NOTE: This character exists primarily in a 21st-century AU. The details below are tailored to this universe, and may not match up with game canon.[]
Kendall Hawke is the eldest child of Malcolm Hawke and Leandra Amell. A dual citizen of Ferelden and Kirkwall, she eventually comes to own (and reside in) the Hawke Estate, and is later named Champion of Kirkwall.
In 9:42 Dragon, her long-term friend Varric summoned her to Skyhold to assist the Inquisition's fight against Corypheus.
Overview[]
Physical Appearance[]
Kendall has reddish-brown hair about to chin length, which she typically keeps tied in multiple small braids. She is fairly short, around 5'4" (162 cm), with a slender to underweight build.
She does not have tattoos in her primary universe. There are various scars, mostly small in size, over her torso and back from combat.
Personality[]
Friends have been known to describe her as "someone you immediately either like or you hate." Kendall tends to have a very firm opinion on most major issues, and will cling to it stubbornly regardless of circumstances. She is particularly magephobic.
However, she has a great degree of charm and is very polite. It takes a truly extreme situation for her to jump straight to hostility - in nine cases out of ten, she's carefully considered what she feels is the best outcome for everyone.
Talents and Skills[]
Kendall is fiercely determined and will find a way to accomplish almost anything she puts her mind to. She has strong leadership skills and the internal motivation to match.
Although faced with many difficult decisions over the course of her life, it's rare for her to hesitate. She never loses sight of the bigger picture.
Biography[]
History[]
Kendall was born late 9:10 Dragon, just eleven months before her younger twin siblings. The workload of raising three small children and hiding an apostate led to Leandra and Malcolm putting a large amount of pressure on her to grow up before she was ready, often without realizing they were doing it.
Not wanting his children to grow up in fear, Malcolm did all he could to present them with a sanitized and fun view of magic, working to hide the reality of what they were missing. This facade fell apart when Bethany manifested at age nine. Faced with the dangers of untrained magic and the harsh reality of protecting a young apostate, Kendall developed an intense fear of mages. Her relationship with her father never recovered.
She held no great love for the farming lifestyle despite (or perhaps because of) being raised in that environment. When Carver turned eighteen, he and Kendall enlisted in the King's Army, and were later deployed to Ostagar. Kendall was employed in a stealth specialization.
Dragon Age 2[]
With King Cailan dead and Ferelden in a state of emergency due to incoming darkspawn, Kendall and Carver went AWOL from the army to evacuate. Despite possessing no documentation, they were able to reach Kirkwall with help from an elderly woman named Flemeth.
When the family arrived, the safety net they had pictured waiting for them was long gone. For more than a year, they lived as illegal immigrants with their uncle in his one-bedroom apartment, searching for ways to lift themselves out of poverty. In desperation, they latched on to Bartrand Tethras's treasure-hunting plan. While it brought them riches, the costs were higher than they could have imagined. Bartrand walked off with a cache of red lyrium that would eventually drive him to insanity, and Carver drowned less than two days out from the end of the trip. Compounding matters, when Kendall returned home to tell the family, she discovered her little sister had turned herself in just days earlier, and been sentenced to life in the Gallows.
The next three years were a slow process of building a new life in every way imaginable. Piece by piece, Kendall made a name for herself in the city, eventually rising to a state of "fame for being famous." Then, just as things were beginning to stabilize, once again fate turned everything on its ear.
In the midst of everything, Kendall and Isabela began a sexual relationship, neither of them looking for anything more than friction. Even so, the rest of their friend group could clearly see the way they started to cling to each other. That draw only became stronger as the Arishok demanded Kendall's attention, tensions rose in the Gallows (to be quickly swept under the rug by higher-ups), and a series of murders caught the public's eyes.
Later, Kendall would pinpoint the brutal murder of her mother as the tipping point for her mental health. As she spiraled downward, the demands on her only increased, creating a vicious cycle. It climaxed when the Arishok insisted repayment for the way his people had been wronged, ultimately forcing Kendall's hand. She was left with no choice but to turn Isabela over to the Qunari.
The next three years were something straight out of the Void. Dogged by grief, guilt, and trauma, it was a painful and drawn-out process for her to get her life back in any semblance of order. Just when she'd begun to get a handle on things, the Gallows hit its breaking point, and Kirkwall melted down completely.
The Kirkwall Rebellion was a day Kendall would prefer to forget, if she could. In the space of twenty-four hours, her home was destroyed, and she lost multiple friends, as well as her younger sister. It was a fight that haunted her for the rest of her life. For her role in bringing the city under order, she was offered the title of Viscountess, but declined. Within a year, she fled Kirkwall and began to travel the Free Marches on her own, searching for a sense of peace.
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
Kendall knew Varric was reluctant to drag her into the Inquisition's business, so by the time he considered the matter urgent enough to ask her to come, she arrived as quickly as she could. Her Grey Warden contact, Stroud, followed not long after.
When the siege at Adamant Fortress sent their team tumbling into the Fade, it was like being back in the thick of the Rebellion. Kendall, Stroud, and Inquisitor Lavellan fought through hordes of fearlings together, but the Inquisitor froze when faced with the Nightmare demon. In a split second, Kendall took matters into her own hands. With a final command for Lavellan to "say goodbye to Varric for [her]," she took off at a run, offering the chance for the others to escape.
Relationships[]
- In many ways, Carver was more like Kendall's twin than he was Bethany's. They had their disagreements, but remained fiercely protective of each other until the end. Kendall never forgave herself for his death.
- Bethany idolized her big sister, even though Kendall gave her reason after reason not to. Their relationship had been strained before Bethany went to the Circle; unbeknownst to either of them, templars began working to drive the two apart. Bethany died in the Kirkwall Rebellion, due in large part to Kendall having been led to believe her sister was a blood mage.
- Aveline and Kendall developed a great respect for one another, each having watched the other rise in power and rank. They never went long without checking in, even if it was just to say hello. At Aveline's wedding, she invited Kendall to be her bridesmaid.
- Varric remained Kendall's best friend for life. They were there for each other through the good times and the bad, and more struggles than they could count.
- From the beginning, Fenris and Kendall did all they could to hold each other up during hard times. Each of them relished having a friend who truly understood some of the things they were going through. They kept in contact after Kirkwall, and spoke on the phone weekly until Kendall's death in the Fade.
- The man himself terrified her, but Kendall had a grudging respect for Anders's work. It's because of that she was willing to overlook increasing signs of Justice's takeover - respect, and a heaping dose of not knowing what to do. He died fighting in the Rebellion, though it was years before Kendall stopped wondering what she could have done to prevent the whole damned mess. There was always some part of her, deep down, that truly believed she could have saved him from himself.
- Where to start with Isabela? It wouldn't be fair to say they were girlfriends, although both of them knew they were closer than either would admit. Similar in many ways, they came to rely on each other during Act 2. Giving Isabela to the Qunari was the worst thing Kendall had ever done, the ultimate betrayal. She never came to accept what she had done, nor did she believe she deserved to.
- Kendall and Merrill never got along, and would probably have seen little of each other if not for the number of mutual friends they had. Kendall made no secret of being terrified of Merrill's blood magic, resulting in frequent arguments. They parted ways after Marethari's death, only to face each other one last time in the Rebellion. Merrill spent her final moments fighting in defense of the Circle mages.
Miscellaneous[]
- Her Varric-given nickname is "Politician."
- Kendall is a fan of a dungeon-crawler MMORPG called Crystalcraft, and has met several online friends through it.
- She is diagnosed with PTSD from poly-victimization, and an anxiety disorder. As treatment for these, she receives regular therapy and medication.
- She sided with templars whenever possible in-game. Ella is dead by Anders's hand, and Feynriel made Tranquil.
- Kendall's mabari, whom the family adopted a year after Malcolm's death, is named Harlan. He imprinted on her from the beginning.