Boethiah

"Lord of Plots, Deceiver of Nations, Devourer of Trinimac. The Queen of Shadows, Goddess of Destruction, He-Who-Destroys and She-Who-Erases...Many are our lord's lofty names, but they befit only us mortals. Intone her mighty names from now until the end of time - it is for naught. Names mean nothing to our Lord. She cares for those who care for themselves, whose hearts are full of purpose, whose lives are full of deeds."

- Priestess of Boethiah

Boethiah (in Daedric script, ) is the Daedric prince of deceit, conspiracy, secret plots of murder, assassination, treason, and unlawful overthrow of authority.

Personality and traits
Like all Daedra, Boethiah has no gender in a conventional sense; however, he is traditionally depicted as a strong, caped warrior—often in a stoic pose—while wielding a giant golden battleaxe. Boethiah is sometimes depicted as a woman. According to his followers, Boethiah acts the most overtly out of all the Daedric Princes. He appears to enjoy battle and conflict, and his cults often stage huge tournaments to the death to win his favor.

Even among scholars, who reject the common notion that Daedra are all "demons", Boethiah is one of the Daedric Princes consistently viewed as "evil" in the traditional sense (but see below for the Dunmeri view). He uses his mortal followers for sport, interested in them only for the entertainment of spilling their blood. Like Molag Bal or Mehrunes Dagon, Boethiah actually delights in visiting death and destruction upon mortals (whom he actively strives to torment).

Invocation
Boethiah is traditionally summoned on the 2nd of Sun's Dusk, on the Gauntlet Holiday.

Cultural Development
Boethiah is one of the three Daedric Princes (along with Azura and Mephala) directly responsible for the existence of the Dunmer as a distinct race. During the Mythical Era, the Aldmer worshiped the Aedra Trinimac as their chief god. These early mer generally lamented their mortal existence as being caused by the trickery of Lorkhan, who manipulated the gods into giving up their immortality to create Nirn. Boethiah approached a group of Trinimac's followers and began preaching to them an alternative viewpoint: that the Aldmer were weak and unworthy of their immortality, and that their mortal existence was a trial which all mer had to endure. (The Dunmer often refer to their mortal lifetime as The Testing.)

To accomplish his goal, Boethiah took on the form of Trinimac himself, and spoke with Trinimac's own voice. Thus, he was able to convince a group of mer, who took the name Chimer (Changed Ones) and followed their leader Veloth to their new home in Morrowind. Boethiah taught the Chimer many ways to be different from the Aldmer. All manner of current Dark Elven cultural advances are credited to Boethiah, ranging from philosophy and magic to their architecture, as well as their current clan-based political system. In most versions of the legend, Boethiah was the source of these ideas, while Azura and Mephala merely aided the Chimer in implementing them.

Roles in Religion
Boethiah continued to play a key role in the religious practices of the Chimer even after they became the Dunmer. Along with Azura and Mephala, Boethiah is worshiped as one of the three "good" Daedra, in opposition to the four "bad" Daedra of the House of Troubles. According to Tribunal dogma, Boethiah is the Anticipation of Almalexia, and submitted to Tribunal rule. However, given Azura's attitudes towards the Tribunal, who make the same claim about her, this is most likely more propaganda than history.

By the Fourth Era following the eruption of the Red Mountain, a new religious movement for the Dunmer people arose, dubbed the Reclamations. This new doctrine declared the downfall of the Tribunal and the rise of their previously named Anticipations as the objects for worship. These Reclamations included Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah, who were "reclaiming their status from the Tribunal." Boethiah's role as a Reclamation is to show the Dunmer people the "true way" from the Old Tribunal's "misguided teachings." However, it is unknown what other roles these include.

Etymology
Like many of the Daedra, Boethiah's name appears in numerous variations across many eras and cultures. His Cyrodiilic shrine, in the Valus Mountains near the Morrowind border, is called the Boethia's Shrine, and the spelling Boethia occasionally appears in writings. This spelling appears most often associated with his feminine form,further more the shrine in Cyrodiil speaks with a male voice. Most scholarly texts, such as On Oblivion or The Book of Daedra, use the form Boethiah. The name may also be a reference to Boethius, a late-Roman-era philosopher.

Daedric Artifacts
Other than Goldbrand, Boethiah is associated with artifacts Ebony Mail and Fearstruck. The Ebony Mail can still be found these days, though it is difficult to obtain. The last known wearer could have been the Dragonborn. Fearstruck on the other hand, according to The Story of Lyrisius, was destroyed in the Akaviri raid, circa 1E 2703.

Ebony Mail
Ebony Mail is one of the most powerful cuirasses known. If judged worthy, its power grants the wearer invulnerability to most common magical attacks and forms of drain health.

The Eternal Champion was said to be one of the owners of the mail. It was hidden in Black Marsh after the previous owner, a warrior named Helath Stormbinder, lost the favor of Boethiah. Following a strange map, the Eternal Champion eventually found the resting place of the mail and retrieved it for their battle against Jagar Tharn.

Later on, Boethiah also rewarded the Ebony Mail to the Hero of Daggerfall after they finished an elimination job.

During the events of, the Nerevarine was said to have obtained the Ebony Mail after completing a temple quest for Tholer Saryoni, during which the Mail was found atop Mount Assarnibibi.

The Ebony Mail appeared once again during the Fourth Era, this time at the hands of the Dragonborn. Boethiah requested that the Dragonborn kill the former Champion of Boethiah, who used the armor for personal gain, rather than in the name of Boethiah. After killing the Champion, the Dragonborn was rewarded with the Ebony Mail.

Goldbrand
After the Apotheosis of the Tribunal, Boethiah's Morrowind shrine lays forgotten and unused in the northwest of Hla Oad, Vvardenfell, underwater. Boethiah asks the Nerevarine to make a new shrine for him The Nerevarine asked Duma gro-Lag, a famous sculptor of Caldera. Using the sketch in the book Boethiah's Glory, the orcish sculptor built a new shrine for Boethiah over at Khartag Point, Vvardenfell, Morrowind. After the new shrine was finished, the Nerevarine was rewarded with Goldbrand.

The Champion of Cyrodiil was also rewarded with this Goldbrand after he finished Boethiah's test - The Tournament of Ten Bloods - a test of combat skill, where the Champion of Cyrodiil had to defeat ten of Boethiah's champions.

By the time of, Goldbrand was rumored to be in the ownership of Emperor Titus Mede II during the Battle of the Red Ring when retaking the Imperial City.

Azura and Mephala
Boethiah, along with Azura and Mephala, were responsible for directly influencing the direction of the Dunmer people. Boethiah convinced the Chimer to change from the Aldmer and adopt a new style of life. Azura taught the Chimer the mysteries to be different, while Mephala taught them how to evade their enemies or to kill secretly. Mephala also worked with Boethiah to establish the Dunmer clan-based system.

As part of the Tribunal doctrine, Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala were named the Anticipations of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec, respectively.

Their positions changed with the new Reclamations dogma. The former Anticipations became known as the Reclamations in the face of the new and proposed Dunmer religion.

Molag Bal
Boethiah and Molag Bal have developed a sort of rivalry between each other. The cause is unknown, although it could be because Molag Bal is the Prince of domination and enslavement, whereas Boethiah encourages treason and deceit against authority.

The rivalry takes place between Molag Bal and Boethiah, and the two may use their followers to mock the other. This is evident in when Molag Bal requests revenge against a priest of Boethiah who desecrated Molag Bal’s shrine in the name of Boethiah. Fights between the two are materialized by using their champions or followers to carry out their battles.

Hunger
The Hunger is a violent Lesser Daedra associated with Boethiah that has paralyzing powers and is known to even disintegrate armor.

The Hunger also appears in the Dementia part of the Shivering Isles, the realm of Sheogorath. The reason for being found in the Shivering Isles could allude Sheogorath’s chaotic nature, thus having another Daedric Princes' lesser Daedra could be normal to him.

Trivia

 * Mehra Nabisi speaks to Boethiah in Where Were You When the Dragon Broke?, who confirms that the Aedra had indeed appeared and re-wrote history.
 * Boethiah is invoked in the book Withershins.
 * Sotha Sil met with Boethiah on the 3rd of Rain's Hand, 3E 2920.
 * Boethiah is sometimes referred to as having a female persona. However, the other Daedric Lords refer to him as male. For example, during a quest in, Molag Bal states: "... my rival, Boethiah, had his priest desecrate it...".
 * In, Boethiah is depicted as a man, but in , he is depicted as a woman.
 * Boethiah is voiced by Jean Gilpin, who also lends her voice to Elenwen, Meridia, and Meredith in Dragon Age 2.