Bethany Hawke

“Other people always took the risks to keep me free.”

Bethany Hawke (born 9:11 Dragon^[1]) is Hawke's younger sister and Carver's fraternal twin. An apostate mage, she received her magical training from her father, who was also an apostate.

Background

Before the Fifth Blight, Bethany lived with her family in the outskirts of Lothering. Despite standing out in her curiosity about religious stories^[2], she was known to mostly stay hidden away at home. This was, of course, because of her arcane talents. A traveler identified as only 'Sade' visited the Amell family after the onset of Bethany's gifts, describing her as 'reveling in the stories of the far and away' and 'masterfully reserved'. Once, she and a friend were being chased by a wild dog and Bethany accidentally made it go to sleep. After this incident, Bethany kept herself in even more secrecy. The friend did not betray her to the templars because 'she was too nice to be magic.'^[3]

Appearance

Bethany will have one of several facial structures and hair styles, depending on the customization result of the player's character. The selection works as follows:

There are three base facial shapes that each family member can have. Hawkes using the default Hawke appearance or any of the first three presets will get the first head shape, Hawkes using the second three presets will get the second head shape, and Hawkes using the final three presets (or any modded presets past that) will get the third shape.

Each of the three head shapes has three variations - one with a pale skintone, one with a medium skintone, and one with a dark skintone, and each with a different hairstyle. Which of these variations is used by the game depends on Hawke's skintone; the first four skintones will result in the light-skinned version of Bethany, the second four in the medium-skinned version, and the final four in the dark-skinned version. All versions of Bethany will have black hair. The same applies for Carver and Leandra.^[4]

During Varric's initial recount of a warrior/rogue Hawke's flight from Lothering, Bethany will appear with her default face/hair.

Involvement

Dragon Age II

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

Bethany is forced to flee with her family once the Darkspawn fell on Lothering. If Hawke is a mage, Bethany will attack an ogre, be grappled, smashed to the ground and killed. If Hawke is a warrior or rogue, it will be Carver who is killed by the ogre, and Bethany will accompany her family to Kirkwall.

Bethany will spend a year working with her elder sibling in servitude to repay the debt that got the family into Kirkwall. After the year, Bethany and Hawke plan on joining The Deep Roads Expedition as it is their last resort to acquire enough wealth and influence to cow the templars from scrutinizing them too closely. Though she appreciates the trouble her family took to keep her out of the Circle, the running, hiding, and constant fear for what their future would hold have taken their toll. She begins to express guilt when she sees how much the family sacrifices to keep her free, especially when she learned their mother gave up her life as a noble to elope with their father. Sometimes she even wonders whether everyone would be better off if she'd been sent to the Circle from the very start. Through their time in Kirkwall, Bethany and Hawke will work on reclaiming the family estate. After amassing the fifty sovereigns needed to fund the expedition, Bethany will volunteer to join her elder sibling in the Deep Roads venture. Her mother however, will beg her to remain at home. Bethany will cite that she is "allowed to fight the darkspawn," but the final decision will be made by Hawke.

Bethany Hawke Alive and Well:

In the DLC Legacy, a deranged sect of the Carta will try to kidnap Bethany due to her link to "the blood of the Hawke". Bethany can travel with Hawke to a secret Warden prison in the Vimmark Mountains in order to find the source of the aggression and uncover the harsh truth about the Hawke lineage.

Left home

If Bethany is left behind in Kirkwall when Hawke sets out for the expedition, she will be arrested and taken to the Gallows just as Hawke returns from the Deep Roads. She will be in contact with her family and adjusts quickly to life in the Circle. She will pass her Harrowing and become a senior member of the Circle, in charge of teaching young apprentices. A letter reveals that Ella has taken quite a shine to her. She is happy that she doesn't have to run anymore and supports the Circle.

During the Qunari siege of Kirkwall she will lead an attempt to save First Enchanter Orsino from the Qunari. Hawke will be coldly received by Bethany who will utter sarcastic and ungrateful remarks, but she will survive the siege and be available to join the party later.

As hostilities between mages and templars increase, Bethany will be kidnapped by Grace and Thrask who are inciting a rebellion to overthrow Meredith, believing that the Champion is working for the Knight-Commander regardless of their allegiances in the mage-templar struggle.

During The Last Straw (Quest), Bethany will naturally want to take the mages' side. If Hawke sides with the mages she will be thankful to Hawke for siding with her kind and will join the party once again. She will then participate with the defense and evacuation of the Circle. If Hawke joins forces with the templars, she pleads with the Champion to not force her to choose between her family and her people. She can later be found in the courtyard of the Gallows, and will ask Hawke if they will fight her. If Hawke retorts by questioning if she would fight her own sibling as well, she will respond by expressing doubt. Orsino however, will then convince her that the mages must remain united during this crisis and will follow him into the Gallows.

The next time she is encountered is during the battle with Orsino. When he reveals that he studied the research of the Blood Mage Quentin, Hawke may mention that he was the man that murdered their mother, causing Bethany to withdraw from Orsino, shocked and appalled that Orsino protected the man that killed her mother, and claiming the First Enchanter could have saved Leandra if he hadn't done so. As Orsino begins his blood magic ritual, Bethany expresses her dismay that Orsino is planning on killing Hawke, whom he had promised to spare. She will join the battle against his Harvester form. After Orsino is killed, she will still mourn him. When Knight-Commander Meredith prepares to execute her, Bethany accuses her of driving Orsino to such extremes but accepts her sentence, stating she knows what will happen.

Hawke can now choose to let Meredith go through with the execution, or speak up in Bethany's defense. If Hawke defends her, she will express her gratitude with a hug and re-join Hawke's party and be available for the final battle with Meredith.

If Hawke sides with the mages, Bethany will be relieved. She can join the party defending the mages in the Gallows. In her final dialogue she comes to the conclusion that her magic comes from the Maker and he wouldn't want mages to be treated as they are.

Taken on the Deep Roads

If taken on on the Deep Roads expedition she will contract the taint and will die unless Anders is in the party in which case she will be recruited into the Grey Wardens. She will have very little contact with her family contacting only the mother informing her of her survival and continued travels with the wardens. She will resent the older sibling for coming out of the Deep Roads unscathed while she almost died. She will have been the only member of the Hawke family to return to Ferelden since their flight.

During the Qunari siege in Act 2, she and several other Grey Wardens will be attacked by the Qunari where they will receive support from Hawke.

Later when tension between the templars and Mages reaches its boiling point she will be abducted by Ser Thrask and be used to get Hawke to join his cause however it fails and Thrask is killed along with the abductors. She will also be seen at the Deep Roads with Nathaniel Howe in which she reveals that she is sad and hurt. To add to her taint she also has been away from her family for a long time in which so much happened and there was so little she could do to help that she has tried to freeze herself emotionally (explaining her attitude during the siege) but that this alienating attitude only hurt her more than it helped her. Furthermore she realizes that joining the Wardens was her only hope. She does not give a proper goodbye.

During The Last Straw (Quest) Bethany will arrive at the city in time to witness the start of the war. She will find Hawke and apologize for her earlier attitude and thank Hawke for saving her life when asked about her role as a warden her only reply is "I'm not a Grey Warden, I'm your sister". She will naturally want to side with the mages, but will still rejoin the party if Hawke sides with the templars.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Inquisition.

If Bethany is still alive, the Inquisitor can ask Varric Tethras about her fate.

Bethany became a Grey Warden:

Varric will state that she was last seen on Warden business near the border of the Anderfels. A conversation with Hawke reveals that they sent their associate Aveline Vallen to take her far away from Orlais when they discovered news of Grey Wardens acting strangely.

Bethany became a Circle mage:

Varric will state that she stayed behind in the Free Marches to help other mages from the Kirkwall Circle. A conversation with Hawke reveals that they sent their associate Aveline Vallen to take her far away from the Free Marches when they discovered news of Grey Wardens acting strangely.

Either way, if Hawke lives after the encounter with the Nightmare it is mentioned that they will likely reunite.

If Bethany died in the Deep Roads Varric will reminisce about it during the Keeping the Darkspawn Down side quest if he is in the party.

Friendship and Rivalry

See the approval page for more information.

Friendship with Bethany can generally be earned through acts of kindness, by siding with mages or by supporting family.

Rivalry with Bethany can generally be earned by choosing aggressive responses, by siding against mages or by exploiting Fereldans.

Quests

Prologue

The Destruction of Lothering

Act 1

Birthright

Portrait of the Past

Mark of the Assassin

A Symbolon

Initial statistics

Spell trees

Available spell trees	Initially selected spells
Elemental	Fireball
Spirit
Creation
Entropy
Force Mage (specialization)

Equipment

Weapons

Birchcore

Bethany specific gear

Armor

See also: Companion armor

An upgrade for Bethany's armor, Hawke's Pinions, is available in Act 1: Heirloom Amell Protective Sigils – in the Estate Vault during the Birthright quest. +10% magic resistance

Other

Birchcore – Bethany's initial staff
A Private Memento – requires Mage Item Pack DLC
Grandmother Amell's Wedding Band – requires Mage Item Pack II DLC
Bloodline – requires Legacy DLC
Miniature Family Portrait – requires Mark of the Assassin DLC

Alternate

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

DA2 Bethany Companion Armor Comparison — From left to right: Hawke's Pinions, Circle Mage Robes, Grey Warden Robes

If she was taken to the Circle of Magi then re-joins Hawke's party during The Last Straw in Act 3 (or for the DLC), she will be equipped with Circle Mage Robes and Staff of the New Growth
If she became a member of the Grey Wardens then re-joins Hawke's party during The Last Straw in Act 3 (or for the DLC), she will be equipped with Grey Warden Robes and Staff of the Blighted Heartwood

In both cases, the three previously unused armor upgrade slots will be automatically filled, providing +(2 + 0.2 * LVL) magic, +(4 + 4 * LVL) health and +10 mana/stamina regeneration. The two staves have identical appearances, damage, and stats.

Quotes

Bethany concept — Early concept art of Bethany with short blonde hair

Main article: Bethany Hawke/Dialogue

(Upon meeting Wesley) "Well, the Maker has a sense of humor. Darkspawn, and now a templar. I thought they all abandoned Lothering."
(Said if Bethany joins the party in act three, female Hawke version) "The Hawke Sisters together again, just like old times."
(When Hawke agrees to Jethann's services) "Maker's breath! Can't you do this when I'm not around?"
"All these years I tried to understand what Andraste saw. Why she had to lock us up. But my powers come from the Maker... and I just cannot believe that is His will."
"I was just hoping it would be different here in Kirkwall. We're not running away again. We're coming home."
"Father was a good man, but... Mother gave up so much for him. Of course, if she hadn't worked up the nerve to elope, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist the templars, either. If we'd been born here, you'd be nothing more to me than a name the Circle kept in my file."
"The Maker is wiser than we can be in a lifetime. Who am I to question His plan?"

Mark of the Assassin

(To female Hawke) "You're a far better "Lady Hawke" than I would have been."
(To Male Hawke) "You're a far better representative of the family than I would have been."

Trivia

Bethany was named in honor of her maternal grandmother Bethann.
Jennifer Hepler wrote Bethany for Dragon Age II.
In the beginning of the game, when Varric is telling the legend of the Champion, Bethany has much larger breasts, a subtle reference to Varric's tendency to exaggerate.
Bethany is a second cousin of the human of the Magi Origin, regardless of whether or not they are the Warden, through her mother, whose maiden name is Amell.^[5]
Bethany is excited about the possibility of her mother Leandra reclaiming the Amell estate; however, she never gets the chance to actually live in it.
In her codex page, it is revealed that she was a lot closer to the eldest sibling than Carver. It can also be noted that she was afraid of the idea of being a mage unlike Hawke who (if a mage) embraces the idea of being a mage faster than her, as Bethany wanted a normal life for herself.
Bethany and Carver are the only companions who do not have their own unique specialization; instead they use the Force Mage and Templar specializations, respectively, from the beginning of Act 2. In Act 1, they remain un-specialized.
If asked why her parents protected her from the Circle so much she will reveal that her mother had a cousin who lost many children to the Circle, and if the Warden was a Human Mage (imported save) she will also state that one of the children became the Hero of Ferelden and saved them.
When approaching the Qunari compound at the Kirkwall Docks, Bethany will mention that one of them killed her best friends back in Lothering, which is a reference to Sten from Dragon Age: Origins.
In the Chantry, Bethany may mention Leliana, saying she misses her telling stories in Lothering.
It's possible during the Deep Roads Expedition, that when Bethany becomes infected with the Taint, her face will morph to another existing face preset. However, this new face bears the taint markings. Similar to Wesley (Aveline's late husband) after he was infected.
Bethany does not have the option to learn spells from the Primal tree.
David Gaider said that if he could write another Dragon Age comic, it would be dedicated to Bethany starting with that scene in Lothering and ending as a fleeing Circle Mage. He mentioned that he wanted her to adventure with Sebastian Vael in Starkhaven, and maybe Nathaniel Howe.^[6]