There is, not too put too fine a point on it, a lot going on.

  Even the people in town can feel it, all around them. And not just the exposure to all the magic they've been feeling lately, though that is having an effect. In nervous feelings, and half seen things out of the corner of their eye. Those with greater connections to magic found themselves confronted with things they couldn't explain, or sometimes even manifesting strange powers.

  But it was more than just the magic rising. All the chaos and confusion was having rippling effects, like a fistful of stones thrown into a pond, ripples in the water radiating out, colliding, blending, creating new patterns. Everyone was aware of it, even if they didn't realize it. Something was happening beneath the surface of the world.

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  A human girl had become a fairy queen. Stone.

  An elven sorceress had come to visit, and spy. Stone.

  An assassin had been sent by foreign powers. Stone.

  A goddess of wishes was meddling in her charge's life. Stone.

  Hidden forces sought to contain or control the last known genie. Stone.

  A dragon had been found asleep in hidden caverns beneath the temple. Stone.

  But even a fistful of stones needs a hand to throw it in the water. A fire, to reverse the metaphor entirely, needs a spark to light the tinder. And in all the things going on, the spark which would ignite the flame had been all but forgotten, even by those who had sent her.

  It started with a girl made of wood.