Uldren Sov
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Prince of the Reef (formerly) |
Uldren Sov[1] is an Awoken, and the brother of the Queen of the Reef Mara Sov. He also goes by the titles, "The Prince of the Reef", and "The Master of Crows." He was the Queen's advisor, spymaster, and enforcer, using his Crows (both the agents and the monitoring devices) to spy on the activities of the other races in the system. While loyal to his sister, he disagreed with her frequently on matters of defense and foreign policy, and is very disdainful of the Guardians.[2][3] He is the main antagonist of Forsaken, having apparently killed the hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6 and established himself as the leader of the Scorn after a massive breakout of the Prison of Elders.
Biography
Prince of the Reef
Uldren intercepted a Fallen transmission that was broadcast on all channels but was unable to decrypt it, and was only able to discern that all of the Fallen Houses were having an unprecedented level of communication and cooperation. The Techeuns looked toward Earth and saw the Fallen gathering there, and the Reef's leadership came to the conclusion that the Fallen were joining forces for a major attack on the Last City. At first, they believed there was nothing they could do, until the House of Wolves passed through the asteroid belt and stopped at Ceres. There, the Awoken revealed themselves and assaulted the Wolves, using the Harbingers to shatter the planetoid and killed half the House of Wolves, including Virixas, Kell of Wolves. However, the Battle of Ceres was only the start of the Reef Wars, as the remaining members of the House of Wolves scattered throughout the Reef and split into three factions, led by Irxis, Wolf Baroness; Parixas, the Howling; and Skolas, the Rabid.[4]
After two major losses to the Wolves at Amethyst and Hygiea and a pyrrhic victory at Iris, Uldren provided the Awoken with a major advantage when he and his Crows cracked the Fallen's encryptions. Using knowledge gained from the intercepted communications, Uldren assisted Paladin Imogen Rife in luring one of Skolas' vassals, Baroness Drevis, into a trap at the asteroid Bamberga which destroyed her Ketch and led to the capture of Drevis, Kaliks-4, and many other high-ranking Fallen.[5] Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived as Rife's fleet was ambushed by another of Skolas' vassals, Pirsis, who gathered a massive fleet and laid siege to the settlement of Pallas, trapping Rife's forces for years. The stalemate was broken when Weksis, the Meek launched a foolhardy assault on Pallas that failed, giving the Reef superior numbers on the Fallen.[6] Uldren and his Crows then worked with the Techeuns to create an illusion of the Harbingers, which scared the Wolves into scattering and led to the capture of Pirsis, although the Fallen captain had managed to slay Paladin Rife during the battle.[7]
Following the capture of Beltrik, the Veiled at Fortuna Plummet, Uldren was brought a message by one of his Crows from a Fallen named Variks, the last member of the House of Judgment.[8] Variks provided the Reef with Skolas' plan to assault the military fortress of Cybele, leading to the capture of Skolas and most of his lieutenants, bringing an effective end to the Reef Wars.[9]
The Black Garden
- "My motive is simply loyalty, to a people, a Queen and a sister."
- — Uldren, explaining his hostility to the Guardian
While tasking his Crows, Uldren ordered one to watch the entrance of the Black Garden and to follow any who passed through its gate. As the Crow left to set about its task, Uldren noticed one of the drones flying to avoid him and swiftly caught it in his grasp. Questioning it, he learned it was tasked by the Queen, and forced it to state its task by reminding the Crow that is served him. It revealed that it was monitoring the Black Garden and that the Black Heart and the Sol Progeny which guarded it were growing stronger. After a brief moment of contemplation, Uldren brought the Crow with him to his sister's throne room and presented it to her, while noting that he believed he had earned the right to share this news.[10]
When a Guardian came to Reef asking for an audience with Mara, Uldren greeted them with hostility and told them that he did not believe they should be granted access to the Queen. As the Queen's Fallen guards entered the throne room, the Guardian panicked and grabbed a gun from one of the Awoken guards, causing Uldren to draw his knife and hold it to the Guardian's throat. Mara then entered the room and explained that the Fallen were hers, and after the guard retrieved their weapon Uldren removed his knife from the Guardian's throat and apologized to the Queen for the disturbance. When the Guardian declared they were looking for the Black Garden, Uldren was surprised, but was unimpressed that they intended to destroy the Darkness at its heart, dismissing their goal as unimaginative. The Guardian asked for help entering the Garden, and Uldren questioned why they would help them. Mara then called her brother over to the throne, and suggested that the Guardian retrieve a Vex Gate Lord's eye so they could make a key for them. Uldren was pleased by this suggestion, as he believed the Guardian would perish attempting the task.[11]
Upon the Guardian's return, Uldren believed that they had run from the Gate Lord and mockingly reassured them that their was no shame in their action. The Guardian was defiant and said they did not run, transmatting the head of a Gate Lord into the throne room. Uldren was stunned they had succeeded, and when they asked for the key and location of the Black Garden as agreed, he angrily noted their ignorance of its location to his sister. She told him to provide the key and coordinates, confusing and angering him further, and Uldren exclaimed that if she wanted the Guardian dead they should just kill them now. His sister informed Uldren that his guessing of his motives was only revealing his own, and he bowed before her and claimed he only wished to serve his people and her. After she directed him once more to gift the Guardian the eye, Uldren reluctantly pulled out his knife and pried the eye from the Gate Lord's head. As he did so, the eye lost power, and Uldren cheerily noted that all the Guardian's efforts were wasted. Mara disagreed and ordered him to hand over the eye anyway, and after a moments hesitation he tossed them eye and provided the coordinates of the Black Garden's entrance on Mars. Mara then proclaimed that the Guardian would come to the Awoken's aid if they should ever need it, which Uldren bluntly noted meant that they owed them for this. As the Guardian left, Uldren sarcastically wished them luck getting through the Cabal's exclusion zone on Mars.[12]
The Wolf Rebellion
- "I do not see why this is funny. This Guardian may have dealt with them on Earth, but my Crows say we still have much to fear."
- — Uldren, discussing the Wolf Rebellion with his sister
Several months after aiding the Guardian in their hunt for the Black Garden, the House of Wolves rose in rebellion against the Reef after Skolas was freed by the Nine and led a prison break from the Prison of Elders while also declaring himself Kell of Kells. Uldren and his Crows gathered intelligence on the Wolves' movements and kept Mara, Petra Venj, and Variks, the Loyal apprised of their actions while they worked with the Guardian to hunt down the rebellious Fallen. After the Guardian slew several members of the Silent Fang on Earth when they attempted to assassinate leaders of the House of Devils to let Skolas conquer them, Uldren met with his sister in her throne room. While she was pleased by the deaths of so many Fang members, Uldren informed her that he found nothing about the situation amusing, as his Crows had learned most of the Silent Fang was still alive and all had escaped from the Prison. His sister reassured him that she was not amused either, and ordered him to have Petra set more bounties on the Fang to ensure that none would continue to live.[13]
Shortly after meeting with the Queen, Uldren was visited on the Hull of Crows by Petra, Paladin Yasmin Eld, and Techeun Shuro Chi to discuss Skolas and the Wolves' next actions. He informed them that a meeting had been set between Yavek, Wolf Baron and two Barons from the House of Kings, Vekis and Paskin. He explained that the Kings ruled the Devils from the shadows and had nearly conquered the Last City twice, and would thus never simply bow before Skolas' claim to be Kell of Kells, as the mysterious Kell of Kings had his eyes on the Traveler. Petra and Venj were skeptical, questioning Uldren on if Skolas managed to trick them with power or an artifact, but the Master of Crows believed nothing short of the Traveler proclaiming it could convince the Kings that Skolas was worthy and blunt their ambition. This statement cause Petra to note Uldren sounded like he admired the House of Kings, and he stated that any power cleverly used was worth admiring. Yasmin asked what the Baron's objective was then,[14] and Uldren explained that he suspected they were in fact assassins sent to kill Yavek as a message from the Kell of Kings to Skolas. Shuro warned Uldren to ensure his assessment of the situation was free from personal bias, and Uldren demanded to know what she meant by that.[15]
Uldren later reported to Mara that with all of Skolas' efforts to bring the House of Kings and Devils under his banner denied, he had returned to the Ishtar Sink on Venus. His sister guessed that he intended to rule from the deceased Winter Kell Draksis Ketch, the Simiks-Fel, but Uldren noted that while he had thought the same, his Crows reported that the Wolf Kell was not there. He then informed her that Skolas' Kell's Guard were spotted leading raids into the Vault of Glass in search of Vex technology. Intrigued by this development, Uldren was ordered by the Queen to have Petra bring Skolas back alive for questioning.[16]
After Skolas was captured, Uldren travelled to the Prison of Elders with Mara and the Techeuns to view their prisoner. As they and Variks stood over the would be Kell of Kells cell, Uldren was amused by Skolas' attempts to reach them through the bars. However, Skolas began muttering something which Variks translated as "Dark-Binder" and "Light-Snuffer". This caused Mara to begin to leave, but Uldren questioned what her sentence for Skolas' crimes would be. She gave Skolas to Variks for the Guardians to fight in the Prison of Elders, and as Uldren held the door open for her to leave he was ordered to send Crows to Osiris on Mercury and Eris Morn at the Tower to tell them of what Skolas' had said.[17]
Osiris and Eris soon arrived at the Reef to meet with Uldren and Mara to discuss the coming of Oryx, the Taken King. When Eris arrived at the throne room, Uldren noted that she did not have a Ghost, and she informed him that her next death would be her last. He dryly noted that his would be as well and took his place before the Queen's throne. As the meeting began, Uldren narrowed his eyes in disapproval at the way Eris spoke to his sister but did not speak out, but the Queen did not care about the lack of formality and instead declared that all of them would form a plan to kill the Taken King.[18]
Search for the Queen
He participated in the Battle of Saturn and is the only known survivor, as his ship crashed on Hellas Basin, Mars. However, his survival was unknown at the time, as control of the Crows passed to Variks. Uldren suspected that his sister survived the battle, as he could still sense her.[19] He then spent the rest of the Taken War and throughout the SIVA Crisis to search for her, evading everyone including his own followers. His last known report indicated he allowed himself to be captured in order to find the Kell of Kings, to raise an army via some unclear means. He also indicated that his sister approved of his actions.[20]
Forsaken
A year following the Red War, he played a role in freeing the Scorn from the Prison of Elders, where he shot and killed Cayde-6 with his own Ace of Spades,[21] fleeing the scene afterward. From his perspective, he was doing something noble.[22] Uldren's ultimate motive is to find his sister, Mara Sov.
With the aid of the Fallen Scorn, Uldren Sov sends the whole of the Reef into disarray and scatters the Awoken. He claims to know that his sister still lives and communicates with him, telling him that she is imprisoned within the Awoken secret structure, the Watchtower. To release her, Uldren required a combination of Light and Darkness to open the gateway for Mara Sov to be free. It became apparent that Uldren carried a remnant of the Darkness within him, most likely as a result of the battle with Oryx years ago, but for the Light, Uldren traveled to the European Deadzone and recovered a Shard of the Traveler but narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Petra Venj.
Time was soon running out for Uldren, as each of the Scorn Barons fell to the Guardian one-by-one, leaving only the Fanatic as his last defense as the Guardian closed in. The Fanatic soon fell but at the center of the Watchtower, Uldren opened the gateway with the Darkness within him and the Light Shard but instead of his sister appearing, a grotesque servitor-like Taken creature, the Voice of Riven, took her place, revealing that Mara Sov was never speaking to him but a creature using him to free itself. Uldren realized this too late as the Voice of Riven swallowed him whole.
However, the Guardian soon fought their way to the center and fought with the Voice of Riven and despite the creatures strange powers, the Guardian succeeded in destroying it, releasing Uldren. Defeated, humiliated and defenseless, the Guardian, with the Ace of Spades, approaches Uldren who questions on where his sister is but Petra Venj soon arrives at the scene, equally ready to execute him. Uldren adamantly claims that everything he has done was for Mara but both the Guardian and Petra are not convinced. Ghost however, states that simply executing him isn't right but Petra angerly states that she knows what Cayde-6 would do. Uldren further supports this question on what Cayde would do and asks the Guardian on what they plan to do. After a moment of silence and thought, they aim the weapon at him. Uldren, unafraid, closes his eyes, accepting his fate.
Personality and Traits
Prince Uldren Sov has proven that while intelligent, cunning, clever and loyal to his sister and the Reef, he has shown to be condescending, smug and arrogant towards outsiders and enemies, particularly to the Guardians. Even some members of the Reef dislike him for his negative attitude but can't deny his skills, leadership and expertise. His leadership of the Crows in both the Reef Wars and the Wolf Rebellion showcased his skills in intelligence gathering. In addition, he proved resourceful enough that he was able to avoid the detection of his own followers.
Uldren largely didn't want to help the Guardian in finding the Black Garden despite the threat of the Vex and was content to have nothing to do with them. Likewise, he doesn't have an ideal opinion of the Guardians, as he quickly suspected that the Guardians would fail in the mission to find and defeat a Vex Gate Lord. When the Guardian actually succeeded, he was left shocked and almost livid that he was proven wrong. In addition, Uldren is confused and angered with his sister's growing alliance with the Guardians but out of loyalty, he kept his opinions to himself and followed orders obediently.
What happened after the Battle of Saturn with Oryx and surviving is unknown but Uldren has become even more ruthless and cruel. He was willing to betray the Reef, ally with the Fallen Scorn and commit murder in cold-blood to meet his goal of meeting his sister again. Its possible that Uldren became corrupted with the Darkness after the Battle of Saturn with Oryx and began to see visions of Mara Sov, directing his actions. However, while his actions and mannerisms remain relatively the same, Uldren showed clear cases of conflict within him, especially when the Guardian traveled through the Ascendant Plane within the Watchtower. While he longed to be reunited with his sister, part of him believed that something was wrong. However, he found this out too late and was horrified that the Voice of Riven simply used him for to achieve its freedom.
After being freed and defeated after the Voice of Riven's demise, Uldren remained self-righteous in his goals, adamantly stating that all of actions were for his sister. Ultimately, when his own death came for him, he nonetheless accepted his fate.
Trivia
- Originally, Uldren was named Crow[23] and spoke with a flanged voice in the Closed Doors Demo at E3 2013. In the original version of Destiny, players would "help the Crow loot the Academy archive." Players would meet him in an early mission, where they would have a standoff, and work with him to find Osiris. According to a source within Bungie, his personality in this version was akin to how Cayde-6 was portrayed in The Taken King. He was later retooled to be "Prince Uldren," and the Crows would be his spies.[24]
- Uldren is performed and voiced by actor Brandon O'Neill.
- Before House of Wolves, Uldren was simply known as "The Queen's Brother."
- Uldren's crashed ship can be found on Mars by Guardians in Warmind, within the Ma’adim Subterrane Lost Sector of the Glacial Drifts location. This is an in-game error, as Athabasca is far to the north-west of Ma'adim.
- Uldren is the first Awoken main antagonist in the franchise, and the second to not be apart of any of the main enemy races, the first being Xol, Will of the Thousands.
- His role in Forsaken has escalated him into one of the most hated and controversial characters amongst the Destiny community.
- It was largely believed by fans that Uldren was the leader or one of the leaders of the House of Dusk after finding many clues relating to him. His reappearance and leadership of the Scorn make the rumors partially true. He is the leader of a faction of Fallen but not the House of Dusk.
- Who actually kills Uldren is up for debate, as both the Guardian and Petra had their weapons aimed at him but it isn't shown who commits the deed. The Guardian possessed the Ace of Spades while Petra wielded Vestian Dynasty at the time. The gunshot sound is different from the Ace of Spades (although it was damaged at the time so it would be different regardless) and the Vestian Dynasty. It is possible both characters pulled the trigger on their weapons at the same, only one, but definitely not neither.
Gallery
In-game closeup of Uldren Sov.
"Out in the wild, this is how we talk."
Pre-Alpha Image of a mission, given by the Queen of the Reef, which puts the player in contact with Uldren "Pathways out of Darkness".
Uldren Sov pilots a jumpship during a The Taken King cutscene.
Uldren Sov character reference.
Uldren Sov about to murder Cayde-6.
List of appearances
- Destiny (First appearance)
- House of Wolves
- The Taken King
- Rise of Iron (Mentioned only)
- Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)
References
- ^ Bungie (2014-5-19), Destiny: House of Wolves, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Petra Venj, Queen's Wrath
- ^ Bungie (2014-9-9), Destiny, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: The Queen's Brother
- ^ Bungie (2014-9-9), Destiny, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: Queen's Brother
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Skolas, Kell of Kells
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Drevis, Wolf Baroness
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Weksis, the Meek
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Pirsis, Pallas-Bane
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Beltriks, the Veiled
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: WANTED: Kaliks-12
- ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny: Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: Queen's Brother
- ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, The Awoken
- ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, A Key Awaits
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: The Silent Fang
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Paskin, King Baron
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Vekis, King Baron
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Wolves Gambit
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Queen's Ransom
- ^ Bungie (2014/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves, PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: The Queen 2
- ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: The Queen 2
- ^ Bungie (2017/28/3), Destiny: Age of Triumph Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: The Reef 4
- ^ Game Informer #104: At the Crossroads
- ^ Eurogamer - Bungie says Destiny 2 expansion Forsaken really does kill Cayde for good
- ^ Bungie.net Pathways out of Darkness
- ^ Kotaku - The Messy, True Story Behind The Making Of Destiny
