The wig, if it can indeed be called such a thing, is wrought from solid pewter. Its unfurled locks remain fixed against shoulders unseen, draped around a missing skull. Its curvature clearly suggests an upright posture, folding over both the front and back of a torso, then outward over the implied bosom. It was apparently cleaved from the surface of an ancient statue, though the whereabouts of this artifact are unknown.
This “Dream Eater” has become something of a legend among thrill-seeking oneironauts, who seek it out as a challenge to prove their mental constitution. Those willing to put up with the discomfort of wearing eighty pounds of solid pewter to sleep may find themselves experiencing an incredible surprise: a completely dreamless night.
While many believe that they have experienced such a thing, this is typically due to a weakness of memory. The human brain dreams almost every night, though it is not particularly adept at remembering the visions of its own making. Dreams serve many functions: sometimes they are images generated by flickering nerves as memories are processed overnight, whereas other times, they are omens that spell out the future in primordial symbols. Their most important function, however, is distraction, for without them, the conscious mind has no choice but to experience the void directly.
The symptoms of this are varied, but often severe in consequence. The great nothingness witnessed occasionally brings enlightenment, or freedom from worry, but for most, it brings with it madness. It is a great and monstrous thing for the mind to wrestle with, more absolute than death, and unfathomable in its span. Most who are engulfed by its darkness are entirely unprepared for the vast, undifferentiated emptiness within, and, moreover, to recognize themselves as a part of it. Because of this, few who have ever used the Dream Eater have done so more than once.
As for the statue from which it was severed, according to legend, its still exists. Its natural state is a constant experience of the void, for though human in form, it has no nervous system of its own. It is only when human hosts wear its hair as a wig that it knows reprieve from the darkness, and experiences the dreams that they would have otherwise had.
Some statues are altogether free from the void, and live orthogonal to humanity in time.
This statue's experiences of dreams are similar to those of the saguaro cactus.
Rumor has it that the dream-eating statue is hidden in a vault somewhere in Pannasosia.