Wolf Rebellion

Previous:	Crota's Assault
Next:	Taken War
Wolf Rebellion
Conflict:	Eliksni siege
Fronts:	Reef Cosmodrome, Earth Ocean of Storms, Moon Ishtar Sink, Venus
Outcome:	Vanguard/Reef victory Skolas, Kell of Kells killed House of Wolves leadership temporarily broken House of Winter leadership broken Elimination of Queen's Wrath targets
Belligerents Humanity Vanguard Awoken Forces of Skolas House of Wolves House of Winter Taniks' Crew Reef's Prisoners House of Wolves Broken Legion Hidden Swarm Spawn of Crota Blood of Oryx Aphix Invasive Sol Progeny Vex Hezen Protective Hezen Corrective Fallen House of Kings House of Devils Hive Blood of Oryx Hidden Swarm Commanders Last City: Zavala Ikora Rey Cayde-6 The Reef: Mara Sov Petra Venj Variks, the Loyal Skolas, Kell of Kells Drevis, Wolf Baroness Pirsis, Pallas-Bane Saviks, Queenbreaker Beltrik, the Veiled Grayor, Wolf Assassin Peekis, the Disavowed Veliniks, the Ravenous Weksis, the Meek Yavek, Wolf Baron Kaliks-12 Mecher Orbiks-11 Skoriks, Archon-Slayer Taniks, the Scarred House of Wolves: Skolas, Kell of Kells Kaliks Reborn Broken Legion: Valus Trau'ug Val Aru'un Hive: Urrox, Flame Prince Worm Keepers Gulrot, Unclean Wretched Knights Aphix Invasive Qodron, Gate Lord Overmind Minotaurs Hezen Protective Vechron, Spire Lord House of Kings Craask, Kell of Kings Paskin, King Baron Vekis, King Baron Strength Hundreds of Guardians Hundreds of Corsairs Crows Wolves' Guard Wolf Enforcers Howling Raiders Queenbreakers Silent Fang Twisted Claw Pilot Servitors Wolf High Servitors Ether Runners Countless Fallen Thousands of Fallen Thousands of Cabal Thousands of Hive Thousands of Vex platforms Thousands of Vex platforms Thousands of Fallen Thousands of Hive Casualties Last City: Dozens of Guardians The Reef: Dozens of Corsairs Thousands of Fallen Skolas, Kell of Kells Thousands of Fallen Valus Trau'ug Thousands of Cabal Urrox, Flame Prince Thousands of Hive Qodron, Gate Lord Thousands of Vex platforms Hundreds of Vex Hundreds of Fallen Hundreds of Hive Civilian casualties Dozens of Awoken civilians in the Reef

"We showed them mercy and offered them a home amongst the Awoken. They met that mercy... with betrayal. Now, they will feel my wrath."

— Mara Sov

The Wolf Rebellion (also known as the Wolf Wars) was a two-phased conflict between the Guardians of the Last City, their new Awoken allies in the Reef and the Fallen House of Wolves who broke free from the Queen. Originally the Wolves were vassals to Mara Sov when she captured their Kell, Skolas, imprisoned their nobility and forced the remainder of their numbers into swearing allegiance in the aftermath of the Reef Wars. However, after the Queen sent Skolas to the Nine as a gift to placate them for sending the Crows into their territory, one of their agents released him and returned him to lead his House.

Skolas' return would mark the high point of warfare during the rebellion. Beginning with an uprising in the Reef to free his House, Skolas revealed he had far greater ambitions than just revenge on the Reef that imprisoned him but to make himself the ruler over all Fallen Houses and claim the Traveler from the Last City. In response, Mara Sov opened her realm to the Guardians to aid her in hunting down the Wolves.

After the death of Skolas it was hoped that the Wolves were broken, never to rise again. This would not be the case as a new army of Wolves regrouped in the dunes of Meridian Bay, intent on making Mars their home. Led by the rebuilt Orbiks Prime, the Wolves were able to seize numerous Cabal strongholds weakened by the Taken War. But these gains were swiftly reversed by Guardian intervention and in the end, ether stained sand was all that was left of the once mighty House of Wolves.

Overview

Prelude

"When the Fallen sought to destroy us, I protected the Reef. In the end, they all bowed before me."

— Mara Sov

The prelude to the Wolf Rebellion began during the Battle of the Twilight Gap. All Fallen Houses banded together to seize control of the Traveler for themselves. The Devils, Winter and Kings Houses met the Guardians in a fierce battle at the Twilight Gap. The House of Wolves originally intended to join them and they could've turned the tide to the Fallen's favor but Queen Mara Sov intervened. Whether to save potential allies or for some other unknown reason, Mara Sov launched a surprise attack on the Wolves that claimed the lives of half their numbers and even their Kell, Virixas, in an event as The Scatter. Soon began a long and bloody conflict, the Reef Wars.

During the Reef Wars, a brief civil war occurred between the Wolves over the right to rule as Kell. Skolas defeated his rivals with might and cunning and emerged as the new Kell. With the fight between themselves over, Skolas continued to wage war against the Awoken but his brutal tactics drove Variks, the Loyal to betray him at Cybele which led to his capture. With their Kell and remaining nobility captured, Variks named Mara Sov the new Kell of the House of Wolves. She gave the Wolves the choice to either submit to her rule and live in the Reef or be destroyed. The majority of the Wolves chose the former while some went into hiding.

Without the Wolves' support the Fallen failed to take the Traveler in the Twilight Gap and the Wolves now served as the Queen's enforcers and bodyguards.

Betrayal

Following the Wolves's betrayal, Mara Sov swears revenge.

"Open the Reef to the Guardians. Offer the riches of our realm as bounty for these traitors. Let the hunt begin."

— Mara Sov

During the Queen's search for Kaliks Prime, seeing if the Prime Servitor is still alive, she sent her spies the Crows out into the Jovians, angering her allies the Nine. To appease them, she sent Skolas to them as a gift but one of their agents freed him from his cryo cell and gave him a ship to return him to his house. Finding a new purpose and learning from his mistakes, Skolas sought to regain control of his house and gather the other houses under his control.

Gathering his followers from the Prison of Elders and leading an attack against the Reef, Skolas nearly assassinated the Queen, led by Saviks and the Queenbreakers, before taking his house away from the Reef to plan their next move. Angered by the Wolves' betrayal, the Queen called in her favor to the Guardians, offering the riches of her realm for hunting down the traitorous Wolves.

"Prophesied Savior"

"In your tongue, he said: "The Wolves stand strong. Cower before the Kell of Kells.""

— Variks

With Petra Venj and Variks as their guides, the Guardians tracked Skolas to Venus where he sought to gain the allegiance of the leaderless House of Winter. The Guardian was able to find Skolas rallying the Winter Fallen after calling himself the prophesied Kell of Kells, a Fallen warrior that would unite all Fallen Houses and claim the Great Machine. Despite encountering Skolas, the Guardians were unable to capture the Kell and he was able to gain a number of the winters' allegiance.

Traveling to Earth, Skolas sought to gain the allegiance of the House of Devils and House of Kings. While he set loose the Silent Fang to kill off the Devils remaining leaders, he sent one of his Barons, Yavek to negotiate with the Kell of Kings. However, the Guardians intervened as they killed a large number of Silent Fang assassins and killed Yavek and two King Barons, Paskin and Vekis.

To further deprive Skolas of allies, the Guardians, with the aid of Variks, managed to track down Taniks, the Scarred, an infamous Fallen mercenary, who aided the House of Wolves numerous times during the Reef Wars, murdered the previous Hunter Vanguard Andal Brask, and played a role in the prison breach that freed most of the Wolves. To avoid the Awoken Queen's vengeful gaze, Taniks and his crew went into hiding following Skolas's public announcement as Kell of Kells, eventually placing their Ketch in the shadow of the Hive on the Moon. Gathering a Strike team, the Guardians were able to fight past both the Hive and the Fallen, eventually encountering Taniks himself outside of his ship. Taniks, however, retreats to his ship with the Guardians in hot pursuit and dealing with heavy Fallen Wolf reinforcements. The Guardians were able to repel Taniks's forces and eventually corner the mercenary at the command center. Despite Taniks making his stand and having the aid of his crew, the Guardians succeeded in striking the mercenary down, robbing Skolas of a useful ally and avenging Andal Brask.

Last Stand

Skolas's final stand.

"He just said, "I stole the gift of Freedom. Secrets of time and space. House of Wolves will stand forever.""

— Variks

Furious at the Reef's and Last City's interventions, Skolas desperately sought a means to defeat his enemies and force the other houses into recognizing him as the prophesied Kell. Skolas then had his splicers breach the Vex Vault of Glass to gain the weapons he desires. Fortunately, the Guardians once again intervened before they could gain any significant Vex technology, such as the Oracles.

With his enemies cornering him, Skolas sets up a final stand at the top of the Vex Citadel. The Guardians battle against the mad Kell who begins to use Vex Warp Gates to bring his house from across time to defeat the Guardians. Despite his efforts, the Guardians defeated Skolas into submission as they received orders from the Queen to capture Skolas alive. The Queen then sent Skolas back to the Prison of Elders, where he would soon meet his end, effectively bringing an end to the Wolf Rebellion.

Aftermath

For their contributions during the Rebellion, the Guardians earned their rewards, strengthened Reef-City relations and the House of Wolves was left leaderless, homeless and broken. The remainder of the Wolves then traveled to Mars to eke out a living, despite the heavy Cabal presence.

The other Fallen Houses also suffered from the rebellion; the Winters were once again leaderless, the Devils remained in hiding (though some of their remaining leaders were ironically saved thanks to the Guardians) and the House of Kings lost some of their Barons but remained a threat to the Last City.

The House of Exile was the only House that wasn't affected, as they declined to participate in the Rebellion because they refused to follow Skolas, since they do not follow a Kell, Archon or a Prime Servitor.

In addition, the Queen ordered her Prison to be cleared of some of its most dangerous occupants with the Guardians being offered the task in exchange for more rewards. Variks oversaw their efforts and the prisoners' executions.

The aftermath of the Wolves' reemergence led to another defeat for the House of Wolves. The Guardians destroyed whatever leadership and strength the Wolves might have left and were now humiliated and broken. Once a great and feared House, the Wolves were brought low for good. The House of Wolves would truly be doomed to extinction after the last of its servitors were hunted down, the last one being personally destroyed by the Scorn.

Combatants

House of Wolves

Commanders

• Skolas, Wolf Kell
• Beltrik, the Veiled
• Drevis, Wolf Baroness
• Grayor, Wolf Assassin
• Saviks, Queenbreaker
• Kaliks-12
• Mecher Orbiks-11
• Peekis, the Disavowed
• Pirsis, Pallas-Bane
• Veliniks, the Ravenous
• Weksis, the Meek
• Yavek, Wolf Baron

Groups

• Ether Runners
• Howling Raiders
• Queenbreakers
• Silent Fang
• Twisted Claw
• Wolf Enforcers
• Wolf Scavengers
• Wolves' Guard

House of Kings

• Paskin, King Baron
• Vekis, King Baron

Cabal

• Blind Legion

The Reef

• Queen Mara Sov
• Prince Uldren Sov
• Petra Venj
  • Royal Awoken Guard
• Variks, the Loyal

The Last City

• Guardians

List of appearances

• Destiny: House of Wolves (First appearance)
• Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)