Throughout The Things Gods Break, the author subverts the idea of destiny as a rigid and unchanging force. Owen presents a world where prophecy, supposed fate, and even memory flex under pressure from deception, interpretation, and invention. The novel ties this agency to Lyra Keres, who transforms from someone shaped by others’ predictions to a character who directs time itself. Her path portrays destiny as a shifting story open to challenge and revision.

The Titans’ reliance on Phoebe’s prophecy exposes soothsaying as an unreliable source of information. They believe Phoebe’s claim that Lyra “will be our savior” (7), letting that prediction guide their plan for escape. When Lyra later gains the power to see glamours, she helps Phoebe recognize that this prophecy, along with the image of Lyra and Boone bound by a “fated line” (284), was a planted illusion. The revelation establishes prophecy in this world as a crafted instrument that confines believers as tightly as Tartarus itself. Once this rigid notion of the pattern of future events falls apart, Lyra and her allies start relying on their own choices rather than a script designed to control them.