The First Godmaker

In the beginning, the Sun and Moon raced, with one only gaining a slight advantage during solar and lunar eclipses. During an eclipse, a priest from each temple would become an avatar for the gods and would race. A sidereal acolyte named Moira wanted to proclaim the Sun eternally victorious. She created a dagger from bone and wood. During the next lunar eclipse she killed the Moon Goddess and interred her body in the mountain. The Sun mourned and withheld his magic from the sidereals. Moira learned too late that the point of the race was to run, not to win, and she was forgotten by everyone. Or nearly everyone.

Hidden in the caves beyond the ossuaries, Bywyd worries that you'll be attacked by the ghosts again. You block the door that you used to escape to prevent the monks from following you. Bywyd wants to keep moving, but Finn wants to rest. He thinks he's nearly cracked what's going on! The book he took from the temple suggests that all the legends about the Sun and Moon and the great race were historical events rather than mythology and that the Moon Goddess is interred in this very mountain. Finn is shocked when Bywyd just accepts this new information. Bywyd explains that it makes sense, since the sidereals can't use the Sun's power, but they know divine energy exists. You decide to find a place to sleep for the night.

Moira settled by the mountain to protect the grave and over time the Necropolis formed around the mountain, people drawn there by the divine energies. The priests built a new Sun Temple. Moira adopted an orphan child as her apprentice and began to carve small idols out of god bone to sell in the marketplace to support them. She became known as the Godmaker. She was buried in the mountain and her apprentice continued her work and kept her secrets.

Finn and Bywyd debate the meaning of the book and the questions it asks. Bywyd hears water ahead. He's heard of a river that springs from the top of the mountain, but has never seen it. Finn says that the sidereals probably wanted to sacrifice him during the eclipse, but Bywyd says that doesn't make sense. Finn is surprised that the Godmaker is allowed to continue making idols from the bones of a dead god, but Bywyd points out that the sidereals don't know what they're made from and the idols are popular in the city. Another earthquake begins to rock the area. You'd better keep moving!

Whenever Moira carved an idol, it became a tiny deity ruling over two disparate realms. The idols moved through the city, releasing divine energy. The first godmaker wanted to make amends, but she could never bring back the Moon's aspect. She determined that they would need a new avatar and a sacrifice to bring the Moon back, but she refused to kill again. The tales and theories were passed from apprentice to apprentice, until one godmaker wrote them down and sold the book to pay off debts. The current godmaker has come close to figuring out what to do, but if the Moon is brought back through murder, who knows what will happen?

You rest in a huge cave next to a glowing lake. Bywyd asks you how much of the Moon Goddess's body has been carved out and is surprised to learn that it's a whole hand and forearm. Nearly everyone in the city has at least one idol and they're sold to mourners as well. The lake you're at must be the Moon Goddess's heart. Finn wonders if the idol you left in the ossuaries ended up feeding and empowering the ghost there. Finn continues reading the book and discovers that the sacrifice requires royal blood. If they can't get Finn, Koko will do! She's a princess. Her older siblings reigned while she trained as a stitcher. You have to rescue her and you'll need to distract the sidereals to do it. The caves will probably link up with the Godmaker's cabin, so you start to lead Bywyd and Finn there. She needs to see the book.