"Ah! Here we have the Scaled Ones, the great, great, great... Ancestor of the Scalebold. Looking massively different from their counterparts, they were much lankier, having overly large and floppy ears, a long neck, and they currently weren't worshipping any gods at the time. However, they were one of the first to create various forms of "magic metals" that they proudly adorned on themselves. Although they never really cared for farming and would rather hunt monsters or raid other tribes for food. Some say they're still around, but no physical evidence shows of their existence." ~Commander Proto

Hee-Ho, howdy everyone! Looks like I get to give you lads some more Scalebold lore as well as tying it directly into Cycle 9! For those who don't know or are new here, Cycle 9 is basically the "Prehistoric State" of the Realm of Materia and where most of the illustrations I create take place. Although here we actually have one of the oldest ancestors and that being the "Scaled Ones" as they were referenced. Commander Proto however did leave a few things out of this small little description. Despite being around in this time period and in the deep past, he mostly wrote down that they were just a primitive race of hunter and gatherer-like species and somehow neglected that they were using advanced tools. Lady Izadore on the other hand discovered much more about them, such as their unique looking body paints, their vast cavern forges, and how they seem rather communal, and they don't necessarily have a tribe leader. That despite how long their ears are, they seem to have hearing problems and mostly use their nose for detecting predators or hunting prey... That and, Commander Proto is- very wrong that yes, there actually is physical evidence that they're still around in Cycle 10.5 (current time of the setting), but usually chalks it up to "various goblin sightings" or "goblin trickery" as they've fooled him countless times before.

One last thing; their religion also slightly differs from Scalebold beliefs as this is before they were corrupted by the stars or began to properly worship dragons. For they believe they are created from the mighty Tiamat and the Mute God that slumbers beneath the crust of the planet. That one day the father and mother of all dragons will one day awake and that they would become their trusty servants. For they did not worship dragons but believed in much stronger beings that lurked just out of sight. These creatures are also not as religiously violent like scalebolds either and obtain no unique powers from prayer or worship.

Other than that, though, I don't have much else to say on this piece. Hope you have a good day everyone! Thank you all for reading and until next time!

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Disclaimer and Copyright: These characters involved, and the artwork belongs to me, TwistedHensley. The Skin to Scales universe also belongs to me there, TwistedHensley... You get the drill. I want to point out that this is an Epic Dark Fantasy setting with a lot of mythological and religious tones and that there is no real-life connection to any of these events, religions, characters and it is fully, grounded, in fantasy. There is no copyright infringement intended to other forms of media as Skin to Scales is meant to be its own thing and something I've been working on for a very long time. That and this is also Cycle 9 and is the "Deep past of Skin to Scales" when the universe was in its very early stages. Thomza is without a memory of being a god, the mighty Tiamat rests in an almost eternal sleep, and many heroes are created during this time period. The gods are all resting as the mortals rise and the race for immortality and adventure has just begun!

Other Disclaimer: You are allowed to share my artwork as long as I am credited, but do not upload it anywhere else, edit it and or mark it as your own if that wasn't common sense...