NARRATIVE PLAYBOOK AKKAR STRAND - Desolate coastal zone - Black, volcanic sand - Roaming nomadic tribes that occasionally gather in small permanent settlements - Landmark: The ancient Monolith To the east, not much can be found aside from a desolate landscape with no settlements of notice. This coastal region, with beaches of black sand and stone, is the flattest area in all of the peninsula, with low, tough vegetation growing around the few small hills that can be found here. The Akkar Strand is located between the silent, dark waters of the Sea of Glass to the south and Lake Penitence to the north. Most of the region consists of black volcanic stone and sand due to the relative proximity of Mount Thoum, which can be seen in the distance to the southwest from most of the region. The Monolith The monolith itself is a red pillar ending on a pyramidal top, with a metal surface as smooth as glass. It stands around fifty feet tall and seems to be basically indestructible, despite the occasional attempts by the locals to chip pieces off of it. With its true purpose or meaning forgotten long ago, it was dug out a few centuries back by Sharkan the Explorer, a local tyrant that refused to settle anywhere and traveled the region with a host of nomads. Some madarian historians claim that Sharkan and the Blackclay ancestor Mokr were one and the same, but this is something that is only discussed among the intellectual elite of Madari, being of little importance to the day-to-day life of most of the inhabitants of the region. Main local faction The local Blackclay tribes use the few hills found in this region as refuge and gathering points. Despite being a mostly nomadic people, the elderly and injured stay in these small settlements, guarded by those who have earned the honor to serve as protectors of their leaders. The Blackclay tribes worship a common ancestor to all of them, Mokr the Crippled. They say Mokr brought them from a faraway land and gave a foot to save his people. It is for this reason that the crippled serve as priests and priestesses of Mokr, settling disputes among the different tribes and guiding them when necessary. Be