Yokai & Spirits
in EncyclopediaOur world is shrouded by a veil. A veil that protects us from the wickedness of the unknown and the horrors of the incomprehensible. Devils and gods, demons and tricksters, the holy and the unholy, they are everywhere around us, unseen by mortals. But the veil grows thinner and the nights grow darker. They walk among us and away from us. They inhabit mountains and islands, bridges and sewers. They are inside our houses and our temples, above us in the sky and below us within the oceans. They are the yokai.
Yokai are strange, mysterious apparitions, but in an extremely broad and more vague sense than the word suggests. They can be anything from animals with puzzling powers or creatures responsible for supernatural phenomena to lingering ghosts and vengeful entities. However, they all have one thing in common: they are spirits that have taken form through the sins of humanity. They are neither malevolent nor benevolent. They have truths and regrets. They cause grief and relieve it at the same time. All in all, there is no one definition to describe them; they are what we need them to be... and also what we don’t...
A handful of yokai can be found during daylight, but most of them are awakened at dusk. This is when all creatures of the Material Plane become alert, making preparations for the night, and the yokai lurk in the shadows until they find the right time to perform their deeds.