Talk about foreshadowing

I want to know more about the symbolism behind these sets of 3 beings that Erin and Ryoka encountered. I love the theory that they are dead gods, trying to get back some of their lost power. 

So for the ones Erin encountered there was 3 gifts:

Man with beard- Umbrella of sunshine and happiness, dispelling fears and falsehoods Man with book – noose that brings death to hide from enemies (unclear whether this is permanent death, temporary death, or just an illusion of death)Graceful man – a horn to call her friends wherever they areWhat they want in return? Her soul. 
When she declines the gifts, because she thinks someone else could use them more, they seem amused and happy, leave peacefully and instead leave her a unique coin. 

With Ryoka:

Old woman to bring rest and relaxationyoung woman to bring fight, fierceness, battleRigid unknown entity to give back what she’s lost (her fingers, which seem to be still alive and connected to her body before she burns them)What they want in return? For her to touch them. Implied that touching them would be dangerous, possibly life threatening. 
They need fire to hide their dead natures and they are also protected by the fire from other terrifying entities in the darkness. Implied that they will also be attacked/consumed without the fire 

All 6 of them bring a sense or familiarity. 
I feel like there is probably so so much more in the symbolism here that I’m not picking up on and I’m so curious if anyone else knows more or has done a deep dive on this or myths or symbolism behind it and/or if more will be revealed in future chapters 

I’m not kidding when I say I had to take a break. I’m marathoning in hopes to catch up to the latest installments, and it’s been one hell of a ride, but holy, this chapter is the first one that left me… Different. I’m sorting out how I feel, it is positive, but this was something else, qnd it’ll linger with me. Few stories linger, and I knew I loved this one already, but this one hit hard.

I’m extremely curious how things will develop from now on, there’s a lot of groundwork set up, and I feel like the biggest battles haven’t been shown or fought.

Also, I’m 7 years later for this, but if you reading this pirate, you say sorry for taking a week break? Like, I’m impressed how you wrote so much in these last year’s and I honestly applaud you. This is quickly turning into one of my favorite stories I’ve ever experienced, take a week, a month or a year, this is simply and absolutely masterful. Thank you so much.

Haha, considering your username, you’re probably the most qualified person to correct this mistake. But yeah, as another Pole, I can confirm that days in Poland don’t last only 3 hours. I think the lowest it could get on winter solstice would be 7 hours.

Also, it’s kinda sad Ryoka threw her fingers away; I thought she might find a way to use them, perhaps even reattach them? But well, considering the … thing she got them from, this might have been the best decision.