"Do tell."

Sigh. "I was made a very long time ago, before the Primordial War spilled from sabotage into open battle. I didn't participate in the fighting, though my Maker imbued me with enough knowledge of the crafts of war that I could've been called upon in need."

"Instead, I was placed as an overseer of a node in a network created by Gaia and Luna - they'd requested Autochthon make guardians for it, and so my Maker decided to test his first conceptualizations of Exalts at the same time. That network is one of the many fall backs maintaining Creation's integrity. It's been - challenged, more than once. The Wyld Invasion had been the worst of that, and the network began degrading even after the Realm Defense Grid re-stabilized the underlying systems. None of us Alchemicals were able to maintain it at the highest level, and Luna had been the only one who knew all its secrets who remained within Creation. I - don't know what happened for sure, but there hasn't been any divine maintenance since the invasion. We kept it functioning as best we could, but..."

"About a year ago, a burst of Essence threatened to overload the network. My node was - sacrificed, essentially, to break that circuit and safely vent the stresses, and I was shuffled back into Creation proper for the first time in millennia."

"That sounds... important."

"It is."

"I lost communication with the network, but - I've at least set up enough instruments I'll know if things keep failing. They haven't so far, mercifully."

"The Dreaming Sea is also important to it, which is why I initially came here. There's a dense cluster of nodes in the region - including one of the two largest in the network. And I'm very, very suspicious about the changes in raksha activity lately, since trying to control territory this way is unusual for them."

"If the network maintains Creation's stability, and they get control of an important node and- overload it, or something-"

"Could be another Crusade. Worse than a Crusade."

"...The Realm Defense Grid is built on top of it, and many of the other systems have degraded, too."

"I - don't know there'd be anyone left to compare the invasions, after."

"I'll need to send a letter, next outpost we get to."

Slow nod. "I've been hesitant to spread the information much - I'm fairly sure most of the inner workings of the network are still secret, and I... Don't know what information would allow an astute observer to derive the rest. I've been using my time here to feel out the other states around the Dreaming Sea, though, and - Prasad is one of the ones I'd trust with some of this, if your lines of communication are secure."

"Me and my aunt have a code we use. And she trusts me enough that I can get her to send reinforcements against the fae without giving too much away."

She nods. "Useful."

"I can help with the base details for that, then. I've - thought, before, about how to create a formal write up, though I haven't dared commit much to paper."

"I'd appreciate it."

"We can work on that before leaving here, then."

"Cool."

Small smile.

"I'm glad to have help with this, honestly. It's - big."

"Getting a hearth together is just what you do for fate-of-the-world type stuff." Eridani nods sagely.

"Not a model I'm used to yet."

"I've got some stories to catch you up on, then."

"I look forward to it."

"It'll pass the time while we wait for the next giant spirit tiger attack."

"Give us something to talk about on the road."

"Mhm."

So, deciding what details she'll be putting in the letter?

Yeah. 

There's a lot to sort through. 

Eridani's kind of interested in the exact workings, but a lot of it she can tell goes over her head and probably her aunt doesn't really need to know. Mostly that the fae need beating back and what sorts of things they shouldn't be allowed to do in the meantime.

Ridis is also reluctant to share the exact workings with anyone, even someone Eridani trusts - especially over a remote form of communication. No code is truly impossible to crack.

Fair enough.