- Main article: Storyline for Dragon Age II
In 9:30 Dragon, the Fifth Blight has just begun and, following their victory at Ostagar, the darkspawn fall upon the village of Lothering. The Hawke family is among the last to escape alive. Hawke's mother Leandra suggests that they flee to Kirkwall, where her younger brother Gamlen holds the Amell estate. On the road they stumble into Aveline and her templar husband, Wesley, also survivors of the massacre. During their escape, they run into further bands of darkspawn. Though the party defeats many of these creatures, victory comes at a cruel price: Aveline's husband contracts the darkspawn taint and one of Hawke's siblings is slain by an ogre. Surrounded by darkspawn and on the verge of death, Hawke's party is rescued by an attacking high dragon. The dragon turns out to be Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. Flemeth offers them safe passage to Gwaren in exchange for a favor. Hawke has no choice but to agree.
Hawke's party boards a ship to Kirkwall but finds that the city is filled with an influx of Fereldan refugees, all fleeing the Blight. The city guard has been turning them away and banning them from the city. Worse, they discover that Gamlen has gambled away the Amell estate and fortune. Gamlen has contacts who bribe Hawke's party into the city, but only if they agree to work off a tremendous debt as indentured servants. Hawke has no choice but to agree to be under the contact's employ.
One year later, Hawke has managed to work off the debt but still lacks the funds needed to properly care for the entire family. Hawke is persuaded by an associate, Varric, to become a business partner in his and Bartrand's Deep Roads Expedition. Though Bartrand betrays both Hawke and Varric during the expedition, the treasures found within the Deep Roads have brought Hawke both fame and fortune. However, if Hawke's surviving sibling accompanied Hawke into the Deep Roads, he/she was tainted by the Blight. If accompanied by Anders, the sibling can be offered a choice: death or joining the Grey Wardens. If the sibling did not accompany Hawke into the Deep Roads then the surviving sibling will either be inducted into the Circle of Magi or the templars depending on the sibling's class.
Three years later, Hawke's status in Kirkwall has improved substantially since they assumed their role as scion of the aggrandized Amell family. Hawke is asked by the templar Emeric to investigate the mystery of the missing women in Kirkwall. Hawke's mother, Leandra, is abducted by the white-lily serial killer while on her way to visit Gamlen. Following the killer's trail, Hawke finds that Leandra has been murdered and pieced together with parts of other women. Her killer and the instigator of all the serial killings is a blood mage named Quentin. Keeping Leandra alive with his magic, Quentin aspires to recreate the image of his dead wife. Hawke battles Quentin and his demon and undead forces. After Quentin dies, Leandra also dies. Her last words are to tell Hawke how proud she is of them. Hawke mourns the loss of their mother while being comforted by friends.
Tensions between the Qunari, who have been stranded in Kirkwall for several years and refuse to leave without their missing relic, and the city's denizens have also been escalating. Hawke has been asked to intervene with Qunari affairs several times but the discord reaches a boiling point when Aveline, now captain of the guard, enlists Hawke's aid in trying to arrest some criminal elves who have been granted religious sanctuary in the Qunari Compound. The Arishok, who has had to endure a series of provocations from Kirkwall's anti-Qunari sect, takes a final offense to the attempted arrest of his new converts and counterattacks; marshaling his forces to conquer the city and convert it to the Qun. Hawke is able to rally the templars and Circle mages and fight back against the Qunari. They reach the Viscount's Keep where Hawke either defeats the Arishok or is able to bargain with him to leave the city peacefully. Having saved the city, Hawke is crowned the new Champion of Kirkwall.
Another three years pass. Knight-Commander Meredith has taken control of the city and prevented the election of a new viscount. Meredith's stance against the mages has become harsher and much more cruel. After several more mages escape the Circle, Meredith orders more raids, crackdowns, and unwarranted incarcerations. Meanwhile, tales of insurrection from the Mage Underground have become more frequent but have steadily declined to the point of almost utter annihilation due to Meredith's harsh tactics. First Enchanter Orsino accuses Meredith of being a tyrant and urges the citizens of Kirkwall to revolt against her. The citizens of Kirkwall look to Hawke to keep the peace between the Templars and the Circle. Meanwhile, Hawke is also requested to protect the city from maleficarum. After one of their loved ones is kidnapped by insurgents, Hawke becomes embroiled in a conflict with rebel mage-templar conspirators seeking to overthrow Meredith.
Things reach a boiling point when Anders blows up the Kirkwall Chantry in order to remove the chance of peaceful compromise. Meredith immediately orders the Right of Annulment and demands that the Champion stand with her and her templars in executing every mage in the city. First Enchanter Orsino pleads with the Champion to defend them against the templars, citing that the Circle had nothing to do with the attack on the Chantry. Hawke will have to choose to support either First Enchanter Orsino and the mage cause, or the knight-commander and her templars.
The final battle ends in the Gallows. Desperate to defeat the knight-commander's forces, Orsino uses Blood Magic to become a harvester. Meredith, driven insane and paranoid by her Red Lyrium-forged sword, also turns on Hawke. Both are eventually defeated by Hawke.
There are two possible endings depending on who Hawke supports in the final battle:
- Defend the Mages:
The Champion and their allies escape Kirkwall before templar reinforcements arrive. Hawke's name becomes a rallying cry for oppressed mages everywhere.
- Support the Templars:
The Champion supports templars in exterminating the mage threat. Gaining the respect of the Order, Hawke is appointed the new Viscount of Kirkwall. Hawke's name becomes a reminder of templar oppression for mages everywhere.
Whatever path the player takes, Varric recalls that Hawke has mysteriously disappeared. Hawke's whereabouts are currently unknown, but Varric doubts that Hawke is dead.
Legacy
Between 9:31 and 9:37 Dragon, Hawke enters a secret Warden prison in the Vimmark Mountains searching for a sect of the Carta who are after "the blood of the Hawke". After investigating the deranged Carta members, Hawke and company discover that they sought to bring Hawke's blood to a creature called Corypheus in order to wake him from slumber. After getting to the bowels of the prison, Hawke chooses a side between two Grey Wardens: Janeka or Larius. Janeka wants to control Corypheus and Larius believes he should be destroyed. Corypheus proves too powerful and Hawke is forced to destroy him regardless. The Seekers of Truth attempt to investigate some time later, but the prison has been destroyed and they are turned away by Grey Wardens.
Mark of the Assassin
Between 9:31 and 9:37 Dragon, Hawke also joins a mysterious elf assassin, Tallis, in infiltrating Chateau Haine and stealing a precious relic. Hawke and party take part in a traditional Orlesian wyvern hunt, after which they fail an attempt at stealing the relic and are captured. Tallis then reveals the truth about the relic The Heart of the Many. After escaping, Hawke chooses between helping Tallis pursue the relic or not. Their undertaking leads to a fight with Tal-Vashoth and Duke Prosper de Montfort which ends in Montfort's death. Though his death at Hawke's hands would have normally warranted retribution from Orlais, Prosper's dealings with the Tal-Vashoth against the Qunari, if revealed, would have embroiled Orlais in an impolitic scandal. Hawke then lets Tallis leave with the true prize or can try to stop her. At some point after returning to the Hawke Estate, Hawke writes a journal passage regarding their relationship with Tallis and whether they'll meet again.
