The following is a question with context presented to me by another youtuber who is working on a Quain video atm. Hopefully someone here has an answer.
"It looks like 2 different writers updated a piece of lore from the 1E fluff (that a Princess gets sacrificed every 12 years at the Iron Mountain) and came up with 2 different updates. I'm currently working on a Quain video and I realize the lore conflicts with the lore from the Wall of Heaven video I did earlier.
Basically, it looks like both these writers realized that sacrificing princesses wasn't the vibe of the new setting, but they chose to manage the update differently. In the Quain section this old barbaric custom has been replaced by a new custom altogether, in the Wall of Heaven section, its instead a retcon of the old lore, and the Princesses are now daring adventurers who have a following like a sports team."
Page 182 (Iron Mountain - Quain section)
Quain wasn’t always ruled by a monarch emeritus. Until recently, Quain was governed by a king and his lineage of daughters. Every 12 years, a royal maiden exchanged her heart for a celestial pearl, dying painfully in the process. After the events of one of the Ruby Phoenix Tournaments, the recanters of Quain discovered that a celestial pearl of even greater quality could be produced if a grandmaster willingly gave up their ability to cultivate. Thus, a royal maiden could be spared, and the kingdom would flourish.
[...Now] Every 12 years, the monarch emeritus passes their title to a chosen grandmaster successor, selected sometime during their reign. Being chosen is both a great honor and a deep sorrow. Upon taking the throne from their predecessor, the new monarch emeritus must make a perilous journey to the peak of the Iron Mountain and summon the Celestial Dragon. The Monarch trades their accumulated cultivation for a single celestial pearl that grants the power of a wish, used to ensure Quain’s prosperity. For the next 12 years, the monarch emeritus rules Quain as a non-cultivator. This process is known as the Wish-Cycle, and the people of Quain consider it to be the most sacred and divine of their traditions.
Page 186 (Iron Mountain - Wall of Heaven section)
For those who brave the mountains, hidden secrets lie waiting to be uncovered. Every 12 years, a woman of Imperial blood might choose to climb the ruddy peaks of the Iron Mountain, where a Celestial Dragon will grant any one of her wishes—if she correctly guesses which of the two portals there leads to Heaven and which to Hell.
On the appointed year, the mountain passes are packed with women who hold claim, whether real or imagined, and want to see their dreams made true. The locals call these Princess Processions. It isn’t uncommon for a particular tribe to have a “favorite” princess, much in the way of sports teams. Despite the pomp, granted wishes are rare.
Which of the two authors update to the Iron Mountains is accurate? Is the difference on the side of the mountain what matters which is believed or is this a local difference of the same myth? I also see the answer on the pathfinder wiki seems to be slightly different. Pg 16-20 King of the Mountain Book 3 Fists of the Ruby Pheonix, says only someone named the "Intercessor" can summon him. Lots of confusion here.
It is possible both are true and operate on alternating 6 year cycles so that each event only comes around once every 12 years. The first sounds like a much more somber tradition requiring sacrifice for a blessing upon the nation, and results in a new ruler. While the second event sounds like a fun festival! Or they could happen on the same 12 year cycle, with the opening ceremony seeing the departure of the soon to be new monarch, followed by the festival like Princess Processions.
As for the Intercessor, that could be a formal position, and the Intercessor might travel with the new Monarch up Iron Mountain. The Intercessor is probably responsible for performing the ritual that calls the celestial dragon.
This is all just interpretation of the text that allows all statements to be true. But maybe it will be helpful.
Both being true clashes with Fist of the Ruby Phoenix. But while FotRP doesn't weigh in one way or the other, it seems largely compatible with either version. It describes the tradition as a royal maiden climbing the mountain every 12 years to receive a wish and states at one point that maiden was a mistranslation of the inscriptions on the mountain and intercessor is a more accurate translation (which allows the party to summon it to help them advance the plot)
This is compatible with the Quain version because it calls out that the change was made after a Ruby Phoenix tournament, and compatible with the other version because its broad strokes are largely the same.