#inokabe lore

Like i've mentioned before, inokabes are descendents of larger, powerful yokai beasts who are now, unfortunately, declared extinct. However, I have an artistic depiction of what one of these creatures would've looked like.

Unlike their modern counterparts, these primal inokabes had no way of absorbing mystic energy, and instead were skilled hunters.

Here is an artistic recreation of the size differences between the ancestor inokabes and their modern descendents (shown next to the average 5ft 5in (170cm) humanoid):

Thank you to the following volunteers for allowing your special babies to pose for my references:

Just like dogs on the surface, there are varying breeds of modern inokabes. Those bred for protective/guarding purposes resemble Doberman Pinschers on the surface, and I managed to find a few!

Here's an example of one; His name is Rollo (thanks Sianara):

No problem! Here's some lore about both normal and ancient inokabes:

Inokabes are descendants of an ancient species of yokai that were larger, about the size of the average horse (these will be called primal inokabes for future reference).

Their size meant that they tended to eat a lot, and that lead to having the habit of resting in rather inconvenient places while their bodies digest and process their meals. Eventually, they ended up garnering a reputation for generally getting in the way, and because of this, we’re seen as “malicious” yokai who got in the way for the fun of it, rather than the actual reason.

Because of this, when yokai moved underground, only the smaller, quicker versions of this species have really thrived, and now they often require less physical food, and instead soak up mystic energies from the world around them while they sleep.

What I’m calling “ancient” inokabes are just smaller versions of the primal inokabes who managed to find places underground to sleep, and because of this their bodies have “absorbed” way more mystic energy than normal, causing them to grow to at least the size of the average wolf… (with exceptions, as we now see).