Kingdoms of the Northern Lights

The majority of the continent of Belia is a vast, inhospitable wasteland, surrounded by a constantly shifting maelstrom of frost and snow. The vast ice formations seem to whistle in the cold and bitter wind, thus granting the area the name "The Singing Wastes". Amid this harsh and unforgiving landscape, the native inhabitants united under one banner to form the Kingdoms of the Northern Lights. Through their co-operation, these disparate cultures have forged a civilization that can not only withstand the trials of living in their homeland but also fend off the dire beasts that roam the tundra, as well as foil the machinations of the Unsidhe Fae who have raided and destroyed the settlements of the Wastes for centuries.   The Unsidhe Fae (Or Unseelie Fae, depending on who you ask) are a primeval force, dating back through all of recorded history. Little is known about their culture or motivations, but they are infamous for their ruthless pursuit of the eradication of all life that isn't themselves. Wielding powerful magic to destroy or subjugate those that stand to defy them, the Unsidhe have proven to be humanity's greatest threat to survival, destroying villages and towns in a matter of hours, and leveling cities in a matter of days. More dangerous still is the elusive music that seems to hum through the air in most parts of the wastes, slowly dominating those who aren't prepared to fight against it.   However, in spite of the potent magic wielded by the Unsidhe, man has adapted. From the beginning, the denizens of the Wastes have looked to the Rona for salvation. Equal parts leader and religious figure, the Rona bestowed upon man a powerful magic of their own to combat the Unseelie, that of the beacon. The first Beacon, lit by the Rona themselves in the Kingdom's capital city of Hearth, infuses the land surrounding it with life and helps those living within it combat the effects of the Unseelie's song. Following the ignition of the first beacon, subsequent beacons were lit from it, and now every settlement within the Kingdoms possess one of these magical fires, allowing their inhabitants to resist the Unsidhe's foul magic.   Armed with the power of the beacons, the Lightlanders have entered a continuous cycle of war on the Fae. Their doctrine is simple, continue settling lands further and further north, repelling the Fae and preventing them from entering the Kingdoms proper, slowly settling closer and closer to the north pole, the rumored location of the Unsidhe Court. It has proven to be a long and bloody endeavor, a war wherein the battles are wars in and of themselves, but slowly but surely, the tide of light and life has surged forward over the cold, inhospitable land.