Earliest existence: 24,900 BR
The Scalekin began as simple, wild lizards and serpents slithering through the dense, humid forests. But the land held a secret. Deep below, celestial energy bubbled up through ancient springs, infusing the water and the very plants. Over long, silent ages, exposure to this magic granted the beasts a burgeoning intelligence. They rose onto two legs. Their minds flickered alive with the concepts of community and language.
The Lizardfolk, who began to call themselves the Skrak, found their home in the sun-dappled swamps. Their rough scales became indistinguishable from the muck and moss. The Serpentfolk, the Ik’sska, preferred the high canopy, weaving their slender bodies through the oldest trees and building nests of leaves. They were a solitary people, living in small reclusive tribes. Their only guides were the wisdom of their elders and the skill of their greatest hunters. They knew no kings, no queens, only the vast land and the shared knowledge passed down through generations.
Around 22,000 BR a terrible drought seized the land. The ordeal threatened to shatter their isolated communities. Tributaries dried up and the forest’s bounty vanished. This period of great hardship, which they named The Withering, became the turning point.
It was an ancient and wise Ik’sska named Rhakna who ventured far from her home, desperate to find new water. She stumbled upon a hidden spring and, to her shock, a tribe of Skrak already claimed it. Instead of fighting for the precious resource, Rhakna did the unheard of: she asked to share.
The plea was accepted. For weeks the two tribes communed near the dwindling spring. They shared their knowledge of the swamps and the canopy, their unique methods of hunting, and their deep spiritual ties to the earth. This act of cooperation, a first in their history, strengthened the bonds between the Skrak and the Ik’sska. Over the following centuries a network of shared springs and waterways became their first true meeting places. The cooperative spirit born of desperation eventually blossomed into their first unified tribal society.
Sub-races:
Skrak (Lizardfolk)
Ik’sska (Serpentfolk)
For a more complete history to present day, see Naj’ka
