Avis Hawke

he's default hawke, so look at this pre-rendered smolder

**Avis Hawke,** born 9:08 Dragon, was the Champion of Kirkwall. Despite being a lifelong apostate and his grumbling personality, Avis has always used his magic to help others. He is an accomplished spirit healer and surgeon, and might as well be officially licensed in snark.

## **Overview**

### **Physical Appearance**

Though both of his parents are Marchers, Avis proudly sports a look that is obnoxiously Fereldan. His hair is stark black, his complexion a pale olive. He has Malcolm's eyes, a golden amber color.

He is taller than most men, lean and muscular. He grows his beard out thick, but maintains it well; he cuts his hair himself, so it always looks artfully disheveled. Perhaps most notably, he has a giant scar running from cheekbone to cheekbone, across the bridge of his nose. He thinks it makes him look ruggedly handsome.

### **Personality**

He's a purple Hawke. That should give you a feel for Avis' general schtick.

Blithe and scathingly sarcastic, Avis doesn't want to give off the impression that he's approachable. He is fine minding his own business and only his business, an unfortunate aspect of his personality that developed from his nomadic life in Ferelden. Though he prefers not to involve himself in the personal affairs of others, Hawke is a healer above all else, and finds great satisfaction in his work. Avis may be gruff and a bit short with his patients, but they will receive gentle care and the best medical services he can provide.

Avis has simple taste, which speaks to his humble origins. He cares little for what he wears, and prefers armor to regular clothing; he is not picky with food or drink, having grown up on foraged Fereldan cooking; he cares little for fanfare or decoration, and always uses what is available to him. As such, Avis has little patience for things that he finds irrelevant or unnecessary. He prefers to keep conversations strictly topical, and is always focused on the task at hand. Though he became a noble, Avis preferred to live simply and let his mother and family use his money, as he never replaced anything of his until it broke or became unusable. He can be frustrating to deal with, but his priorities are always business above pleasantries.

In short: all Avis really asks for is respect, and to not be dragged into conflicts that don't involve him. (As you can imagine, that didn't work out too well for him.) Please don't hug him.

### **Talents and Skills**

Avis began learning healing magic as soon as his magic manifested at the age of 6. He picked up surgeon skills from a healer in Ferelden when he was young, and has been studying and learning the art of spirit healing and whatever medieval surgical procedures exist ever since. He tends to use a lot of poultices and other remedies that can be assembled quickly and on the go, learned from his time on the run. Many modern healers in Thedas subscribe to the system of Humorism - while Avis is well-read on the subject, he just does what he thinks will heal most efficiently, humors aside.

Offensive magic was never a priority for him - Bethany was almost much more interested in force magic than he, and Malcolm was trained to fight in the Circle. Prior to Kirkwall, he knew some entropic magic, and his skills were potent enough that his Cones of Cold and the such could get them out of sticky situations with Templars if necessary. After moving to Kirkwall, Avis was forced to embrace his offensive side, and became quite skilled with elemental and force magic.

Beyond combat and magic, Avis has the ability to drink and tolerate obnoxious amounts of alcohol. He is very good at mending torn clothing. Though his patience with patients (heh) can become quite thin, Avis is incredible with children - he shows them the same amount of respect he would adults and takes care not to sass them, and the kids very much appreciate that.

## Biography

### **History**

Avis and his family lived in Ferelden before the Blight hit. Malcolm, Avis, and Bethany were all apostates, so the family was constantly moving from town to town, hoping to avoid the grasp of Templars. They constantly lived below their means, and learned to deal with what they were given. It was not unusual for them to camp in forests with no shelter overnight, or have entire meals made up of only foraged foods. Regardless, they were a happy family unit, even if they argued.

Somewhere along the way, the Hawkes lived in a village with a surgeon named Ged, and Avis began to learn from him. The family stayed there the longest out of all their homes, mostly so Avis could pick up these skills he so desperately wanted to learn. They were forced to flee when Avis was discovered using magic to heal wounds (though Ged never minded, and always turned a blind eye), but Avis continued practicing those skills and searching for new medical texts whenever he could.

Avis was always closest to Malcolm. They shared a similar wit and dry sense of humor, and Avis appreciated that he could tell Malcolm anything. As the older sibling, Avis often acted as the responsible adult when their parents were indisposed, protecting his siblings and easily healing their scrapes and bruises with magic. Malcolm deteriorated slowly from an illness that Avis couldn't figure out, and the most he could do was ease his suffering in his final days. His father finally passed several years before the Blight hit, leaving the family more fragile. Avis, now 18, stepped in as a surrogate parent to the teenaged Bethany and Carver, and assumed many of Malcolm's responsibilities into his own.

Life moved on. Carver became a soldier, Bethany and Avis continued to strengthen their magic, and Leandra served dutifully as their protective mother. They were forced to flee Ferelden when the Fifth Blight hit, and went to reclaim the Amell estate in Kirkwall. While escaping the Blight, they fought an ogre that killed Bethany; during the proceeding battle, Avis took a blow to the face that left a massive scar across the bridge of his nose. Despite his own medical training, the escape from Ferelden was too hectic for him to heal the wound entirely properly. He lives with the scar and residual effects for the rest of his days.

### **In-game**

* **Entered the city with the smugglers.** Hawke was not trying to draw attention to himself or his family, so he and Carver turned down the mercenaries and instead worked for Athenril. It was also a snide, stunted relationship, but they were good reinforcement for the smuggling operation.
* **Left Carver behind before the Deep Roads expedition.** It wasn't a pride thing — Hawke knew that he could potentially die in the Deep Roads, and wanted his mother to at least have one son alive to protect her and keep the money flowing. Carver fumed about it, but since Hawke nearly died after Bertrand went bonkers, he never regretted his decision. His twerp brother may have joined the Templars, but at least he was alive and in the Templars.
* **Freed Feynriel.** Hawke knew how terrifying it was to be a mage not entirely aware of his abilities, and genuinely wanted to help Feynriel. Making him Tranquil was not the solution. Letting a demon have him was not the solution. And Tevinter may suck, but it's better than Kirkwall.
* **Fought and killed the Arishok.** Isabela was/is very near and dear to him, though Hawke would have loved to resolve this whole mess without even more fighting. He fought the Arishok in single combat and won by a hair, almost dying in the process. He will never engage anyone in single combat again.
* **Killed the dragon at the bone pit.** Fuck that thing. Gimme my armor.
* **Sided with the mages.** Though Hawke was not a fan of either Orsino or Meredith, and had attempted to side with neither of them, he didn't have a choice. He couldn't butcher the mages, although he disapproved wholeheartedly with their blood magic, and fought with Orsino against Meredith. Until Orsino revealed that he helped the dude that killed his mom. Then he stopped helping Orsino and killed him, THEN fully fought Meredith. It was a whole thing.

### **Post-game**

After Kirkwall fell and Avis was forced to flee the city as Thedas' most notorious apostate, he went into hiding. For the majority of the two years before Kirkwall and the Inquisition, Avis served as the medic on Isabela's crew, keeping an eye on the state of southern Thedosian affairs when they docked in important cities.

Eventually, Isabela's crew docked for just a little too long in Denerim, long enough for Leliana's scouts to recognize Isabela. Hawke figured Denerim, just next door to Amaranthine, was as good a place as any to investigate the strange mass Calling afflicting the Wardens, and traveled Ferelden while Isabela became the Inquisition's first, best, and only admiral.

He helped the Inquisition and almost got sucked into the Fade, but ran like hell when that Nightmare demon came at him. Stroud got left behind (which is still dumb, but whatever Bioware) and Hawke feels guilty about it often. He headed off to Weisshaupt with Isabela, and Carver probably joined them with their old, arthritic family mabari.

After the events of Inquisition, Hawke and Carver are still helping with reparations at Weisshaupt, and both are complaining about it daily, probably.

## **Relationships**

### Family

* Avis was closest with **Malcolm** - he and his father shared personalities and senses of humor. Both of his parents found admirable that Avis wanted to study medicine, and encouraged his healer training, but Malcolm was particularly outspoken about it. The two were known for spending hours in silence just studying, and teamed up to snark Carver to death over family dinners. When Malcolm passed, Avis inherited his duties as a caretaker and confidant for the twins.
* **Leandra** and Avis often butted heads due to Avis' blithe and sometimes irreverent sass. Avis had always helped raise the twins, so in Leandra's mind, he was always independent and didn't need coddling. Once Malcolm passed, Leandra began to assume that Avis would take over his father's duties in raising the twins — and though Avis loves his siblings, he was barely an adult himself. He begrudges Leandra for expecting so much of him and offering him no help; she begrudges him for his attitude and eternal skepticism in her.
* **Bethany** and Avis bonded over magic. They were never as close as Bethany and Carver were, but she was happy to learn skills from her older brother. He is a confidant for her, and she often appreciated his blunt honesty.
* **Carver** and Avis have the most convoluted relationship. Carver had spent his whole life being compared to his "noble" brother, who had "dedicated his life to others" by deciding to be a healer. He hated being overshadowed because he didn't have magic, and constantly strived to set himself apart from his siblings. While tense, his relationship with Avis was not entirely sour. The brothers bonded over little things, like complaining about their parents or being forced to mend clothes together as part of their chores. Deep down, they truly love each other; it's just hard to see beneath the snark and grudges.
	+ After becoming a Templar, Carver and Avis grew even farther apart. Avis refused to write letters to him out of spite, and it took the two many years to finally get over themselves and keep in contact. The final battle against Meredith made them realize how much they really cared for each other, and they keep in contact now that Avis has made fixing Thedas his full-time job.
* his mabari's name is **ares** and they're best friends

### Companions

* **Varric** is Hawke's best pal. You know the deal.
* **Aveline** was also very close with Hawke, though not initially. His sarcasm grated on her nerves, but he was one of the only friends she had in Kirkwall for a very long time. Eventually, Aveline learned that Hawke acted like an asshole, but secretly harbored a heart of gold. They bond over their dead families, snark at each other, and genuinely consider the other one of their closest friends. It's nice.
* Hawke was never incredibly close with **Fenris**, and they both tiptoed around the issue of mage rights with each other. Regardless, Hawke was happy to help Fenris free himself from his slave background, kill his master, and learn how to read. They don't talk much, but there's respect there.
* Hawke would fight **Anders** behind a Denny's at 2AM any day of the week. While they initially got along since they were both spirit healers and could talk shop, Anders' increasingly poor decisions but him at odds with Hawke. They argued often, and Hawke begrudgingly did him favors because he can't fckin say no to a friend, even if that friend makes bad choices. Hawke executed Anders after the explosion at the Chantry, though it was an impulsive move; in hindsight, he would have wanted Anders to see the destruction and death he had caused by starting this war.

* **Merrill** and Hawke have always had a tumultuous relationship. Initially, Hawke was happy to help Merrill get settled in Kirkwall...until he realized the full extent of her obsession with the Eluvian. Their relationship is similar to that of an older brother disapproving wholeheartedly with the actions of their younger sibling; Hawke was always worried about Merrill, though he didn't always express it properly. Merrill felt he wasn't being supportive, which came to a head when Hawke refused the artifact from Keeper Marethari (which you should be able to do in the game, lbr). He would not help her pursue this project, and she had to live with that.
	+ (Meta translation: they were almost at full friendship until I refused to give her the artifact. I got like +90 rivalry almost immediately and eventually just leaned into it and went full rival. Sorry Merrill.)
	+ He did NOT kill her clan though. He refused to commit violence against the Dalish, who had never lifted a hand to him.

* tbh i didn't buy sebastian's dlc but he and hawke would probably be really neutral

### Romance

gonna be honest, avis was an isabela romance but i realized it didn't fit him a year after i played the game. his li is now a guard under aveline named rosana and they're very cops and robbers with each other that's literally all i have lmao

## **Miscellaneous**

* The wound that gave Avis his facial scar makes sneezing very painful for him. When he sneezes unexpectedly, he tends to let out a yelp of pain, which is very disconcerting for anyone in the vicinity. His friends learn to deal with it; Varric usually makes some sort of joke, and Isabela will not react at all, but immediately and nonchalantly hand him a handkerchief.
* His name is pronounced AY-vis, like the car rental company. The Hawkes usually called Avis "Av" — pronounced like Abe, but with a v. Only Carver calls him this after the events of the game, and Avis insists that everyone else just use his surname.
	+ Varric's nickname for Avis is "Bones", referencing his role as a healer and surgeon. Avis puts up with it, but mostly doesn't comment on it.

## **Links**

### **Reddit Headcanon Threads:**

Hawke, healing, and humanity

Style, thy name is Champion

### **Reddit Writing prompt Threads:**

Codex: The Tale of the Champion, Act 2.5

grievous

a home is

superlative/comparative

## **Gallery**

* Sample Photo
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