In order to light all the pedestals successfully you must understand the tablet It provides.

The tablet and pedestals are a bit misleading and do not relate to previous chapters. The important bits to consider are The oldest and going against the flow. The oldest of the gods is the whale. This is the starting point, the flow refers to the direction the flying fish circle the pedestal. So from the whale pedestal, light the beacons in the opposite way of the fish. This will open a gate you can go through for a piece of lore