Boundane

**Boundane, The Laugher in Darkness** (Demigod)

Chaotic Good

**Portfolio:** Goodnatured rogues, nocturnal hunters, and the new moon

**Domains:** Chaos, Darkness, Good, Trickery, Void

**Subdomains:** Azata, Espionage, Night, Stars, Thievery, Whimsy

It is said that when La first set the moon in the sky, he cast a long shadow in the pale light it shed. As the Silver Torch admired his handiwork, its shadow slipped away and skulked off into the night, cackling from the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach. When the first lunar cycle reached its nadir and La's new light vanished entirely from the sky, the shadow emerged from its hiding place and cried its name to the sleeping world, declaring that it was Boundane, the Laugher in Darkness.

Although an inveterate trickster and a creature of darkness, Boundane is fundamentally a kindhearted deity. It looks after all those who make their livelihood under cover of darkness, but only so long as they do so without cruelty or malice. It is a protector of hunters and nocturnal predators, but only so long as their predation remains within the limits of what the region can bear, and his is an enemy of those who kill out of hatred or for sport. Likewise, it is a patron of spies, thieves, and other such scoundrels, but opposes those who prey on the truly innocent or downtrodden.

It is said that the Laugher in Darkness goes about in the material plane on nights of the new moon, taking on any number of guises in order to check in on its followers and make mischief among the mortal races. It is banished by the light of the moon, however, and cannot stand in the presence of La itself, although some claim it merely chooses not to out of fear that the Silver Torch may try to reclaim its wayward shadow.

La and its faithful generally don't approve of the rogues who pay homage to Boundane, but realize that it is ultimately an ally when it comes to protecting the innocent from the horrors of the night. For its part, Boundane feels that La is far too serious and that its followers need to work on their senses of humor - particularly when it comes to the mostly harmless pranks that the Laugher in Darkness and its followers sometimes inflict on the temple of the Silver Torch. Nevertheless, Boundane shares La's earnest enmity with Khaivara and Nescifent, and directs its followers to oppose their cults wherever possible

Of the other members of the pantheon, Boundane views Evoco and Ilkin as rivals, and considered Endasra to be a close ally, although the sentiment is not entirely mutual. More certain is its friendship with Bolaro, and followers of Boundane often cultivate night-blooming flowers at their shrines to symbolize the goodwill between the two faiths. Bounane has attempted to court Zyelimun on several occasions, although many of the Laugher in Darkness' faithful believe that it only does this because it knows that it annoys the Secret-Stealer.

Boundane's holy symbol is a simple disk colored black on one face and silver on the other, and its favored weapon is a curved dagger. Hyenas are considered sacred to Boundane in the southern lands and around the Sandsea, while elsewhere his worshipers tend to associate it with a locally significant nocturnal predator known for its cunning.