There is no central government in the north with more peaceful settlements typically owing their protection to one of the various warlords. These warlords seem to war amongst themselves as much as with neighbouring civilisations, however, they do recognise themselves as a nation and will band together under a “War King” against a common enemy. The number of warlords seems to fluctuate between ten and fifteen as warbands are wiped out or expand to the point that they splinter into multiple smaller warbands.
Diplomatic relations between the Alvarium Kingdom and the Northern Steppes are essentially non-existent with only the strong Bear Army presence on the border acting as a deterrent. The forces of House Bear outnumber the military of the Northern Steppes but a full on conflict would cripple Alvarium military.