Bungie has finally released the first trailer for The Dawning, Destiny 2's annual holiday event that will be free to all players from December 17 to January 14 and includes new holiday-themed activities and loot. Despite The Dawning not actually starting until next week's reset, earlier this week dataminers were able to uncover a brand new lore entry hidden in the game files following the release of Update 2.7.0 that explains what Prince Uldren's has been up to since the events of Destiny 2: Forsaken.
Prince Uldren is the brother of Mara Sov, the Queen of the Reef, and has a long history in the Destiny franchise that goes back as far as the very first gameplay reveal trailer for Destiny 1 at E3 2013. Most notably, Prince Uldren is despised by the Guardians for killing the Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6 in Forsaken, and has been MIA in the galaxy since Season of the Forge. Before we jump into what Prince Uldren has been up to for the past year, be warned there are spoilers ahead for the Destiny 2: Forsaken campaign.
Forsaken Recap
Prince Uldren is featured as the main antagonist in the Forsaken campaign, having staged a prison break in the Reef’s Prison of Elders, lead at attack alongside the Scorned Barons that led to the death of Cayde-6, and unleashed a new type of enemy into the galaxy, the Scorn. During Forsaken, players must head to The Tangled Shore and hunt down Prince Uldren as well as each of his eight Scorned Barons that aided in the attack. The story ends in a final confrontation in the Ascendant Realm where Uldren is making an attempt to enter the Dreaming City, home to the Awoken. Already wounded by a Voice of Riven, both the player and Petra Venj point their weapons at Prince Uldren before the screen fades to black and fatal shots can be heard.
All of this started because Prince Uldren believed that his sister, Mara Sov, didn't die in The Taken War as originally thought. He claimed that Mara Sov had communicated him from an Awoken Watchtower where she was imprisoned and was convinced that he needed to open the portal to the awoken homeworld, The Dreaming City. In the end, it was actually Riven, the final boss in the Last Wish Raid that had impersonated Mara Sov and tricked a corrupted Prince Uldren into freeing the Ahamkara. Following his death, Prince Uldren was last seen being resurrected as a Guardian by a Ghost named Pulled Pork during the Season of the Forge.
Lore Entry
After the release of Update 2.7.0 for Destiny 2, dataminers uncovered a new ship called Amnestia-S2 with a detailed lore entry that reveals what Uldren has been doing since his resurrection one year ago.
Amnestia-S2
"The Dawning welcomes everyone." —Eva Levante
For the last three weeks, the Guardian has been camping in a rusted-out shipping container, far off the main pathways that are always buzzing with Sparrows. He stays out of the way of other Guardians, and if he can't do that, he keeps his helmet on. Always.
All he has to his name is some beat up gear, a ring, and a silk sheet. Those are the things he woke up with. He wears the ring on a chain and keeps the sheet as a comforting reminder of something he can't remember. Sometimes he wears it draped over his shoulder. The fabric is so fine that it makes him think about the place he must've come from before this life, and how much nicer it is than where he is now.
He spends his days alone. Other Guardians are an unpredictable source of pain and confusion, and they see him the same way. Some react to him with outright hostility. Others are overcome by some personal and unexplained grief. He doesn't know why. That was the most painful lesson of being reborn: It's better to be alone. So he's always alone now, except for his Ghost.
One night, he sits with his head against his knees and listens to the distant snaps of gunfire. He hasn't seen anyone in about a week, but he can hear them. Somehow that makes the loneliness worse. More potent.
"Did you know," his Ghost says, bright but gentle. The purple glint of his shell reflects the half-light outside the crate. "That in the Last City, they are celebrating? They call it the Dawning. It is a celebration of friendship and hope and warmth."
The Guardian keeps his eyes closed and forces down his bitterness. The silence lingers between them, heavy and filled with unsaid things, until his Ghost gently bumps his shoulder. "To feel good, they say to each other: Happy Dawning."
Still, the Guardian says nothing, and his own silence makes him sick with himself. His Ghost has never doubted him. Never doubted anyone, really. He is a well of relentless optimism. And as infuriating as that is, it's also heartbreaking, and comforting, and a relief. The Guardian is not going to be the one to disappoint him.
There's been too much disappointment in this life already.
"Happy Dawning," he says.
What Has Prince Uldren Been Doing?
First things first, the new lore entry for the Amnestia Exotic ship never actually names Prince Uldren, only ever referring to the character as "the Guardian." With that said, there are multiple details that clearly link to Uldren such as the silk sheet he was laid to rest in and the Guardian's lack of memory of a past life, a known side effect of being resurrected. After Pulled Pork resurrected Prince Uldren, it sounds as if he has made his way from the Dreaming City to the European Dead Zone on Earth, as he is camping in a "rusted-out shipping container," a human creation.
Despite everything that Uldren's done, his new life as Guardian is a sad and lonely one. Uldren spends all of his days alone with his Ghost, avoids interactions with other Guardians due to unexplained reactions of anger and sadness at the mere sight of him. The entry is taking place during the Dawning event in the present day. Pulled Pork explains The Dawning and how the Last City celebrates at this time of year, a celebration for friendship, hope, and warmth for the winter. "Happy Dawning," says Prince Uldren to Pulled Pork. It's a forced celebration in an attempt to keep his Ghost from the same disappointment that he has experienced every day since his resurrection. Prince Uldren has been reduced to little more than a lost wanderer that lacks a sense of purpose.
When Uldren was resurrected during Season of the Forge, it came as a huge surprise to the Destiny community - Prince Uldren, the man we had just stopped to avenge the outright murder of Cayde-6, was now a Guardian. It’s a fascinating narrative decision for Bungie to make and one that has a lot of potential for new and exciting avenues to explore in the future. However, for the past year, nothing has ever come of it and until now, Bungie hasn’t so much as mentioned Prince Uldren’s name in any of the seasons that followed; technically, as of right now, the company still hasn't as this Lore entry has been datamined from content that isn't available until next week.
Ever since that first gameplay trailer, Prince Uldren has always been a very intriguing character that felt like he was meant for something more in the story of Destiny. And at least according to rumors of the original Destiny storyline before it was reworked in 2013, Uldren was known as the Crow and played a similar role to that of Forsaken, excluding the murder of Cayde-6. Let’s hope the story gets a push like never before for Destiny 3 and Prince Uldren being a Guardian is explored in interesting ways. After all, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and the Veil are coming in pyramid ships.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.