While destiny is interchangeably used for ka, ka isn’t exactly the same as fate. In fact, ka may be an untranslatable word, the range of its meanings lost in English. Roland describes it to Eddie as “duty, destiny, or in the vulgate, a place you must go” (198). In The Waste Lands, the sequel to The Drawing of the Three, ka is described as “a wheel,” the purpose of which is “to turn.” If the larger mythos of the series is considered, ka represents the will of Gan, the godlike persona who is ostensibly the spirit of the Dark Tower. For practical purposes, ka is an amalgam of duty and destiny. A key motif in The Drawing of the Three, ka links to the theme of The Relationship Between Destiny and Free Will. Roland is driven by ka, a sense of his higher purpose. According to Roland, his higher purpose and duty is to seek the tower and fight brutish destiny. In other words, Roland’s destiny is to fight what seems predestined and forge a new path. In the quest for this path, ka provides clues, which Roland trusts.

Because Roland acts on clues revealed by ka, ka is important in moving the plot forward.