The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to romance Anca

1. Meet Anca in Laslea Glen and complete the Withering Away quest

As mentioned, you'll first meet Anca in the prologue of The Blood of Dawnwalker. Her hut is located in the eastern woods, which you'll also be able to easily travel to via the Anca's Hut shrine. You'll first go there to fetch herbs as a remedy for Coen's mother Esme, and Anca will be by the river outside.

Upon meeting Anca, you can choose to ask about the bandages around her hands if you like. When buying the herbs from her, you can pay either full price (if you've got the cash), half the price, or say you'll pay her back later. I never paid Anca back and I still managed to romance her just fine, so don't be too worried about your choices here.

2. (Optional) Complete the Page-Turner

Anca will ask you if you'd like to stay a while and practice Latin with her. Choosing to stay will cost you time, but it'll also launch the Page-Turner quest, where your Latin studies quickly turn into helping Anca gather herbs, and even washing some wounds on her naked back. Choose "kisses" and "grains of sand" as the dialogue options when you're reading with her, and then when she is injured, tell her that she has to take off her top. After you've tended to her wounds, tell her "I enjoy the company more than the books."

I was being careful with my time, so during my first playthrough, I personally didn't stay for the Page-Turner quest. I'm pleased to report that it had no knock-on effect to romancing Anca later down the line, but if you want to deepen Coen and Anca's connection, it's worth doing.

3. Complete the Echoes of the Silenced Bells

After the game has begun properly, you'll be prompted to meet Anca near St. Tyna's Convent, where you'll begin the Echoes of the Silenced Bells quest. It's a lengthy affair with zombie-like nuns and a lot of sneaking, fighting, and big decisions. Whenever Anca opens up to you about her past in the nunnery, be sure to choose the supportive options.

Eventually, you'll come face-to-face with Leonica, one of the nuns that Anca used to know. Unfortunately, she's transformed into something quite horrific.

Defeat her in a boss fight and you'll be given notes to try and undo the curse affecting St. Tyna's. You can choose to burn these notes in the fire or give them to Anca. Choose "Here, take them." This will give Anca a chance to help her old sisters and unburden her conscience.

4. Complete Between the Words

You'll retrieve some interesting literature from St. Tyna's Convent which you can take back to the inn with Anca to inspect. Here, you've the option to prepare her a nice warm drink for her that'll lead to a touch of flirting, though it isn't essential. Here, you can choose the dialogue options "There are better sources of joy than herbal brews," and Your feelings toward me - it's more than just faith" if you really want to put ideas of romance into the air.

5. Complete Where Old Devils Lie

Using the knowledge from the books, you'll continue the quest to find the Font of Life. You'll follow Anca to a lake where she'll flirt with you on the way, calling you a "dashing daredevil" and making playful jibes. Once you reach the lake, you can flirt back by picking the option "Something troubling you?" This will allow you to then say, "I care about you."

When you're in front of the ruins that you need to enter, tell Anca "Nice to see you smile" and "I'm enjoying your company, too.". Alas, she's adamant that you keep your eye on the prize, and shuts down further attempts to talk about feelings - though she also isn't opposed to the idea, it appears.

6. Complete Stronger Than Achilles

This is when the sexual tension really kicks up a notch, which is handy because it's also the last part of Anca's questline. As you enter the ruins, you'll want to take any excuse there is to flirt, and there will be some tense moments, especially when Anca is covering Coen's torso in symbols.

After fighting a lot of enemies, you'll eventually reach a contraption that you'll need to put your hand in, cutting it and using the blood to open a locked door. Offer yourself up, not Anca, and tell her "Better me than you."

Eventually, you'll find out Anca lied to you about the Font of Life (but that's a story for a different day) and here you should pick the conversation options "I'd do anything for you" followed by "I love you." Don't pick the option where you simply call Anca a friend, because that obviously puts a pin in the romance.

Anca is still playing hard to get, brushing off your comments and devastatingly not telling you that she loves you back. If anything she's actually a bit rude here. But, be patient. Your time will come.

7. Make a choice at the Font of Life

At the end of the Stronger Than Achilles quest, you'll finally reach the Font of Life. Here, you can decide whether Anca gets to use it to lose her magic, or if you'll drink to help with your fight against Brencis.

It genuinely doesn't matter what you pick. If you take it for yourself, you'll unlock the Font of Life skill, allowing you to passively regenerate human health. This can be a major assist, especially if you're finding it difficult to heal during the day. However, giving the Font to Anca is highly thematic and will help lessen the burden she's felt since leaving St. Tyna's. The choice is yours.

8. Finally, romance Anca

After a hard-fought battle in the ruins and a visit to the Font of Life, you'll head back to the inn to 'unpack' your day and 'blow off steam'. This is where all your flirting comes to a crux. Choose "There's a conversation we need to finish" and "I meant what I said." Anca will say you're being inappropriate, but push on.

Eventually, she'll say she wants to tear your shirt off, which is a bit surprising considering how frosty she's been. When she says she won't because of decency, you should pick "Screw decency. I want you, too." You can also choose to be just friends here, but if you're reading this guide, I assume you're after romance.

This conversation will lead to a very saucy scene between Coen and Anca, eliminating the tension between them and resulting in... Well, you get the picture. Afterwards, she'll promptly get dressed and tell you that there won't be anymore canoodling because you're a Dawnwalker. Either way, you romanced her and that was the goal, right?