Scale Stacks

Signs of a Life Well Lived

Scale Stacks are a Lizardfolk tradition, where the scales a Lizardfolk has shed are gathered and made into something, usually a piece of art or something else to decorate their living spaces with. This is a way to show that the Lizardfolk has lived a long life despite the immense dangers they face.

Comfort Amidst Unfathomable Danger

Lizardfolk primarily live in the most dangerous region of the world, the western coast of the continent of Udai, where the swamps are full of poisonous creatures, lorded over by the Dragon Lord Reoma the Wretched, and surrounded by enemy armies of Kamejin, Orcs, and Anurans.

Lizardfolk Scale Shedding

Unlike the more snakelike Ophidians, Lizardfolk do not shed all of their skin at once.
Instead, patches fall off as they grow, individual scales shed from the bodies of a Lizardfolk as a sign that they have grown and are continuing to age.

Due to the immense danger that they face, most Lizardfolk do not survive to see adulthood, and even fewer live to see old age. They could die any day, so aging is not just a great honor, but it is a comfort to the Lizardfolk people. The fact that they were able to age means they have lived long enough to see another day.

Beshrok by Jarhed

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Stacking Scales

Scales, then, become a symbol of this aging. When the skin is shed, it leaves behind pieces of scales that, initially, would be thrown out.
For Lizardfolk that lived in hidden settlements or traveled, however, this would be a trail that their enemies could follow and use to discover them. This made disposing of the scales incredibly dangerous, and so the Lizardfolk needed something to do with the scales other than throw them out.
It started with children, as they began to shed their first scales, Lizardfolk children continued to hold onto them, either playing with them at particularly young ages and, as they got older, finding ways to display them. Shedding their first scales began to show they had made it out of their initial developmental stage of growth, which was a big accomplishment.
Soon, the pattern was noticed and adult Lizardfolk began encouraging the younger generations to do something more with this. Some teachers and caretakers turned it into an exercise, where they'd make something with their scales.
This eventually evolved into making stacks of scales, the taller they were the more impressive, as it meant a Lizardfolk had lived a long life and made a tall stack. Having one was a sign of great comfort, as it meant you've lived and can continue to, as you've made it this far.

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The Two Extremes

Two famed Lizardfolk are known for their comments on the tradition of scale stacking, as both predate the tradition in their actual mortal lives, yet both extended their lives long enough to learn of the tradition.

Getoh by Jarhed

Getoh, the immortal Lizardfolk bard, does not lose scales, and therefore has had a more negative reaction when asked his personal feelings on it, as he had no opportunity to do so himself. However, he views the tradition with his typical poetic sensibilities, saying in a letter to another poet:

"To live is, then, to change, my dear, so it
Is only right to celebrate a thing
As such. The fleeting nature of our days,
Is feared more oft' than it is loved or praised.
We ought to live, we ought to love, we ought
To find some beauty in that which is frought.
Do not denounce the life I was deprived,
Be blessed for every hour you have survived,
Celebrate in ways that I cannot,
For you've a life to live, and I'm to rot."

— Getoh

On the other hand, there is Vonlichter, the Lich who is not so widely known about. He has done his best to keep his continued survival a secret, however, he did live a full life with everything that entailed, including shedding his scales.

Vonlichter by RovaRed

While Getoh survives, preserved, as he was the day he became immortal thanks the blessing (or curse) of Life Magic he was given by the Gods, Vonlichter, shed his scales and, when there was no more to shed, he lived on only as bones.
However, this meant he did have his scales and, as he wanted his location to remain secret, he did not dispose of them when he shed them. Due to this, he had an excess of scales.
Upon learning of the tradition of Scale Stacking, Vonlichter began to practice it as a way to store his scales. However, he did not view it in the same way as Getoh. Getoh loved the idea but could not practice it, while Vonlichter called it:

"An unsanitary practice that denotes an attachment to ones mortality and a love for the process of aging, getting ever closer to ones grave."

— Vonlichter