The Second Child

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[[size 150%]] **The Second of the Lost Children**[[/size]]

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**Envy's Beacon, [[[SCP-017]]], penumbra wanderer, The Second Child**
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**Conspectus**
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The Second Lost Child[[footnote]]Often referred to as the Second Child for simplicity's sake, though this is a title shared with at least one other significant entity, possibly up to three.[[/footnote]], a creature of shadow, is likely the most dangerous of the Lost Children. Even gods tremble with unease at its passage. It is held captive by the SCP Foundation, who knew not what they sacrificed to imprison it. Most Hand members feel this is for the best.[[footnote]]Though there are a few exceptions, notably the Cult of New Umbra; see "Associated Parties".[[/footnote]] 

The Second Child appears often in ancient texts, and is commonly used as a symbol of mystery, love, eternal hunger, and all of the above.[[footnote]]Sometimes, the Second Child is also associated with loneliness, but the Archivists claim that this is incorrect, without explanation.[[/footnote]] During the Great Purge, the lore of the Lost Children was burned and shattered after the Edict of Karnath was proclaimed. A taboo against writing down further information grew out of this event. There seems to be a special taboo associated with the Second Child, though it is unclear why.[[footnote]]Probably how specially dangerous it is, if the buildup is to be believed. That tends to grow special taboos right quick.[[/footnote]] Therefore most knowledge of the Second Child has been lost, though a few select tomes are said to exist somewhere in the Archives.[[footnote]]Unfortunately not cataloged in locations where the current Archivists are able to easily search. Contact Elizabeth Dufree for more information on current Hand efforts to recover some of these tomes -- though, please, only if you have a Library Card in good standing.[[/footnote]]

The Second Child will attack and consume any thing casting a shadow upon it. Despite its role in many ancient stories, no recent accounts of it indicate attempts to take any other action or communicate in any way.

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**Illustration**
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[[=image scp017InCaptivity.jpg]]
//Recovered image of the Second Lost Child in its present cell.//

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**Knowledge**
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**Traits:** The Second Child's appearance is that of a human-like child of one to two years in age. Many say now that its features are impossible to discern, though there are many flowery descriptions in literary sources. Of course, none specify gender, sex, ethnicity, or any similar details. The being seems as if it is almost entirely made up of the shadowstuff that cloaks it.[[footnote]]It is possible that the Second Child has become further and further consumed by its own shadow as it has advanced in age, though this is only speculation.[[/footnote]]

**Nature:** The Second Child is a shadow being, which seems to be made up of god-stuff of unclear origin. There are many non-specific and contradictory accounts of the Second Child's makeup (perhaps made so by the old taboo against setting down certain pieces of knowledge about the being).

If a shadow is cast on the Second Child, it will leap through the air at the caster of the shadow, and consume the caster within its shroud. It is not known what happens to those consumed by the Second Child's shroud, but they vanish completely once consumed.

**History & Associated Parties:** The Second Child is strongly associated with the other Lost Children, but in most of the stories, the Second Child is shown choosing not to keep company with them, even before the Lost Children as a whole were scattered across the Earth. The reasons for this are not known. It does not seem to have been actively hostile to the other Lost Children, except the Fourth.

Many old scholars view the Second Child and all other Lost Children as inherently opposed to the Children of Dust[[footnote]]"The Children of Dust" being perhaps the most popular traditional term for "Humans," unless you're talking in context of the Ancient Ones (the Old Yeren or more disrespectfully, the Mad Yeren), in which case the term is "The Children of the Sun" or, less commonly, "Children of the Flowers".[[/footnote]] by their very nature, and therefore the two must always be in conflict except when walking the pathways of the gods.[[footnote]]Another old turn of phrase, which can mean anything from "sharing the same god-oriented fate for the sake of a fable or story" to simply "because they just happened to get along this time but don't expect that to repeat itself." A rather intolerant viewpoint, really.[[/footnote]] This view has fallen out of favor in recent years, replaced by a more nuanced point of view on the remaining known Lost Children.[[footnote]]"More nuanced" according to some, mostly those who share that point of view. More tolerant is not automatically more truthful. --RR[[/footnote]] However, modern views on the Second Child are mostly the same as the traditional views.

The Second Child was captured by the SCP Foundation approximately thirty years ago[[footnote]]Initially imprisoned by a few higher-ups with particular occult ritual said to be so terrible in consequence that they removed mention of it from nearly all their records and never made use of it again.[[/footnote]], and imprisoned in a cage of glass, constantly illuminated by mundane light fixtures. It has escaped six times since and been re-caged each time. It is not known whether this was due to technical failures in its cage and lack of understanding on the part of the Jailors, or a deliberate escape attempt. Its cage is extremely well defended, having been brought to the Jailor facility guarding the abandoned White Heretic's City.[[footnote]]Given the nature of the White Heretic, there is an irresistible irony here, but sadly in this case it seems likely due to mere coincidence.[[/footnote]]

The Cult of New Umbra[[footnote]]A small group, with only a few of the less stable of our members within its ranks.[[/footnote]] believes that the Second Child wishes to be freed (by them) and to lead them to paradise. They have been hunting for a tome called the Book of Shadows within the Archives which is said to contain information that may help them[[footnote]]This may be a joke on the part of a particular Archivist, because she told members of the Cult this but refused to give them more information, and there are at least thirty-three major distinct works called the Book of Shadows known in the Library's public stacks. The Archivists seem to despise most cults with possible suicidal ideology, a category in which the Cult of Umbra certainly falls.[[/footnote]], but fortunately most of their Library Cards have been revoked due to various small yet foolish offenses.

**Approach:** The Second Child is extraordinarily dangerous. It is advised to not approach it at all if possible. If one encounters the Second Child and has a chance to react, one may keep it at bay with a sufficiently bright light (either mundane or magical), and call for help by any means possible. Do not ever cast your shadow upon the Second Child. 

Thankfully, encountering the Second Child is presently unlikely. However, if they escape, they have been known to make use of Ways, and though they have never yet attempted to enter the Library[[footnote]]Of note is that the Library Archivists are the only parties not to express fear of the Second Child, though this may not mean much.[[/footnote]], many Hand safe houses are connected to Ways and would be at special risk.

If the Second Child permanently escapes Jailor custody, which may be inevitable, it is highly recommended that Hand members cooperate to capture and cage it ourselves. Escape could mean the deaths of countless thousands. Efforts to communicate with it and to pacify it are also presently being researched.

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**Observations & Stories**
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The Second Child appears referenced in many major magical and historical texts, accessible in the Wanderer's Library.

Information on the Second Child received from the Archivists can be found in the Lost Wanderers volumes (still undergoing transcription; the initial volume, [http://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/the-wandering-boy The Wandering Boy and Other Captives], is currently being transcribed).

The Codex Ratigan claims that Second Child victims are not killed, but taken to a special afterlife of eternal shadow, said to be the same as the plane of love, and variously claimed to be a sort of paradise.

Elizabeth Dufree has been seeking out eyewitness stories of the Second Child; please contact her or the article maintainer if you have a story.


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**Doubt**
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There has been much argument regarding what occurs to the victims of the Second Child. The Codex Ratigan story above is the oldest account we have currently accessed, but it specifically mentions that it is contradicting even older sources. Given the dubious nature of the Codex Ratigan, finding these sources could be very helpful.

As mentioned before, the Umbra Cult believes that the Second Child wishes to be freed and will lead them to paradise. This is contradicted by almost every existing authority upon the subject, even the Codex Ratigan, which portrays the Second Child as unwilling to bestow its favor upon anyone, and claims that the afterlife in question is due to the kind intervention of an unknown parental-god-figure.

//I also object to calling Hand members who are part of the Umbra Cult "unstable". This is unnecessarily insulting and generally meaningless anyway. We should reach out to the Umbra Cult to discover where they believe they obtained their ideas from. Are we really so sure they are incorrect? --Jon S.//

//It's not meaningless if it accurately describes their strange worship of death, not to mention all the shenanigans they've got up to that got their Library Cards revoked. Best to distance ourselves from that nonsense as much as possible, especially if we want to keep on the Library's good side. And, even if they're correct, do you really want to take that risk, considering how deadly the Second Child is? I mean, really. --Ria I.//

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[[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]]
=====
> **Filename:** scp017InCaptivity
> **Author:** [[*user CityToast]]
> **License:** [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported]
> **Source Link:** Self

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The Second Child

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