All of you find that MANY of the scouts you sent to follow individuals related to the letters sent to each of you all end up following the same man.
The man is traced, by scrying, to the Burning Sands, then he disappears from sight, even with your magic. The only person that could find out where he went from here, right now, is Sollir, with his Oni's eye (which he can use in turn 0 for this if he wants, no cost).
There seems to be a huge amount of magic, everyone in the entire continent with the ability to detect elements is overwhelmed by a large concentration of water elemental energy that seems to overwhelm the world.
(All of this is prelude)