The Lone Child

Stand with your Gtar or be on your own when the Lone Child comes to claim you.
~ Common warning told to adolescent Golotian

The Osgar Golmugra or "Lone Child" is a mythological creature found within the rich and complex oral traditions of the Golotian. Given that it is the living embodiment of various concepts that the Golotian find revulsive and downright abhorrent, it is no wonder that the Lone Child is a common mythical antagonist and the most well-known type of boogeyman.
While it is predominantly featured in children's stories it also possesses several memorable appearances in the myths and legends of the adults. Within these stories, it usually appears as one of the last challenges a group of ascending heroes have to overcome in order to reach their goal and not all of them succeed.

Originstory

Hate me...loathe me...fear me...for I am everything you are afraid to become.
~ The Lone Child in "Maw of Darkness"

Nearly every tale that involves the Lone Child contains at least a small mention to as to how the creature allegedly came into existence. In nearly all of these backstories, the Lone Child was once a regular Golotian that was somehow transformed into the abominable creature it is today. While the reasons for this transformation include anything from tragic accidents to divine punishments, most stories point to a specific negative trait or behavior of the Lone Child which either caused or at least accelerated its transformation.
This so-called "damning flaw" is usually the polar opposite of the trait most valued by the Clan of the storyteller, though some bards also decide to give the Lone Child a whole plethora of damning flaws in order to highly the sheer vileness of the creature and to remove any redeeming quality from it.

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Given that tales involving the Lone Child have been a stable part of the Golotian's oral traditions for dozens of centuries, it is no wonder that the in order to warn younger Clan members of the dangers of hunger, isolation, and mental the most prominent antagonist within
as highly negative
embodies a multitude of the negative traits that most
solitude, hunger, stagnation and ignorance.
Its appearance varies greatly between tales, given that each Clan
Some variants or mentions of the myth can be found in nearly every tale of the Golotian, which makes it one of the most widespread tales and also presumably one of the oldest.
While most commonly utilized in children's stories, even adult Golotian shudder at the mentioning of this creature.
a cautionary tale told to juvenile Golotian to warn them of the dangers of solitude and isolation, in order to strengthen their cohesion and team spirit.
(Hybrids, Pride, Lone-Wolf, )
Additional it also teaches the lesson, that the harder one pursues a presumed "destiny" the less like it becomes that it is fulfilled in the way one originally intended.
The tale tells the story of a Golotian child that Born beneath a special Omen that told "Tales about would be told for eons to come"
"muster" child, of strong mind and though the body. Like all Golotian it liked challenges and duels, but due to these great capabilities no-one within its age class stood a chance against it. And so it began to look down on the other children and pitied their weakness. When the time came to form Gtar, the Child only laughed as it saw no-one worthy of joining its Gtar and so it decided to stay alone, for it assumed that others would only slow it down and it had to archive anything so great that its stories could be told for eons.
This arrangement of its sole Gtar worked out for a vague determined time period, ranging from a few months to close to a decade. Yet one day the Child was injured in a fierce fight/some event, which leads to it being abandoned by its Clan. The exact circumstances are another highly varied point in the story, in some stories the injuries prevent the Child from returning from a stroll in the forest, in other versions, it is injured in battle but is too proud to let others carry it back ("The only time a warrior lets himself carried is if he is carried to his grave"), and in yet others it is not an injury but a deadly disease that the Child contracts.
Whatever the reasons for its separation from its Clan, the Child soon realizes that it is now alone and hungry. Yet it still fails to see the real reason for its solitude, as while it blames the Clan for being too weak to keep up with it or too cowardly to follow its lead.
Some stories somewhat excuse the wild accusations with the fact of beginning of starvation, though in most the Child still has something to eat and therefore no excuse for its trail of thoughts.
Towards its end, the myth gets more and more blurry so that it becomes unclear what exactly the Child encountered in its maddened wandering or if it even met anything besides its hallucinations.
The final fate of the Lone Child also remains mostly mysterious, with most myths assure its audience that the Lone Child is still somewhere out there, ready to pull Children that believe themselves to be better/superior to others, from their Clan so that they may join it in its eternal solitude.*/

Cultural Reception

I walk alone!
~ Warcry of Clan Samogas

Given their solitary nature, the members of Clan Samogas, are rather fond of this myth and in fact, commonly regard the Lone Child as the mythical founder of their Clan and sometimes even go so far as to call themselves the "Lone Children".
The fact that this causes considerable horror and disgust in other Clans quite nicely fits with Clan Samogas image as a pariah clan.

Appearance

Given the age of the myths containing the Lone Child, it is no wonder that the description of the creature is highly varied. In some tales, it is an emaciated husk fully consumed by its endless hunger
In others, it is a bloated monstrosity whose poisonous words dull the minds of every Golotian that listens to them and within yet other tales, it is described as a bodyless spirit that possesses those turn the backs on their Clan.

Alternative Names

The Hungering One, Child of Stagnation, Herald of Solitude, Thrice-Crowned Beast, He Who Stands Alone, Eater of Bonds

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Related Species

• Golotian