That makes sense. Letting the more urgent plot thread take the lead for a while could give the story room to develop without losing Ash's personal motivations. I like that you're thinking carefully about how to pace the different parts of the story.
how has getting Copper & Ember in front of the right players been going so far? Are most people discovering it through itch.io, or have you been exploring other ways to reach readers and players who enjoy story-driven RPGs?