Anca is likely around 40 years old in The Blood of Dawnwalker. The game doesn’t appear to give her exact age directly, but at some point in Anca’s storyline, in the Stronger Than Achilles quest, she tells Coen that she’s about twenty years older than him, which means Anca is much older than she looks.
And if you’re wondering why Anca looks nowhere near that old, the game gives us a few interesting clues, but not a clear answer. Let’s see what we can figure out.
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Anca’s Age in The Blood of Dawnwalker
Anca’s exact age isn’t officially confirmed, but she’s roughly 20 years older than Coen. I myself estimate Anca to be in her late 30s or early 40s. How do we know that? Well, in Anca’s storyline, in the Stronger Than Achilles quest, she literally confirms this and says: “Coen, I’m some twenty years older than you.”
For anyone wondering, Stronger Than Achilles and Where Old Devils Lie are from the second stage of Anca’s quest line, after Echoes of Silenced Bells and Between the Words. If you’re also wondering who plays Anca, you can check out our The Blood of Dawnwalker voice actors guide.
So the thing is, we definitely have to consider the word “some” that she uses. Anca is giving an approximate difference rather than flat-out saying Coen is 20 years younger than her. So how old would that make her? That depends on Coen’s age. Bandai Namco, on its official page, simply calls Coen a young man, and that’s about it.
At the same time, it says Anca and Coen have some history together. No age is mentioned, though.
Anca and Coen’s Relationship
Their history also makes it clear that Anca has been an important figure in Coen’s life for quite some time. She has always been a quiet presence at Coen’s side and has taught him how to read and encouraged him to be the best version of himself.
She also teaches Coen something far less ordinary. During the day, Coen can learn witchcraft from Anca.
None of this gives us Anca’s exact age, but it does add context to the difference between the two characters. She has long had something of a guiding and teaching role in Coen’s life. You can even turn this relationship into a romance later on.
Why Does Anca Look So Young?
There currently doesn’t seem to be a confirmed lore explanation for why Anca looks so young despite being around 20 years older than Coen. However, Anca’s age comes up during the Font of Life quest. She admits that she withheld part of the description. The missing passage refers to “the weight of the years forgotten” and “old skin shed.”
When she explains why she is interested in the Font of Life, Coen asks whether this is about her age. Anca replies, “In a way,” and then explains that what she really wants is a fresh start and to be free of the scars and consequences of her witchcraft.
In most scenes, it seems as if she’s the same age as Coen or even younger, depending on the lighting and scene, of course. I do believe part of that is because of how mature Coen looks despite the fact that he’s still a young man. But there are reasons for that too. Without any spoilers, Coen had to take responsibility for his family from a very young age.
As a child, he even worked alongside his father in the silver mines, which I’m sure was an experience that left lasting marks on his body and spirit, as we can see. So again, that’s the assumption I have from everything I’ve seen happen to him and the kind of unforgiving world he’s been living in.
And for Anca, the most common explanations seem to be witchcraft and her knowledge of herbs. Let’s see what we can make of that.
Does Witchcraft Keep Anca Young?
For the record, there’s no confirmation that Anca uses witchcraft to keep herself young. That’s for sure. But I can understand why a lot of y’all might think that. Anca really does practice witchcraft. Coen learns witchcraft from her, like offensive and defensive spells and whatnot.
However, I don’t think the game treats Anca’s witchcraft as something she necessarily wants to keep. In the Stronger Than Achilles quest, she searches for the Font of Life because she wants a way to erase her troubled past and one outcome allows her to lose her witchcraft entirely.
That’s why I don’t think her witchcraft is necessarily the reason Anca looks younger than players expect and it gives us even less reason to assume her appearance is definitely caused by magic.
Since Anca is a local herbalist from Laslea, at first I thought, “Damn, Anca should have some kind of medieval skincare routine or something that keeps her looking the way she does.” But the more I progressed through the story, the more I realized that wasn’t it.
If anything, I started believing the opposite. Years of witchcraft and blood sacrifice should’ve taken a toll on her body and mind rather than the opposite.
Why Does Anca Call Herself Old?
Throughout the story, Anca refers to herself as an old woman. Early in the game, after she slips and Coen helps treat her injury, Anca jokes, “Old woman being clumsy.”
So I guess it might just be sarcasm or self-deprecation rather than Anca literally considering herself elderly, to be honest. Later in her storyline, Anca jokes about being “stuck in my old skin” after giving up on what she hoped the Font of Life could do for her.
At the end of the day, what we can say for sure is that Anca genuinely is much older than Coen, despite not looking like it. However, what we can’t confirm is that her youthful appearance comes from witchcraft or anything related to herbs.
Until the game or developers provide something more specific, Anca being around 20 years older than Coen is the clearest information we have about her age.
