Scales are rigid plates that grow out of an animal's skin to serve as a form of Armour. Naturally occurring in reptiles and most fish, scales can vary in rigidity depending on the animal, with the universal purpose of protecting the animal covered in them from harm.
Reptile scales are typically dry by nature and tend to vary from being bumpy and smooth to the touch. Some species, on the other hand, have more jagged scales resembling spikes. Most snakes and lizards also tend to shed their skin and therefore their scales as they grow, with a new layer underneath. This new layer has softer scales that usually need time to fully harden after shedding, which is sped up by exposure to sunlight.
Fish scales similarly vary on being bumpy and smooth, with many jagged profiles as well. However, most fish scales are much softer than reptile scales, though on some species such as coelacanths and arapaima, their scales are so rough and hardy that fishermen and native tribes use them as makeshift sandpaper. All fish species, however, have a layer of mucus over their scales to retain moisture and allow their bodies to slip through the water as they swim.
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- By their nature, reptilian liminal species such as Lamia, Dragons, Dragonewts and Lizardfolk and piscine species such as Mermaids and Fishfolk have scales covering at least half their bodies.
- In much of the visual media for the franchise, how scales are depicted depends on the medium and proximity to the viewer.
- In the manga series:
- Okayado illustrates merfolk with very little linework for their scales, with the only such examples being on areas where there are prominent curved surfaces, though these are little more than diagonal crosses. In illustrations with more detail such as full-color pages, this is mostly retained, though Okayado dedicates some portions with the stereotypical repeating curved line scale detail.
- Lamia, Dragonewts and Lizardfolk, however, are drawn with irregularly shaped repeating polygons as scales for the most part, though in certain distance shots they are instead depicted as a uniform "honeycomb" hexagonal grid.
- In the anime, which makes slight modifications to the character designs from the manga, reptilian scales continue to be depicted as repeating, irregularly-shaped polygons, while fish scales are now depicted as the uniform hexagonal grid pattern. Unlike in the manga series, these patterns remain visible in the vast majority of the scenes in the anime, with the only real exceptions being if the subject was too far to be viewed with reasonable detail, such as high in the sky from a ground view.
- In the manga series:
- Dragons and Dragonewts both have a "reverse scale" on their bodies (i.e. a scale facing the opposite direction from the rest). This scale is extremely sensitive and any contact with it renders both species overwhelmed and eventually renders them unconscious. As both species consider doing this an act of violating personal space, touching the "reverse scale" angers both Dragons and Dragonewts and leaves them less than pleased with the offenders.
- The scales of Dragonewts and Dragons are harder than iron and can rebel bullets and deflect swords, but in modern times they are rarely needed for such protection. In fact, the scales have now become a useless vestige that just snag on clothes and if they are neglected, the scales get chapped, but they are too stiff to groom easily. All this together has led to the fact that in modern times the scales have become nothing more than an inconvenience, at least for Dragonewts.[1]
- While Lizardmen have scales similar to those of Dragonewts, the number of scales in a Lizardfolk is drastically higher. This is because Lizardmen have evolved to live on land more than Dragonewts have.[2]
- Aside from serving as armor, scales also aid reptiles and fish in retaining moisture and swimming fast, respectively.
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