When Beacons were introduced, this was the message in the news:

My Lords, set down your blades. Quiet your armies a moment, and listen well to my words - for I speak not just of old songs of myth and legend, but of a time when the great fought united alongside the Gods themselves - and of an ancient evil that threatens now to swallow us all.

All know of the Day of Eclipse, so many centuries ago, when Balur, God of Chaos,  loosed his armies upon us from the depths of Anher'even , and summoned the Great Dragon Farwol from the West to take the Goddess of Light and the Sun from the sky.  In those times, Weor of the Firstborn Gods called upon our forefathers to make war against Balur and his Black Horde – and our forefathers answered. Together they met the forces of darkness during the Battle of Gwarheyvad - man and elf; dwarf and shade; nomad, halfing, and vampire - all the Races of Darkshine rose as one against evil. Think of the deeds that were done upon that day! Remember Weor's great sacrifice, besting Farwol in single combat - and then, with the last of his ebbing strength, bringing Balur to his knees so that Lovar the Traitor, might fulfill the prophesy and deal Balur the crushing blow!

My brothers and sisters, alongside the gods our peoples fought to free Eir and the Sun so long ago. Our peoples broke and scattered the Black Horde, and banished Balur and the nightmare beasts back to the abyss. And upon our victory, together we founded an Empire that reigned for centuries in peace and glory, until, by our own treachery and folly; we fell to our present state.

And here we stand now. All the bloodshed, the great deeds done long ago – to what end? The great Empire of Stormfall, the brotherhood of the Seven Kingdoms lies shattered and forgotten. The Citadel of Stormfall crumbles to dust. The Goddess of Light wastes away in mourning for her lost husband Weor, and the Sun – that which for so much was lost to save – dies with her a little more each day.

Do not beg the gods for mercy - for they look upon us now with scorn. We live like animals; fighting over the decaying scraps of the Empire as the nights grow longer and the Sun wastes away. The forces of Darkness mock us in the night, and kill our people with impunity along our borders as we set upon each other, hastening our own fate!

The Beacons, our last hope to survive the coming darkness, the last gifts left to us by the ancients and those gods that had not yet forsaken us,  that we might hold back the night  and frost when the Sun is dead and gone – where are they now? Laying ruined and forgotten! Their stones are stolen by farmers to build their walls, their altars visited only by the whispering dead.

It falls upon you, my Lords, to save us. Forge your Alliances and unite the scattered Lords of Stormfall  - either by the hand, or by the sword – it matters not to me. Rebuild the Beacons and defend them from the rising forces of Balur – for they know it is our only salvation. By great deeds, show the dying Goddess that her husband, Weor the Dreamer, did not die in vain, and give her strength to live...

The Legends are real, my lords, and the time is upon us to fight, or to die. I shall soon return to you with further lore I have recovered about the Beacons, and what must be done. Confer among yourselves and remember: the fate of the lands of Stormfall, and Darkshine itself, lay in your hands.

It seems to me that SF would have been better served if Balur was the bigger threat instead of Players.   In other words, Balur should have been the only Hammer around...and Balur SHOULD have been a decent Hammer.   Balur should have been attacking beacons with at least 10m force back in those days.   Leagues should not have had much incentive to attack beacons held by other leagues, perhaps not even allowed.   It defeats the point of the 'story'.....unless you want to create 2 factions where leagues can choose to join the Empire of Stormfall or side with Balur's Forces.

Balur's attacks should have been strong enough that only the biggest and most active leagues could realistically hold more than 5 or 6.   Leagues that failed to maintain adequate defense in their beacons would of course lose them as Balur downgraded them and eventually took them over.   All of Balur's troops that survived the takeover would remain, with reinforcements added periodically.  Leagues that wanted to restore the beacon and take it over would need to wield enough offense to remove Balur's forces from it before taking it.

League ranking would convey certain incentives to encourage leagues to keep the beacons out of the hands of Balur.   Those bonuses would then be reduced to reflect the number of beacons held by Balur.    So the fewer beacons Balur holds, the better the bonuses for holding a beacon.    Should balur ever control all the beacons, a 30 day timer starts.   Should that timer end, the server is wiped on that platform.  Should all servers on a platform get wiped, all further support for that platform ends.