Almost done with echoes, but I hate politics because of manipulation. Like using fear (not intimidation) to sway people into opposing something and gathering sheep to their voice, and those sheep go around stating the same -blam!- they're afraid of, almost verbatim. Anyways, there is so much shady -blam!- going on in the background. Dealing with professional liars, and master manipulators...but I'll give them this, the reality they want doesn't seem selfish, but oppressive.

You didn't play D1 did you, or any seasons after Forsaken did you The House Of Wolves wanted to destroy us and reclaim the Traveler , Mara intervened , Variks just decided she was the better leader The first time she saved us(that we know about) Savathun/Riven manipulated Uldren into creating the Scorn and House Dusk ,provoke Guardians into killing Riven)Guardians hunted them to extinction levels making them desperate, and desperate people are easy to take advantage of, like Uldren was desperate to be with Mara("He paid with his life for the path you made him walk!!!" Mara to Savathun in Season 15) And you should read Season Of Dawn lore about House Rain, they wanted peace lol, and that was just a lazy retcon anyway, because Bungie didn't want to pay there artist to make new enemy models, despite not being House Dusk , like Devils Lair reprise Skolas didn't want peace , he wanted to claim power over the other houses , and slaughter the Awoken and Humanity, he even slaughtered other Eliksni, why Variks dispised him , he was trying to harness Vex tech, he died honorable by 3 4th Horsemens in 30 seconds The Eliksnis brutal ways , came from desperation, read the long drift, and sought refuge under the great machine , but Humans attacked them and the rest is history, Mara didn't start that, Humanity did Mara no longer has any influence over the Eliksni, that's up to Us, Miisrax, Eramis, Eido and Variks, oh and Spider to a lesser extent Fikrul and The Scorn are leftover symptoms of past events, nothing more Trust The Sovs,They are good,you want to equate power with corruption, but you have to have power to make a difference, and to be able to protect good people from strong bad people

Variks betrayed Skolas and made Mara Kell because of his disagreement with Skolas' and the Silent Fang's methods, and the aftermath of Cybele. The Raze of Amethyst being an example. Petra says: [i]"The Fang used to do hit-and-run attacks against civilian targets during the worst days of the Reef Wars. I'm not sure, but I think that's what made Variks turn against Skolas. Assassins unleashed on miners, on teachers. That's a long way to fall."[/i] Variks says: [i]"New tactics. Detonations. Blasts in civilian areas. Take the fight to them, he said."[/i] With Skolas' capture, after Variks' betrayal, he become Variks, the Loyal to the Awoken. The Awoken's intentions combined a potential power grab with the prevention of the Wolves being present at Twilight Gap, defending potential City allies. I think it's for those reasons Mara sought control of the Fallen: it eliminated Reef competition, and the Reef Wars in a way saved the Last City.