Mierin Hawke

**Mierin Hawke** was the eldest child of Malcolm Hawke and Leandra Amell. Taught by her father to fight from stealth and to take any advantage in combat, Mierin was an accomplished duelist and assassin. Fighting against the Qunari, she earned the title *Champion of Kirkwall* and was an outspoken proponent of Mage freedom. She was also the cousin of Vasher Amell.

## Overview

### Physical Appearance

Hawke had long, black hair and bright green eyes. During her duel with the Arishok, she received several scars, including one that extended from the corner of her lip to her eye and a large scar on her stomach from being impaled by one of the Qunari's massive horns.

### Personality

Mierin took her role as being the oldest child quite seriously, and always played the leader. Taking after her father, she was short of temper and prone to outbursts and aggression, having little tolerance for ignorance and stupidity. Despite this, she could be diplomatic, or playfully sarcastic, among friends. She was also a compulsive flirt where beautiful women were concerned.

### Talents and Skills

Despite not being a mage herself, Mierin learned to fight from her father, who understood that as an apostate, sometimes more mundane means of self-defense were necessary. She also emulated her father's magical combat through the use of alchemy and grenades.

Much like the Hero of Fereldan, Mierin became an exceptional duelist under the tutelage of the pirate Isabela. She also spent some of her years in Kirkwall learning the art of the assassin.

## Biography

### History

Mierin Hawke was born in 9:10 Dragon in Fereldan, daughter of Malcolm Hawke and Leandra Amell. With both her father and younger sister being apostates, Mierin moved many times before her family settled in Lothering following her father's death. In 9:30 Dragon, Mierin and her younger brother, Carver, joined the Fereldan Army at Ostagar.

When Teryn Loghain called for the retreat of his forces, the Hawke siblings were left with the overwhelmed forces and forced to flee on their own.

#### In-game

##### Prologue

The duo returned to Lothering with barely time to escape with their sister Bethany and their mother, fighting Darkspawn along the way. At the behest of their mother, Leandra, the family agreed that Kirkwall was the best place to go, as they had family and an estate there.

They met a Templar named Ser Wesley and his wife, a soldier named Aveline. Wesley immediately noticed Bethany's apostate status, but Mierin interceded on her sister's behalf. After a tense standoff, the Templar and soldier joined the party in their retreat.

During a particularly agressive attack by the Darkspawn, an Ogre killed Carver, although his sacrifice ensured no one else died. Mierin silently mourned her brother, but pushed on. Later, they were rescued by Flemeth, the famed Witch of the Wilds, in exchange for delivering a token to the Dalish outside of Kirkwall. She also informed the party that Ser Wesley was dying of the Blight, and needed to be put down. Mierin did the deed, earning the ire of Aveline.

Upon arriving at the City of Chains after a long and tumultuous ship ride, they found Kirkwall was inundated with refugees fleeing the Blight just as they were. Still, Leandra was able to get word to her brother, Gamlen.

Gamlen revealed that the family fortune had been run dry, but he still had a way for the Hawkes to get into the city; working for smugglers to pay his debts. So for a year, Mierin and Bethany worked as indentured servants to earn their passage.

##### The Expedition and New Friends

As soon as the Hawke sisters were able to find legitimate work, they learned of a Deep Roads expedition run by a pair of dwarves named Varric and Bartrand Tethras. Though Bartrand refused to hire them on, his younger brother Varric had heard of the sisters' exploits with the smugglers, and agreed to help them gather the coin to allow then to join the expedition as investors, rather than as hirelings. After consulting with Bethany, Mierin agreed.

Over the course of the next few days, Mierin met the pirate Isabela, the apostate and former-Grey Warden Anders, a former Tevinter Slave called Fenris, and in fulfilling her debt to Flemth, a Dalish blood mage named Merill, all of whom would come to be regular associates and friends to the Hawke sisters and Varric.

### Relationships

#### Isabela

After the end of Mierin's first year in Kirkwall, she met Isabela and was immediately in awe of her skills and beauty. The two became fast friends, with Hawke relishing in the pirate's generally positive outlook, despite it being a stark contrast to her own.

The two eventually became lovers, and when Isabela confessed that she was responsible for the Qunari invasion due to stealing the Tome of Kosslun, Mierin was able to forgive her and even dueled the Arishok to the death for her freedom.

Their relationship persisted despite a three year span where Isabela largely disappeared from Kirkwall, and during the onset of the mage rebellion, the two fought side by side, and eventually fled the city together.

#### Varric

While far from her first friendly acquaintance in Kirkwall, Varric was Mierin's first true friend in the City of Chains, and indeed the best friend she had ever had before or since.

Despite disliking the idea of her exploits being published as a novel, she eventually authorized Varric to write it. She also confided much, trusting her friend would not share her secrets with the entire world. He honored most of her secrets.

In the years after fleeing Kirkwall, Mierin and Varric remained in near constant contact, and after the situation at Weisshaupt had resolved, Hawke returned to Kirkwall to help her friend rebuild.

Varric's nickname for Hawke was Starlight, in reference to her being as beautiful as her sister Bethany, whom Varric had dubbed Sunshine, but far colder.

#### Bethany

Mierin's little sister looked up to her, often taking pains to emulate her style. Bethany was frequently a tagalong to Mierin, especially when they arrived in Kirkwall. Mierin was very protective of her, and was always quick to stifle any suggestion that Bethany's magic was in any way a hindrance or a curse.

The two grew further apart after Bethany was forced to Join the Grey Wardens, as the mage was embittered at the turn of her fate. They barely spoke in the intervening years, crossing paths once by chance when the Wardens were passing through Kirkwall, and again three years later at an Orlesian party, but it wasn't until they investigated an old Grey Warden prison in the Vinmark Mountains and discovered their father's legacy that their relationship began to mend.

#### Carver

*Almost* was the word that defined Carver Hawke's life. He was *almost* as good a fighter as his older sister. He was *almost* as almost as fast. He *almost* had the family Mabari imprint on him. And in the end, he *almost* saw his family safely to Kirkwall.

Unlike Bethany, who wished to be like Mierin, Carver wished to be better than her. Mierin, for her part, encouraged this rivalry, believing in time Carver would realize just how strong he really was and find his own way in life.

Unfortunately, Carver was killed by an ogre as the Hawke family fled the carnage of Lothering. His death took its toll on Mierin, who never forgave herself for failing him.

#### Merrill

Despite being a blood mage, Mierin found Merrill to be a delightful traveling companion. Hawke helped Merrill fix her Eluvian despite the protestations of some of her fellows, and stood up for Merrill against the abuses from her clan.

#### Anders

As an avid proponent of mage freedom and a detractor of the Chantry, Mierin and Anders agreed on many points, and, though the mage was often irritated by her lack of tangible commitment to his cause, they were friends.

Though their relationship strained after Anders destroyed the Kirkwall Chantry and started the Mage-Templar war, Mierin's anger stemmed not from Anders' actions, but from the fact that her friend lied to her about his intentions.

#### Fenris

Mierin and Fenris disagreed on the subject of mages and Templars, but otherwise agreed on principles such as freedom. The two respected one another, and always did what they could to help the other.

Mierin taught Fenris to read, and killed his former master Denarius, and in exchange, Fenris went against his own beliefs and stood by Hawke's side when she joined the Mage rebellion in the battle against Merideth and her Templars.￼

#### Aveline

The Captain of the City Guard and Kirkwall's most brazen criminal seldom if ever got along, though Aveline's feelings of debt to Hawke's family coupled with their mutually compatible goals of protecting the city had the two teaming up for a multitude if battles, including the push against Knight Commander Merideth.

#### Tallis

As the Arishok had named Mierin basalit-an before their duel, she had earned the respect of Talis before ever meeting her. Mierin at first didn't think much of the elf, though she spared no quarter flirting with her. However, after she learned Tallis was an agent of the Qunari, she took her more seriously, and gave her a cautious respect.

#### Warden Commander Luciel Tabris

Mierin met Luciel Tabris in Weisshaupt some time after escaping the Fade. The two were prone to disagreement, and their mutually aggressive demeanors led to many heated arguments.

#### Inquisitor Gwenna Cadash

Hawke met Gwenna Cadash at the behest of Varric in 9:41 Dragon. The Inquisitor requested the Champion's help, and though she was hesitant, she eventually acquiesced out of guilt regarding the survival of Corypheus.

They worked together for the duration of the Warden situation in Orlais. The two of them got along fairily well, and shared correspondence through Varric for some time. After the dissolution of the Inquisition, Cadash and Hawke remained friends.

#### Sebastian

As a man of the Chantry, Sebastian did little to impress Hawke. Their relationship remained mostly professional, though Hawke frequently found herself unconsciously trying to push him away from the Chantry and towards his throne when his doubts became a discussion. When Mierin refused to kill Anders, Sebastian left Kirkwall to declare war against the city.

## Miscellaneous

### Reddit Headcanon Threads:

12/04/2018 - Weekly Headcanon: "Titles and Nicknames", "Equipment", and "Would Your Character Be Suited For The Great Game?"

### Reddit Writing prompt Threads:

12/01/2018 - Weekly Writing Prompt- \*Visual Prompt - Image: Ship in a storm in a rocky cove\*

12/08/2018 - Weekly Writing Prompt - "*A cool breeze, the night sky, the light of the moon, a balcony, a kiss on the back of the neck."*

12/15/2018 - Weekly Writing Prompt - "Whipping winds, howling mabari, a clash of thunder, a spark of blue, a grumbling of annoyance"

12/22/2015 - Weekly Writing Prompt - *"A Heavy Footstep, A Hesitation To Speak, Grey, A Whisper, Fear"*