Fate, Destiny, and Karma

Fate, Destiny, and Karma are not gods or concepts ruled by gods in Krea. Nor do people treat them as superstitions. Instead, many Humans consider the three to be either abilities or world laws created by Penta and Shen.
While most Krealings attribute Fate and Destiny to Penta and Shen, the Children of the Heavens take a different approach. They acknowledge the concepts of 'Fate' and 'Destiny' as abstract terms but strip them of divine association. Many among them reject these concepts entirely, believing instead in personal agency and that people forge their own futures through choices rather than predetermined paths. Those who do accept some form of Fate or Destiny attribute it to universal laws rather than divine intervention.
Fate and Destiny are generally referred to as Penta's (thing) or Shen's (thing), depending on the cause or effect, or even the person. Fate has a negative connotation where Destiny has a positive one, but otherwise the two words are seen as having the same general meaning. They are never proper nouns on their own in Krea.
Karma on the other hand does not exist as a word in and of itself, and the concept of karma is intertwined into fate and destiny. What outsiders might recognize as 'karma' is simply viewed as a natural extension of Fate or Destiny in Krea. For instance, if someone commits a harmful act and later suffers consequences related to that action, Krealings don't see this as karmic retribution but rather as part of the person's Fate unfolding. A thief who is later confronted or harmed by their victim isn't experiencing 'karma' in Kreainese understanding—they're simply experiencing the continued thread of their Fate that began with the initial theft.
Instead of karma, there exists the tradition of Fortune of Fallen, the belief that there are good and bad things that happen in the world and every time one is done, the other happens to balance it out. While this is not a religious belief, it's more of a tradition people uphold to justify their actions. While Fortune of Fallen and the concepts of Fate/Destiny both address causality in the world, they operate at different scales and with different cultural weight. Fate and Destiny are widely accepted beliefs that apply to all life events, while Fortune of Fallen is recognized as a folk tradition specifically concerned with moral balance among the ten defined Fortunes and Downfalls. When misfortune strikes, a person might attribute it to their Fate in general conversation, but might only reference Fortune of Fallen if the situation clearly aligns with one of the five Downfalls.
The relationship between personal agency and Fate/Destiny remains philosophically complex in Kreainese culture. Most believe in a framework where major life outcomes—like a person rising to royalty or meeting their true love—are fixed Destinies that cannot be avoided. However, opinions differ regarding smaller events and daily choices. Some maintain that even these minor occurrences are predetermined aspects of Penta or Shen's Fate, while others argue that individuals can alter the specific path to their Destiny through personal choices and actions. This tension between determinism and free will creates rich philosophical debates among scholars and everyday citizens alike.