Ursa the Drake

Ursa the Drake was a draconic devolved Angel that plagued Mondstadt a thousand years ago before being driven out by Barbatos and later sealed. It was unsealed by Eroch four years prior to the events in game, and used as the subject of countless experiments by him and Dottore. An imitation of Ursa created from their experiments had a hand in Crepus' death, but was later singlehandedly eliminated by a Segment of Dottore, who put Mondstadt into the Fatui's debt. After Dottore's final defeat, Ursa was found within Eroch's hidden experimental facility and was killed by Varka, Diluc, and the Traveler.

Profile

Ursa was once an Angel who forsook wisdom in favor of power, becoming a corrupted dragon without any distinct elemental characteristics.^[2] It was capable of speech, or at the very least could understand human language, as the Lord Lawrence 1,000 years ago said he secured a pact for lasting peace from its attacks by offering Vennessa and her tribe up as sacrifices to them. It is also seen controlling hilichurls while attacking Vennessa and her clan outside Mondstadt. Barbatos came to their rescue, using his music to empower Vennessa and drive Ursa away.^[3]

At some point, Ursa was sealed away, and its seal was maintained by the Knights of Favonius. Four years before the game's start, Inspector Eroch colluded with Dottore and the Fatui, unsealing Ursa.^[4] It was led to attack Crepus and Diluc's caravan and even the Vision-wielding Diluc was unable to land a scratch on it; only through Crepus' use of a Delusion, whose power backfired on him and fatally wounded him, was Ursa driven off. Later on, Dottore singlehandedly killed Ursa, making Mondstadt indebted to Snezhnaya.^[3]

Quests and Events

Story Quests

• Lepus Miles Chapter (Lohen)
  • Act I: A Knight's Legacy
    • A Knight's Resolve (voice-only)

Story

1000 Years Ago

While Vennessa's tribe was wandering the wilderness, they one day ran afoul of Ursa the Drake. It hounded them for four days, starving them and forcing them to seek refuge in the City of Mondstadt. Though they were safe from Ursa, they found themselves enslaved by the tyrannical aristocracy that now ruled the city, led by the Lawrence Clan.^[3]

Ten years later, Vennessa raised the ire of Barca Lawrence, Lord Lawrence's heir, when she protected Venti during Ludi Harpastum. In retaliation, Lord Lawrence purchased her and her clan, then imprisoned her and forced her to fight twelve battles for her freedom. Her final battle turned out to be against Ursa the Drake — and her clan would be fighting with her. With Ursa and its hilichurls on one side and Lawrence's archers on the other, Vennessa despaired about their certain death but pressed on anyways. At this moment, Venti — revealing himself as the Anemo Archon, Barbatos — appeared and helped Vennessa subdue the dragon, forcing it and its army to flee.^[3]

At some point, Ursa was sealed away and kept in slumber.^[4]

4 Years Prior to the Game's Events

In their youth, Varka and Eroch had been friends. Unbeknownst to Varka, however, Eroch's feelings turned into jealousy and hatred after the former became both the Knight of Boreas and the Knights of Favonius' Grand Master. Dottore capitalized on that hatred and persuaded Eroch to join forces with him to obtain the power of the heavens. Over the course of several years, Eroch undermined the Knights of Favonius from within, all while posing as Varka's reliable ally. Most notably, he was assigned to maintain Ursa's seal.^[4]

On Diluc's eighteenth birthday, he and his father, Crepus, were returning from Angel's Share to Dawn Winery when they were suddenly attacked by an imitation^[5] of Ursa. Even Diluc was unable to land a scratch on it, but Crepus managed to drive it away by using a Delusion — only to be slain by the Delusion's power when it backfired on him.^[6][7] Unbeknownst to Diluc and Kaeya, who came to help them shortly after its departure, imitation's attack was instigated by a metal bug placed by the Fatui.

Eroch told Diluc to take the credit for defeating Ursa, claiming that the Knights of Favonius' reputation would be hit if people discovered that a "mere businessman" had done the deed. Enraged by this statement, Diluc resigned from the Knights of Favonius.^[8] Eroch then took the credit for himself, which Jean reported to Varka. He ordered his inner circle to open an investigation into Eroch,^[9] which eventually led Eroch and his supporters to be ousted from the Knights of Favonius.^[10][11]

Sometime between Crepus' death and Diluc's return to Mondstadt, Dottore slew the imitation of Ursa. This incident indebted Mondstadt to Snezhnaya and forced them into a less favorable diplomatic position with the Fatui.^[12]

Present

Theodore, one of the children kidnapped by Eroch for Dottore, had hazy memories of the laboratory they were taken to. He eventually rediscovered the site and restarted the experiments, hoping to use Ursa's Flesh in order to prolong Adorno's life. Initially, he was unsuccessful, but with Lohen's help and by experimenting on various monsters, he was able to develop an acceptable serum. Although Lohen had concerns about Theodore's ability to keep the monsters contained, as he was eliminating the ones that did, Theodore continued to work on the serum. Unfortunately, mishaps on his part resulted in more monsters escaping and one of them wounding Adorno in the process.

Adorno, who learned the truth after Theodore brought him to the laboratory in an attempt to save him, forgave them for their actions. Shortly afterwards, Varka, Diluc, and the Traveler arrived, and knowing the dangers of Ursa's Flesh, razed the laboratory and eliminated the remaining monsters, ensuring that the flesh could no longer be used.^[5] Meanwhile, the remnants of Ursa that Lohen ingested during previous experiments attempted to persuade him to accept "My guidance" in the form of corrupted angelic power. But Lohen refused, and ultimately destroyed the remaining serum.

Nicole, who learned that Lohen's suffering was caused by a former angel, tried to set things right by giving Lohen some guidance, but the attempt ended in failure.^[13]

Gallery

Ursa's appearance in Lohen's story quest.

Character Mentions

Character Stories

Character	Stories
Diluc	Character Story 3
Kaeya	Character Story 5
Varka	Character Story 3

Character Voice-Overs

Character	Voice-Overs
Nicole	More About Nicole: IV  Media:VO_Nicole More About Nicole - 04.ogg Media:VO ZH_Nicole More About Nicole - 04.ogg Media:VO JA_Nicole More About Nicole - 04.ogg Media:VO KO_Nicole More About Nicole - 04.ogg The angels who forsook wisdom in favor of power became corrupted dragons like Ursa, ones without distinct Elemental characteristics. Of course, over time, heroes have hunted them to near extinction. What if I had chosen power like those dragons? ...It's difficult to imagine. I'd like to think my scales would have been a glittering silver, though.

Trivia

Etymology

• Ursa means "female bear" in Latin.

Other Languages

Change History

References