Mara Sov

"I remember everything about the day I was born. I still bear the scars. The Awoken are my family now. And I am their Queen."

- Mara Sov

Mara Sov is the Queen of the Reef, one of the few settlements outside of the City. She is simultaneously the ruler of the Awoken in the Reef and the Kell of the House of Wolves. Her aloof and enigmatic demeanor belie a ruthless nature, but she is not above helping others - for a price. She will refer to the player as "it", regardless of whether they're Awoken or not. Living on the edge of civilized space, so close to the darkness, the Queen knows many secrets, including how to enter the Black Garden. Mara's reign is described in the book, The Maraid.

Ruler of the Awoken
"Starlight was my mother... and my father was the Dark."

- Mara Sov

When Uldren intercepted messages between all the Fallen Houses and the Techeuns saw them uniting on Earth, Mara realized they were united for an assault on the Last City. At first, she believed there was little she could do to prevent the assault, but the House of Wolves then passed through the Reef and stopped at Ceres. Their million-strong army would seal the fate of the Last City, and Mara was left with a choice to either halt their advance or reveal the Awoken's presence and the extent of their power. Bringing the Awoken fleet to Ceres, Mara was contacted by Virixas, Kell of Wolves, who demanded her surrender and stated he would only take the Awoken's ships if they submitted. Mara responded that she was a noble too, but Virixas claimed she had no bloodline and no true power. The Queen declared that Starlight was her mother, and her father was the Dark, causing the Wolf Kell to mock her and call on them to see what help they were. Mara unleashed the power of the Harbingers at that point, annihilating more than half of the House of Wolves and killing Virixas. Although she had won a major victory at Ceres and prevented the House of Wolves from reinforcing the Fallen at the Battle of the Twilight Gap, the remaining Wolves scattered across the Reef and split into three factions led by Irxis, Wolf Baroness; Parixas, the Howling; and Skolas, the Rabid, and the Reef Wars began.

The Black Garden
"I have shown you benevolence, Guardian. Should the Awoken ever need an ally I will call on you. And expect you to answer."

- Mara, after gifting the Gate Lord's eye and location of the Black Garden

When a Guardian arrived at the Reef requesting the aid of the Awoken, Mara granted their request for an audience. As she arrived in her throne room, the Guardian was surprised by her Fallen bodyguards and attempted to attack them, but Uldren stopped them. Mara explained that the House of Wolves was hers and settled into her throne. The Guardian requested aid in entering the Black Garden, which Uldren dismissed, but Mara called him to her for a private conversation, suggesting to her brother that they send the Guardian to retrieve a Vex Gate Lord's eye so they could make them a key to enter the Garden.

When the Guardian returned, Mara noted that they still lived and had their Ghost. Her brother mocked the Guardian for running, but they informed the Queen and Prince that they did not run and transmatted a Gate Lord's head into the throne room, surprising Mara and Uldren. After Uldren derisively noted that they did not even know where the Black Garden was, Mara ordered him to tell them and give them the Gate Lord's eye to gain entrance. He protested, exclaiming that if she wanted them dead she should just kill the Guardian now, but Mara noted that his guessing of her motives were only revealing his own. Chastised, Uldren bowed and noted that he only wished to protect his people and the Queen, so Mara once more asked him to retrieve the eye and give it to the Guardian. He did so, but claimed the eye was dead and that all of the Guardian's efforts were wasted, but Mara granted them the eye anyway, noting that she believed the Guardian resourceful and that she was sympathetic to the Traveler. Once the Guardian was provided with the eye and location of the entrance to the Black Garden on Mars, Mara stood and proclaimed that in exchange for her benevolence, she expected their help should the Awoken ever need to call upon them for aid.

Around this time, the Fallen House of Winter raided the Prison of Elders and freed Aksor, an Archon of the House of Wolves who had refused to bow to Mara. After the Guardian eliminated Aksor, the Queen met with the Techeuns at the Prison of Elder's cryopod chamber where captured Wolf nobles were held. She inquired if they knew anything more about Kaliks Prime, and one witch informed her they felt something in the Anankes. Another witch noted that Uldren had sent more of his Crows to Rhea and angered the Nine. Studying the cryopods, Mara declared they would gift the Nine one of their prisoners to celebrate their victory over Aksor, and selected Skolas to be their prize. She also told them to give a message to the Nine that reminded them that the Crows were hers.

The Wolf Rebellion
The House of Wolves rose in rebellion against the Reef, and many of Mara's Awoken guards were slaughtered by her former Wolf guards when they attempted to assassinate the Queen. Outraged by their betrayal, Mara placed bounties upon the betrayers. She tasked Petra Venj, recently recalled to the Reef, to work with the Guardian to hunt down the Wolves who betrayed her, alongside the dozens of Wolf nobles who had escaped from the Prison of Elders. Meeting with Petra and Variks, the Loyal, Mara was informed by her sole remaining Fallen advisor that the leader of the rebellion was said to be Skolas. The Queen ordered Petra to see Uldren for information from his Crows and asked Variks to continue utilizing his sources to find Skolas. Petra swore she would not fail Mara, and she reassured her Corsair she knew Petra would not and that was why she had ended her exile. After a mission by the Guardian to the Ishtar Sink on Venus, Petra informed Mara that they had confirmed it was Skolas leading the rebellion. Mara was displeased with the result of the mission, as Skolas had escaped, and asked what had become of the House of Winter. Petra reported that many of the Winter Fallen had taken up the Wolves' banner and that Skolas had proclaimed himself Kell of Kells. As Mara silently processed this development, Petra claimed to have a plan in place for the Guardian to stop him, and the Queen ordered her to continue the hunt and declared that she could not fail in this task.

After the defeat of Skolas and ending his ambitions to control all other Fallen houses, Mara Sov gained a greater deal of respect for the Guardians (though wouldn't admit it publicly). Before sending Skolas back to Prison of Elders, she personally came to his cell to inspect him. However, upon examining him, Skolas whispered something Variks interpreted as "Light-snuffer" and "Dark-Binder", leading Mara to believe that a new, greater threat was on its way. Seeking to counter this threat, Mara ordered her brother to contact an old friend of hers from the Tower and one from Mercury.

The Taken War
When Oryx invaded the System, Mara Sov met him in battle at Saturn's Rings. Her fleet challenged the Taken King in an effort to protect the Reef from further incursion, but it was decisively defeated by the Dreadnaught's primary weapon. In the immediate aftermath, Mara was nowhere to be found and feared dead by her own people. Despite such a staggering loss, it was all seemingly part of a plan Mara had formulated in secret with Eris Morn. The entire battle was simply a delaying action; in using the Dreadnaught's weapon, Oryx destroyed most of his own fleet as well as the Awoken ships, forcing him to hold back from advancing into the inner system. The Awoken's sacrifice bought Earth and the Guardians enough time to react and take the fight to Oryx.

No body had been recovered after the battle, but signs that her ship had not been totally obliterated were recovered by Taken champions, which were later acquired and passed on to Petra. After a search through the Dreadnaught, there was still no sign of the Queen, but Petra continues to hope that she survived. Uldren, who survived the battle, also suspected that the Queen survived, as he could still sense her.

Legacy
Ultimately, while Petra and her forces attempted to maintain order within the Reef, without Mara Sov and the Awoken Armada, the Reef fell into utter chaos. A year after the conclusion of the Red War with the Cabal, Mara Sov's own brother, Uldren Sov, betrayed the Reef by leading a massive breakout within the Prison of Elders, taking leadership of the Fallen group, the Scorn, and murdering Cayde-6 in the process. The Guardian, who worked with Mara many years before, sought justice for Cayde's death and began the hunt for the rogue prince.

Entourage

 * Prince Uldren
 * Techeuns
 * Paladins
 * Queen's Guard
 * Petra Venj
 * Variks, The Loyal
 * Queenbreakers (formerly)

Quotes

 * "It is afraid of the Fallen. It does not understand that these ones are mine."
 * "It has returned. And it still has its ball."
 * "I am noble too, oh Lord of Wolves. Starlight was my mother. And my father was the Dark."
 * "Often when we guess at others' motives, we reveal only our own."
 * "We fought to keep our beautiful creation safe. And now, this beast has come. Claiming to be king. Mara Sov bows to no one."

Personality and Traits
Mysterious, enigmatic and cold yet charismatic, proud and intelligent, Mara Sov is a queen of few words who is deeply committed to ensure her people's place in the universe and can be ruthless in her methods. While her motivations are hard to discern, Mara Sov never makes a decision without reason, regardless of the cost. She ignited the Reef Wars with the Fallen House of Wolves but whether to have them submit to her authority and power or to actually save the Last City from the Fallen Houses receiving aid from the Wolves remains unknown. On the other hand, Mara Sov rarely desire to make alliances with the Last City but as the same time, she doesn't want to make an enemy of them and its Guardians as she punished and exiled Petra Venj for accidentally killing a squad of Guardians during the Reef Wars. In addition, Mara can be vengeful as when the House of Wolves rebelled against the Awoken, she almost immediately called upon the Guardians to hunt them down.

Though Mara was largely uninterested in the Guardian's quest for the Black Garden, she allowed them a chance to prove themselves, likely suspecting them to fail. However, she was surprised that they succeeded in their mission and granted them the means to enter the Garden, as a "favor" and expected them to answer her call should she make it. She would call upon the Guardians for aid when Skolas returned and led the Wolves in rebellion. As the Guardians succeeded in bringing the Wolves to heel, Mara Sov stated that while she didn't think much about them when they first met, she admitted that she was wrong and awarded them for their aid. Her greatest sacrifice came in the Battle of Saturn against the King of the Hive, Oryx. Her goal was never to defeat the Taken King but to delay his invasion and buy the Guardians time to prepare and defeat him.

Her most unique interactions are with her brother, Uldren, who normally objects and questions her decisions, mainly with those involving the Guardians. It is believed that she keeps her brother nearby despite his rude behavior mainly because she valued his opinions, point of view and abilities in gathering information. Uldren, in turn, is very loyal to his sister and her goals.

Trivia

 * Destiny Design Director, Joseph Staten, claims to have turned in all of the Queen's bounties during testing.
 * Before House of Wolves, Mara was simply known as "The Queen."

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Destiny 2
 * Warmind
 * Forsaken