She wore the same torn dress for years, learned to charm and manipulate, not because she enjoyed deception, but because she needed to survive. Maw, ever protective, would feed on liars and fools who threatened her. But even though Maw would eat those deserving, Ingrid never let it consume innocents. She drew her line, even if the world never did.

Over time, she stopped running, she learned to laugh again. It wasn't the laugh of the girl she once was, it was the laugh of a woman who’d already died and chose to keep walking anyway.

She found the Emberwake docked at harbor after a storm. She offered her skills, her hat, and her strange kind of honesty. Arden accepted her without asking what she was running from and from then on, she would remain.

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Maw

Maw, a hat, a mimic, possibly a horror beyond comprehension.
It is a presence, subtle until it chooses not to be.

Its surface shifts like stitched velvet over muscle, warm even in the cold. Its "teeth" aren’t always visible, but when they are, they gleam like wet bone, and its mouth curves in ways that do not match the rules of mouths. Sometimes it grins with satisfaction, sometimes it frowns in disappointment, sometimes… it just simply stares.

It hums when Ingrid speaks of pain.
It growls low when someone lies nearby.
It purrs when she dreams.

To others... most, it’s discomforting, a hat that watches you, even when you turn your back. A thing that might smile wider when you make a mistake. But to Ingrid, it’s comfort, it is the only thing that chose her completely, without shame, without hesitation.

When placed on her head, Maw becomes still, protective even. It does not command her, does not dictate what she does, it responds to her. It amplifies her magic, tastes her emotions, and sometimes whispers a warning she didn’t know she needed.

At night, when the waves are still, some crew swear they hear it breathing and whispering.
And Ingrid?
She rests a hand on its brim and whispers back.

“You were willing to die for them. Most people aren’t even willing to live for someone else. That’s why I trust you more than anyone with skin.” - To Bones

“Sometimes I wonder what kind of woman I would’ve become if I’d been loved. Not tolerated. Not taught. Loved.” - On her past