Fate and Destiny

For most, fate and destiny are the highest of concepts one's existence. All beings have a fate and destiny, and it is something as unique to them as their very souls. Many believe them to be one and the same, and though similar, there are some key differences between their definitions. Though the differences may seem inconsequential, any diviner of the past or future knows that they are oceans apart. To navigate the sea of fate is easy. To know destiny is a contradiction.
Fate is the concept of that which must happen. To extrapolate, it is the measure of how the past affects that person's present and future, beyond their choices and free will. A person born into a burgeoning noble family is fated to have many more possibilities than one that is not, while a person raised in a cruel home is fated to come into conflict with it. Two people sent to the same school and same class are fated to meet. Fate can be generous, or it can be terribly cruel. However, fate cannot decide how a person will respond. It is the culmination of circumstances, led by the decisions of those who came before. In this way, fate can be described as a person's beginning.
Destiny is the concept of what may one day happen at the end. Unlike fate, which is measured by the endless chain of decisions and circumstances that led to it, destiny is instead a single moment at the end. It is the culmination of that person's fate and every decision they and countless others made leading up until that moment. But because it is the culmination of decisions, it is subject to free will, and thus, it is decided only at the moment it is realized. A warrior's destiny could be to fall in the field of battle, or it could be surrounded by those they love at home. It all depends on the choices that they make, and what they choose for their destiny to be. It is the culmination of decisive moments. In this way, destiny can be described as a person's end.