Andrea Hawke

Andrea Hawke
Andrea Hawke during her first year in Kirkwall
Real World Information
Reddit Author	Aria10191
Game	Dragon Age II
Biographical Information
Gender	Female
Race	Human
Class	Warrior
Specialization	Berserker/Reaver
Love Interest	Anders
Age	24 (at the start of Dragon Age II) 35 (during Inquisition)

"She gave her life not because she'd sworn an oath, or had been marked as special, but because someone had to do it."

- Inquisitor Éirinn Lavellan about Andrea Hawke's death

Andrea Hawke was a human warrior, also known as the Champion of Kirkwall. She was the daugther of Leandra Amell, and Malcolm Hawke, big sister to Bethany Hawke and Carver Hawke. She was born in Lothering, and considered herself a Fereldan, despite leaving for Kirkwall at the age of 24. She was known among the qunari as "basalit-an", meaning "worthy", even beyond Kirkwall, after she dueled and defeated the Arishok.

Overview

Physical Appearance

Andrea Hawke in her estate, around the age of 29

Andrea has a very distinctive appearance. She is tall and muscular for a woman, having broad shoulders and stronger arms mostly because she wields two handed heavy blades. Her hair is quite long and mostly, she ties it in a ponytail - altough, when she is at home, she likes to let it down. She has quite sharp features, which give an impression of intelligence, but also make her face a little less feminine - her forehad is large, she has an aristocratic nose, and a quite strong jawline.

Her eyes are very characteristic, often described as "impossibly blue". This was a trait very rare in the family, she obviously inherited it from her father's lineage - her iris is almost turquise, Anders once mentioned that the color is very resemblant of lyrium.

Her appearance changes slightly by the time of Inquisition. She starts to wear her hair down almost always, and gathers a lot of scars - some of them are visible on her face. She loses weight, although she still stays muscular, her face slims down quite much. She starts to paint her face with a blood smear across her nose. Her skin gets a little more tan (she spends a long time outside after becoming a fugitive), but she is visibly more tired.

Andrea often wears heavy armor in fights, and enjoys comfortable, but often not really good looking clothes at home. She rarely wears any jewelery, and even than, only amulets, or some enchanted rings, that help her in the fight, and not make her uncomfortable.

Personality

Anders once mentions that jokes are Andrea's answer to everything - and that is true. However, her funny (and often unintentionally rude) personality is partly masking her inner struggles with grief, failures, losses... she takes every mistake really hard, and tries to keep cheerful, and inspiring, but it is, many times not easy. As a big sister, she has a very dual relationship with her siblings... Originally, she wasn't the defensive type. She enlisted to Cailan's army with Carver, and she fought together with Bethany. She felt her siblings could stand on their own - however, she took Carver's death really hard, especially, when her mother said it was her fault. During their years as mercenaries, she tried to keep Bethany away from the battles (that resulted in Andrea gaining much bigger name than her sister), but Bethany tried to convince her to let her take more active roles in battles. Andrea eventually gave in, and despite her original plans, took Bethany with her to the Deep Roads expedition. When she was corrupted, and had to join the Grey Wardens, Andrea never truly forgave herself, and when she lost her mother too, no one could convince her that it wasn't her fault. When the Wardens started to hear the calling, she immediately contacted Aveline, to take Bethany away from the danger... she couldn't bear the thought of losing the last living person of her family.

Despite her constant joking, she is quite shy when it comes to love. It takes her a lot of time, to admit her feelings for Anders, and even then, the mage is the one, who calls her out on it. However, once in a relationship, she is much more confident and proud.

Andrea was always supporting the mages' rights, mostly because of her sister and father. She didn't born with magic, but she lived with mages most of her lives, and she could never imagine Bethany being corrupted by power... she believed that a supportive, loving, normal environment helps more in overcoming the hardships of being a mage, than being locked up in a tower. This was one of the main reasons Anders felt attracted to her... she was more understanding as a warrior than many of the mages. When she gave him a second chance, and they left Kirkwall together, even as fugitives, she tried to give the same support and help to Anders, hoping that it will prevent him from slipping again. Other than that, she is mostly supportive towards any decision her friends make, if it doesn't put them in danger, sometimes even looking over dealings she doesn't agree with (for example in Isabela's case). She thinks those are their choices, they have to make them themselves. However, if the decision puts them at risk (like in Merrill's case) she always warns them, and tries to minimize the damage caused.

Andrea was always the kind of person to "take the leap" when the opportunity presented itself. This was an advice from Flemeth, when she met her... she didn't think of what she said, but strangely, she seemed to heed it. Some called her brave, some outward foolish for running into danger, simply because she felt like that's the right thing to do, or sacrificing everything for one shot, one chance to step forward. This was the trait, which, while made her a hero, in the end, led to her death... she charged Corypheus despite knowing that losing her would break her friends, and break Anders. Overall, she has a somewhat rush, but really loyal and loving personality.

Talents and Skills

Andrea almost always fights with two-handed greatsword. She has very little skills with the sword and shield combination (despite taking some lessons from Aveline), but she is deadly with a two-handed weapon. She fights aggressively, with strong passion - although she is trained as a reaver, she rarely uses the abilities, that come with it, she focuses on the berserker style of fighting, and therefore she does a lot of damage relying on her anger and emotions. Even Varric was surprised when he discovered that Andrea used an originally dwarven fighting style. She is strong against multiple enemies. She is also good in hand-to-hand combat, mostly because of her strength, but if she can choose, she picks up the weapon every time.

She is also considered quite smart - although her sarcastic jokes are sometimes annoying, and sometimes she angers the wrong people, she actually has a tactical mind, and she can easily see the connections. She is confident in her intelligence, and horribly annoyed, when someone underestimates it - she also jokes sometimes, that even Varric always forgets to write about her "charming wits". When she makes a mistake, her confidence cracks a littlebit. She is also a really good liar, mostly thanks to her people skills - she simply knows what people appreciate, and can tell them what they want to hear. Although she originally finds it important, to speak her mind, this ability helped her many times.

She has really good skills with animals - especially dogs, but she can easily make contact with a cat as well, she is not strictly a dog person. Her mabari, Wolfy is sometimes accompany her to missions as well, they even train together, so the dog can fight by her side.

She speaks a little dwarven, mostly picked it up when she was learning the berserker skills. Although dwarves very rarely speak in any of the ancient languages, they are mostly impressed by her knowledge. She also had to admit, that dwarven is basically the only language she had a talent to learn - for example, she gets absolutely lost in elven. She reads a lot, and even has some knowledge of magic besides seeing people use it.

Biography

History

She was born in 9:07 of the Dragon, in Lothering, Ferelden. She was born without magic, which came as a relief to both of her parents... they felt they can have a much more normal, peaceful life this way, and can safely raise the child. However, Andrea wasn't easy to handle. From a very young age, she liked to play with boys, climb trees, fight with wooden swords, take part in small (mostly harmless) pranks. She had a very loving relationship with both of her parents, but she was particularly close to her father, whom had a humorous personality very similar to her own. She was always a fighter, that's why Malcolm suggested, not long after Bethany's magic manifested, to take her to someone to train. So Andrea started basic sword training in Lothering at the age of eight. It soon turned out that she had great talent in wielding swords. When Carver reached the right age, they often trained together as well.

At the age of sixteen, Andrea left Lothering for a while to wander Ferelden, and learn to polish her skills. She spent a little time in Denerim, and soon ended up meeting with some surface dwarves. She learned most of her berserker skills from them, and also her knowledge of dwarven language and culture (Varric was often surprised by how many dwarven customs she knew). She also learns the basics of the reaver fighting style during this time - this is the first time she sees a dragon, although not a fully grown one, that she has to fight to unlock the Reaver abilities. However, after learning them, and using some of them for the first time, she starts to realise the darkness this style holds in itself, and its strong connection to blood magic - this results in her shielding herself from it, and rarely drawing power from the blood of the dragon. The passive abilities stay strong in her, nonetheless - for example, she can still tolerate horrible pain, and even rise stronger because of it.

She returned to Ferelden at the age of twenty. By that time, her father has already fallen ill, but it didn't seem serious. This was the time Andrea got her mabari hound... Carver hoped he would imprint on him, but he chose his sister. Andrea named the hound Wolfy. She tried to help her mother and siblings as much as she could especially since the stormclouds were gathering... everyone felt that there was a war coming. When Malcolm's illness got worse, and he passed away, the whole family became Andrea's responsibility, who hardly felt strong enough to keep them safe. She started to work more, although she rarely visited the Chantry, she accepted many assigments from the Chanter's Board as well, to bring home enough coin. When Cailan was searching for recruits for his army, it wasn't a matter of debate that she will enlist, and when Carver offered his help, she couldn't turn it down. They went to Ostagar together, and was there in the fateful battle... when the tower was lit, and no help came, Andrea didn't care about anything anymore... she just grabbed her brother by the arm, and dragged him away from the battlefield, through the wilds, towards Lothering. Nothing mattered than, only to keep her family safe, just as she promised her father.

In-game

Run from Lothering

Andrea and Carver running from the Blight

When the Blight hit Lothering, Andrea was already running from it with her mother, siblings and their dog, fighting back the darkspawn. She was afraid, but she tried to concentrate, and protect them as much as she could. Soon, on the road they met a templar and his wife, Wesley and Aveline, who joined them on the run, despite Wesley's initial distrust towards Bethany. They decided to head for Kirkwall, but tragedy hit them on the road, an ogre attacked them, and killed Carver. Andrea could save her mother and the others, but she was deeply hurt by the loss of her brother, and she knew she would have to leave him behind.

Soon they were overrun by darkspawn, and a witch, Flemeth came to their aid in the form of a dragon. She agreed to help them get to Kirkwall if Hawke delivered an amulet to the dalish camp beside the city. She agreed.

Arriving to Kirkwall, it turned out Gamlen spent practically all the money of the Amells, so Andrea and Bethany had to join a mercenary group to pay for their citizenship. It was dirty work, but at least, gave them a chance to start over.

Act I.

Andrea meets Varric

One year later, Andrea and Bethany finally left the mercenaries, and hoped to get a decent job, that would finally help them move up. They planned to join an expedition to the Deep Roads, but Bartrand, the dwarf leading it wouldn't agree to it. Luckily, they met his brother, Varric, who seemed to be much more eager to help, and suggested to raise money, and invest - and also, to meet with the Grey Warden in the city, who might have some knowledge of the places they're heading to.

That was when Andrea, Varric and Bethany first met Anders, who agreed to help them, if they aided him in saving a mage from the Circle, Karl. After he described the situation, Andrea agreed to help... sadly they didn't arrive in time. However, Anders agreed to help them get to the Deep Roads, and also revealed his secret, that he was fused with a spirit of Justice, slowly turning into a demon of Vengeance. Not long after, Hawke was also joined by a pirate, Isabela, who lost her ship in a hunt for a relic, and a runaway Tevinter slave, Fenris. To raise the money, she tried to take part in smaller jobs... she helped a businessman named Hubert, to bolster his mine, called the Bone Pit, gaining half ownership, aided a herbalist in need of rare ingredients, helped a templar named Emeric, to look for a killer, who kidnapped attractive woman. She also remembered her promise to Flemeth, so she visited the Dalish clan outside the city, where she not only kept her end of the bargain, but also got another ally in Merrill, the former First of the clan's Keeper. Accidentally she also met an exiled prince, Sebastian, who searched for someone who would help him get revenge for the death of his family - she aided him in his quest, too. With her sister, they discovered that the money Gamlen spent was actually their mother's, which gave them the chance to reclaim the estate one day.

However, their luck didn't last long. Bartrand agreed to let them join the expedition, so they ventured down to the Deep Roads, and found a remarkable old thaig... only to be betrayed by Varric's brother, and get stuck in the caverns. They fought their way out, and also found enough treasure to start a new, wealthy life, but Bethany was affected by the darkspawn curse. Anders suggested the only possible way out... they could take her to the Wardens. It was hard to convince them, to take Bethany, despite the fact that she was a talented mage... but finally, Stroud agreed. Andrea felt like that was the only way she didn't completely lose her sister, but actually, it seemed like she did. Even though Bethany survived the ritual, she was completely bitter and angry towards her sister, creating a rift between them.

Act II.

After returning from the Deep Roads, Andrea Hawke became one of the richest people in the city... she bought back the Amell estate, which became a frequent hangout place for her friends. She took smaller jobs for the city guard, and also got an awful lot of money from her investment in the Bone Pit... she practically only had to work when she wanted to. However, the fact that her family was in pieces, shadowed her happiness. In the passing years, she also got closer and closer with Anders... neither of them made a move, but it was obvious for anyone that it's only a matter of time for them, to get together - which happened, after she helped him with Ser Alrik, and his presumed "Tranquil Solution".

Andrea also earned a certain respect from the qunari, which meant, by her fourth year in the city, she was the diplomatic voice between the city state and the Arishok - this was an awful decision, with her temper and sarcasm, but luckily enough, she seemed to be effective. She ran errands, and tried to resolve conflicts, earning herself a name amongst the people of both sides. She also found time to help her friends - she was joined by Sebastian, who once again asked for her aid with his revenge, she helped Varric get back at Bartrand (and started to get increasingly worried about the red lyrium idol they found), joined Fenris to hunt for Hadriana once she sent slavers after him, played the matchmaker with Aveline and Donnic, and - although she wasn't sure about this decision - got Merrill the arulin'holm for her eluvian.

Things started to go downhill, when her mother was missing from home one day... and she found white lilies on her table, the signature sign of the killer she helped Emeric hunt down. She immediately set out to look for her, but she was too late... a bloodmage used her for a ritual to put together his dead wife. Andrea was both angry, disgusted, and felt a terrible rush of guilt and grief over the situation, but she was able to stay calm enough not to blame all mages, but see the murder as a crazy act of a madman - however, losing one more member of her family seemed to be the last drop for her... she vowed, once again, that she won't let anyone else die.

Andrea defeats the Arishok

After the death of the Viscount's son, both Isabela and Aveline came to her asking for help... and as much as she respected Aveline's need, she decided to help Isabela first, whose life depended on the task. They found Wall-Eyed Sam, who had the relic the pirate searched for, but after they dealt with him, Isabela ran away, only leaving a letter. Sadly, the situation led to a greater conflict when Andrea visited the Arishok with Aveline... the qunari attacked the city, taking hostages, and killing many innocents. Andrea confronted the Arishok in the Viscount's Keep, with the help of Knight-Commander Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino. Isabela returned with the relic, which seemed to give a chance for a peaceful solution, but the qunari insisted on taking away the thief as well... so Hawke agreed to a duel for Isabela's life. She won, and Meredith named her the Champion of Kirkwall.

Mark of the Assassin

It was also during this year that she got invited to a party of Duke Prosper, an Orlesian noble... and she met an elven thief (whom later turned out to be a qunari assassin), Tallis. She asked Andrea to help her get a "jewel", the Heart of the Many, which the Duke stole... Andrea agreed. She was suspicious, of course, but Tallis was too much like she herself, so she couldn't not give her a chance. They had to participate in the Duke's hunt for a wyvern, and they did well... Andrea became the first one to slay a wyvern. Once they got into the party, they had to sneak into the castle, and past the guards (which seemed easy enough for Tallis, but gave a hard time to Hawke, who preferred open fights), to reach the vault, which kept the Heart of the Many. Sadly, the Duke was suspicious, and caught them... that was, when Tallis revealed her actual role and goal. She was pleasantly surprised that Hawke didn't abandon her. Once they escaped the dungeon (not thanks to Anders and Varric, whom got lost, and only arrived when Tallis already opened the door), Hawke decided to see the whole thing through with Tallis, and they fought their way to Duke Prosper, and Tallis' mentor, Salit. The Duke wanted to kill them, but he made a mistake... in the end, he had fallen from a cliff, from his own stupidity. Tallis thanked for the help, but despite Andrea's invitation to join her team, she decided to leave.

Act III.

For three years, Andrea became a kind of peacekeeper in Kirkwall. She worked both for Meredith and Orsino if they asked her, she tried to calm down their arguments, make them see reason... but she still kept her supportive attitude towards the mages, and being one of the most important people in the city meant that everyone knew about this. Around her seventh year in Kirkwall, the tensions reached a breaking point. Her life was still going up (except for Anders' case, whom grown more and more paranoid, and even lied to her sometimes), so she tried to concentrate on peaceful negotiations, and seek allies wherever she could (that led her to meet Zevran and Leliana for example). Most of her friends realised the situation she got into, and tried to help her, as they could, but it was obvious that things will go downhill soon... and they did.

Andrea faces Meredith

When another argument broke out between Meredith and Orsino, she knew she had to intervene... but when it seemed she can calm them down, Anders appeared, and soon it turned out, he removed all chance of compromise. The Chantry exploded, and Andrea had to pick a side... she chose the mages. Sebastian demanded Anders' blood for what happened, and many of her friends agreed with him, but Hawke couldn't kill him, so she asked his help. After that, Sebastian left her, and returned to Starkhaven. Andrea and her friends defended the mages - and when things got out of control, they fought both Meredith, and Orsino.

Legacy

During the last year, Andrea caught word that the Carta was sending assassins to get her sister, and she herself was soon attacked. Although the situation was dire in Kirkwall, they had to investigate, so she wrote to the Grey Wardens, to let Bethany join her, and with her sister, Anders, and Varric, the headed to the Vimmark Wasteland. The dwarves they encountered there acter strangely... and they seemed to worship someone named Corypheus. It soon turned out to be connected to Andrea's father, whom sealed this man away for the Wardens... but once they reached the Chasm, they got trapped. A former Grey Warden, already on his Calling, named Larius joined them, and told them the only way to get out was to free, and then kill Corypheus, who was most likely an ancient magister. Hawke, and her companions fought their way through the prison, discovering more and more about Malcolm and the terms of his help to the Wardens.

Finally, they reached the final seal, where Corypheus was held, and they were confronted by a Warden mage, named Janeka, who said she could use the darkspawn's power. Anders warned Andrea not to believe her, recalling what the Warden-Commander did in similar situation, and Hawke agreed with him... she said, whatever Larius did to make her father be part of this, he was right that Corypheus had to be killed. She fought what she later remembered as the hardest battle of her life, and killed the magister - she only discovered much later that is was not the last she'd seen of him.

Post-game

On the run

After the events in Kirkwall, Andrea and her friends flew the city. They got some help from Knight-Commander Cullen, and the ship Isabela got came handy. However, the team acted cold towards Anders, including Andrea... she needed a lot of time to warm up, and at least partly forgive the mage, even after she spared his life, and decided to stay with him. After leaving Kirkwall, Bethany was the first, who left the team, returning to the Grey Wardens... but in the next harbor, Andrea, Anders and Varric said goodbye as well. Varric planned to go his way, but at least for a while, he wanted to stay beside his friend, and keep an eye on the mage. After a time, he left as well, and Andrea and her lover were continuing to wander Thedas.

They visited several Circles that planned the uprising, supporting their decision to fight for their freedom, however Andrea also tried to act as a voice of reason. Anders' manifestos inspired many mages who could read them, but she tried to point out that her lover's final decision wasn't right, and a war wasn't the solution. Her efforts often proved in vain... many Circles decided to take the final step and rose up, but few decided to keep the peace. After a time, she wished nothing, but to hide away once again, and try to build a calm life, far away from templars and mages. After seeing how tired she was, Anders understood that Andrea already gave too much, and they moved to the border of Orlais, only surrounded by wilderness and small villages, to start a life where only them, and their love mattered.

Inquisition

Andrea Hawke arrives at Skyhold

Things started to worsen not so long after finally settling down with Anders, outside the watchful eyes. Anders started to sleep worse, he had nightmares he refused to talk about, but Andrea could see how deeply he is affected by them - sometimes she even saw tears on his face. She pushed the subject, but the mage avoided, which ended in heated arguments. She could only get an answer from him after weeks. He started to hear the Calling. She first contacted Alistair about it, who told her how the Wardens behaved strangely in Orlais, and how he himself heard the Calling as well. Andrea knew she needed to get her sister out of danger too, so she contacted Aveline as fast as she could... and after that, she received a letter from Varric, that shed new light on the events. Corypheus was behind it. She immediately knew she had to go, and Anders agreed with her... but he argued that he should accompany her. Andrea finally convinced him by reminding him of what happened during their last encounter with Corypheus, and also that he was getting worse by the day - as a Warden, he was much more vulnerable.

Varric soon introduced her to Inquisitor Lavellan, and she shared what information she had. She didn't stay in Skyhold, she mostly spent the nights at inns, but often talked to both the Inquisitor and her companions, sometimes even shared a drink or a dinner, to calm down a little between the fights. She didn't make close friends beside Varric, but she developed a mutual respect with Cassandra, got along surprisingly well with Iron Bull, given her history with the qunari, and somehow appreciated all of Sera's jokes. However, she couldn't stand Vivienne - if they were in one room for more than a minute, it was sure they started an argument.

She led the team to Alistair first, then to the Western approach, where they discovered Erimond's plan. She was deeply angered by what he'd done, both because of Anders, and because of the magic he used. She and Alistair went forward scouting the region, and once they prepared a plan to assault Adamant's Fortress, the Inquisition armies were ready as well. During the battle, she mostly aided and sometimes led the soldiers, hoping that the Inquisition will get out from the battle with as few losses as possible - and she was relieved when Clarel saw reason. However no one could prepare her for the fall into the Fade.

Andrea fights the Nightmare demon

It was one of the most frightening experiences in her life, so she tried to conceal her fear with jokes... however, the Nightmare demon's words hurt her deeply, and she saw far too much spiders. Basically the only thing that kept her strong and going was the hope that they could stop this madness, and Anders would be safe again. Her anger rose, and sometimes she attacked people who didn't deserve it... she got into an argument with Alistair about the Wardens, blaming them for everything, when of course, she knew she was exaggerating, and she knew, she felt how desperate one could become if everything is falling apart. This was partly the reason why, when faced with the Nightmare demon itself, she swallowed her fear, and asked the Inquisitor to sacrifice her instead of Alistair. She didn't want to die, she wanted desperately to live, but she didn't want any more blood on her hands either. She couldn't watch an honorable, honest man, a friend, who had someone waiting for him just as Anders was waiting for her run to his death when she could prevent it. She knew that Alistair had the strength to rebuild the Wardens, and help them become what they should have been, what they once were. When Éirinn finally made her choice, she only asked her to say goodbye to Varric... and she whispered her goodbye to Anders to the Fade itself, hoping it will carry it to his dreams.

She fought until her last breath against the demon, but was ultimately defeated. She died at the age of 35, hoping that she made up for every mistake she ever made.

Relationships

Anders

When Andrea first met Anders, after her one year as a mercenary was over, there were few things she cared less about, than love. The young mage was a potential ally, maybe friend, but she didn't start to flirt with him, she was simply understanding about his problems. So, in the end, Anders was the one who made a move - he admitted how natural it feels for him to trust her, and asked how she feels about this. Andrea was honest again... it was unexpected, she didn't plan to get involved with anyone, but seeing how open and trusting he was to her felt good, and she didn't want to lose it. However, Anders immediately warned her, that it is not a good idea, and for three years they didn't actually step forward.

Anders comforts Andrea after her mother's death

However, despite her shyness at the beginning, Andrea was more sure of her feelings with every day, and she started to actively communicate them towards Anders. As he grew more paranoid, she often reassured him, that she would be there for him, to protect him, if someone would attack them, but it didn't seem to help, and after he attacked an innocent mage girl, and only Andrea's help made him stop in time, he was even more afraid. But she still insisted, and teased him, which resulted in their first kiss, and not much later, their first night together.

From then on, they were openly a couple. Anders moved in to the Hawke estate. Some of their friends were worried, but almost everyone was supportive towards their relationship - Varric even started to speak more with the mage, to make sure he is alright. Anders later accompanied Andrea to the adventure in Orlais, with Tallis, and to the Vimmark wasteland, against the Carta and Corypheus. He and Varric were the first ones to run to her side when she and Aveline were attacked by the qunari. The fact that they lived together without secrecy offered a great protection to Anders when she was made the Champion of Kirkwall, but still, when the conflict between mages and templars started to get out of hand, she showed him the secret passage to get into the estate quickly from Darktown.

When the Chantry was blown up, Andrea originally planned to aid the mages, but make Anders pay, because she knew that his sin was too big... but she lost too much already, and couldn't bring herself to kill the man she loved. She decided to get him out of Kirkwall, and although they needed a lot of time to heal, and set things right between them, Andrea swore to protect him for the rest of her life... even from himself. His fate after her death is unknown.

Varric

Without a doubt, the best friend she ever had. Varric and Andrea had an awful lot in common - starting with their sarcasm and awful sense of humor, through their capability to enjoy the simplest things in life, like a good meal, to their fierce loyalty to friends and family. The dwarf immediately started to talk to Anders and tried to figure out his intentions, when they got together with Andrea, visited her, when she was grieving her mother's death, and tried to comfort her, and stay beside her through all the losses - in turn, Andrea stayed at his side when Bartrand set him up, tried to keep him together when his brother turned mad.

Varric accompanied Andrea to almost everywhere, and she trusted him with her life - although after the events in the Gallows, Varric left her eventually, he still stayed longer than most of her friends. They both remembered the other fondly during their time apart, and when Andrea joined Éirinn and was left in the Fade Varric was struck by the loss.

Bethany

Andrea gives Bethany to the Grey Wardens

As children, Andrea was close to both of the twins... but later, as they grew, Carver developed some kind of loving rivalry with her, and Bethany stayed closer. Andrea wasn't particularly protective, she believed in her "little mage sister", and supported her in everything, but after losing Carver, this became much harder. In their one year as mercenaries, keeping her sister away from harm was as much of a priority as getting money... so they spoke a lot, and even argued about this. When they discovered the Deep Roads expedition Bethany wanted to go with her, and Andrea realised that she couldn't deny it to her, so she took her along. When she collapsed because of the darkspawn blood, she was frozen, and panicked, only Anders had a head cool enough to help them get to the Wardens. When Bethany became a Warden, they grew apart, they walked different paths, and this greatly pained Andrea. However when they met during the qunari attack, Bethany was grateful she told her about their mothers death, and thanked her for being there in her last moments. They later met again during their investigation about Corypheus, and Andrea rescued Bethany from the Deep Roads, and later from Grace... she tried to look out for her sister even when they were apart. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her entirely.

Carver

Although they loved each other dearly, Carver was always a bit competitive towards Andrea. His sister was a talented swordfighter, independent and quite easy-going, while he had to learn and fight a lot not to fall behind. He wanted to be better than her, to be respected, and even though Andrea treated him as an equal once they were both young adults, she still often joked, and her jokes made him feel like he still wasn't enough. When they enlisted Cailan's army, he saw it as an opportunity, but never got the chance to truly show what he was capable of. Reaching home, he tried to escape Lothering with his family, but when he charged at an ogre, he was crushed. His death had a terrible impact on Andrea... she felt like she failed both him and her father for not protecting him.

Malcolm Hawke

Andrea was always her father's daughter, even if she wasn't born a mage, and therefore they trained together very little. They both had humorous personality, enjoyed little, simple things in life, but still ended up being part of something bigger. As a child, Malcolm often told stories to her little girl, and as she grew up, he trusted her with his life, and when he was dying, with his family. Andrea remembered him fondly, and even upon her death, she remembered the promises she made him - bitter, that she could keep very few of them.

Leandra Amell (Hawke)

Although she was closer with her father, Andrea loved and deeply respected her mother. Leandra was caring and protective towards her, but she was also really proud of her accomplishments. Andrea often felt like she was letting her down... when Carver died, and Leandra said it was her fault (which was a rush statement, and never meant to hurt her), she even grew somewhat distant from her mother, and this got even worse when Bethany was given to the Wardens. Andrea regretted this distance deeply, when her mother died... she felt not only, that she failed to save her, but also that she wasted a lot of time to be with her. She admitted these feelings only to Anders and Varric, but none of them could make them go away.

Isabela

Besides Varric, Anders, and her family, Andrea's closest friend is, without question, Isabela, which was surprising even to her. They have very little in common... they like to drink, fight and get in trouble, but Andrea could never understand Isabela's taste in man (she herself was much more a monogamous type...), in books, in clothes, in almost everything, and she was much more straightforward than the pirate girl, even with the jokes and lies she often turned to. She felt genuinely hurt and betrayed when she left with the Qunari book. However, after she returned, Andrea was ready to battle to keep her safe, and later, when Isabela got a ship, they had some plans to leave Kirkwall behind, and get away from everything. The only thing holding Andrea back was Anders, but Isabela was always supportive and helpful regarding their relationship, and offered that the mage could travel with them as well. Her help was very much needed, when they wanted to get away after the confrontation between mages and templars.

Fenris

Andrea had her conflicts with the elf, when he realised she supported the mages' rights strongly... but since she supported the freedom of the slaves as well, they found many things they agreed on, and developed a strong friendship. Andrea always found the time to sit down and talk with the elf, and when he mentioned he couldn't read, she spent a lot of time helping him learn. She believed in him, respected his struggles, and tried to help him become a stronger, trustworthy, independent person. In the end, even though he didn't like mages, he stayed by her side from his own choice, helping to fight the templars even after she spared Anders, and also traveled with her and her companions for a while after leaving Kirkwall.

Aveline

Aveline was a bit motherly towards Andrea, despite not being much older than her. She was always protective, and many of her actions worried her greatly. Andrea was often annoyed by her constant interest in her well-being but she also respected and trusted Aveline, so she very rarely called her out on them. She supported her relationship with Donnic without hesitation, and she got the same support and understanding from her regarding her own relationship with Anders. Aveline didn't agree with her, when she decided to side with the mages and spare Anders' life, but she stayed beside her nonetheless and helped her get away from Kirkwall. When the Wardens started to act strangely, Andrea trusted Aveline to get her sister to safety, showing how strong their friendship was even after many years.

Merrill

Andrea sees Merrill as a friend, but she regrets not standing up against her decisions sooner. She thinks that the young elf is naive and good hearted, but also a little stupid when it comes to magic. She helped her with the eluvian, but every time she asked her help, she tried to warn her, it won't end well. In the end, when Andrea was right, she wished she wouldn't have been. She stayed beside Merrill even when her clan turned on her, and they had to fight them. Beside this, they liked to talk, Merrill often told her tales about the dalish and the elven culture, and they often visited each other, especially during Andrea's first year in Kirkwall, when they were practically neighbours. Merrill stood with Andrea during the final fight, but she left quite soon after they ran away from Kirkwall, with good wishes to both her and Anders.

Sebastian

A complicated case. Andrea saw him as an ally, and a friend, despite their strongly differing views on the world, but they parted on really bad terms - when Anders blew up the Chantry, Sebastian demanded her to kill him. When Andrea refused, and he insisted, she even drew a sword on him. Sebastian in the end, left her side and decided to head back to Starkhaven, reclaim his throne, and hunt Anders down, making him a mortal enemy with Hawke herself as well.

Alistair

Andrea leads the Inquisitor to Alistair

Andrea first spoke to Alistair during the qunari invasion, but they only became allies and friends after she left Kirkwall. She first contacted the Wardens through Bethany, but after she could get her sister away, Alistair became her most reliable source of information. They didn't know each other's whole story, but they didn't really care about it anyway - they had a common goal, and they were willing to do anything to stop the darkness that was coming, and they could work together smoothly. Later, this purely working relationship turned into a much deeper trust and respect. Andrea stayed in contact with Alistair, and when he became rogue, she immediately asked for the Inquisitors help - the best way to defeat Corypheus was to join forces. Later, they had several conflicts, regarding the Warden's acts and decisions, but in the end, Andrea believed that they could rebuild, and that Alistair could lead that change.

Éirinn Lavellan

Andrea met Éirinn in 9:42, when she was 35 years old. They were really different... Éirinn was a colder, more distant, but good hearted and inspiring person, who could rarely take up her jokes. They developed a mutual respect and trust that allowed them to work together and communicate well, but it never turned to deeper friendship - it was only an alliance, especially, because Éirinn seemed to disagree with many of her decisions, and even judge her, because she "shielded the one who threw Thedas to chaos entirely because her emotions". However, Éirinn was the last person Andrea talked with in her life... she asked her to say goodbye to Varric, and the elf also catched her brief apology to Anders, whom she left behind forever. Éirinn later spoke about her as a hero, showing that in the end, she did hold the Champion in a high regard, but she also seemed to realise that she never actually wanted to be one... standing before the Wardens and the Inquisition she said she sacrificed herself because someone had to do it, not because she was marked special.

Miscellaneous

Likes

• Sweets, particularly chocolate. She joked with Varric that it's not fair that he portrays her as someone who always has food on her face, but actually, she truly likes to eat, and can be really annoyed if hungry.

• Almost any animal, but of course, mostly dogs. She absolutely loves her dog.

• Humor. She enjoys it even when she is the target, and not the one to make the jokes, which even she finds weird.

• Good books, especially, when she can read them in front of the fireplace. She often doesn't even bother to bring there a chair, she sits down on the floor, and enjoys the warmth while reading.

• The scent of elfroot. This is mainly because of Anders... he uses it for healing potions, and therefore, he just smelled like that, since she knew him. Because of this, Andrea grew really fond of the scent.

• All in all, it can be said that she likes simple things, drinking with friends, spending time with family... and almost nothing related to fighting and glory.

Dislikes

• When someone messes with her family or friends. In these situations, she can turn aggressive and radical, and rarely sees reason until the threat is removed. Varric often says that she fights the best when she suffers inside, but it hurts to see her raise her blade than.

• Stupidity. She can be really annoyed when someone fails to see what she thinks is obvious. Originating from this trait, she can be really angry when someone is prejudiced - this is most likely connected to her support towards the mages, and the fact that some people could be hostile towards Bethany simply, because she was an apostate.

• White lilies. Since her mother died, she can't stand that flower, she feels disgusted even by the scent.

• Too much responsibility. This is the thing she could never avoid, but as stated before, she is content with the company of friends, family, a lover... she hates the fact, that she always ended up having a role in big battles and politics.

• Cheesy romance stories. Although she likes to read, she is not much of a romantic - as Anders once told her "she will be an inspiration for generations of romantic poets" with her witty and funny remarks to even the most touching confessions. She can't stand the classical romance novels, but strongly encourages Varric to write a "realistic" one.

Other (hopefully) interesting facts

• Her name, Andrea is of greek origins, and means "man", but I didn't choose it based on that meaning (although it can be connected to the thought, that she became the head of the family after her father died). It sounds a bit similar to Andraste, so I always thought of it as a kind of religious name in Thedas. It can also carry a foreshadowing of her sacrifice in Inquisition.
  • However, she rarely uses her first name. Most of her friends call her "Hawke", Anders mostly calls her "love", her father called her "soldier girl" while he was alive. Basically only Leandra and sometimes Bethany refers to her as Andrea.

• She has a diary, although she doesn't like, when someone calls it so. For her, it is strictly "journal", hinting that there are professional notes inside (which is not true).
• One of her front teeth is chipped. She was sixteen when she hit her head during training, that's when it happened.
• Her dog's name is Wolfy.

• She is strictly atheistic - she only believes what she sees, and doesn't like speculations. However, she faced a lot more crazy, than most others...
• Although she mostly fights with greatswords, when she meets Éirinn Lavellan, she carries sword and shield. She later regrets this choice, and fights only with the longsword, never taking the shield into hand.
• Andrea only starts to have the blood paint in Inquisition - it's more a mark of shame, than any kind of warpaint, her aknowledgement of all the lives she'd taken.
• If she would be an animal (surprise) she would be a hawk.

Links

Tomorrow - Andrea Hawke and her friends leave Kirkwall before more templars arrive. Andrea and Anders didn't talk since their agreement to leave the city together... but there is no chance for them to start over, if she doesn't break the silence.

Gallery

• Andrea Hawke returns Flemeth's amulet
• Andrea and Anders
• Andrea by the time of Inquisition

1/3