Characters in The Dragonet Prophecy are obsessed with making choices that will either reject destiny or fulfill it. The tension between fate, destiny, and self-determination are explored by centering the novel’s plot and character development around a prophecy.

In the prologue, the first character to speak of the prophecy is the war-mongering SandWing Burn, who is on a mission to spurn the prophecy by destroying every SkyWing egg set to hatch on the brightest night—the night the prophecy’s dragonets will be born. Her words to the IceWing trying to get the egg to safety show that her violent motivation stems from the prophecy: “No prophecy decides what happens to me” (iii). Burn is willful and unafraid to take what she wants by force. Her pull to self-determination is not uncommon, but her tactics involve killing anyone who gets in her way, including unborn dragonets.

Tsunami also wants to take fate into her own hands and have a choice in how she will live her life in relation to the prophecy. She hates how the guardians treat the dragonets, and she hates not being able to see the world for herself, but she’s also motivated by wanting to live life on her own terms and make a choice about the prophecy.