A prophecy known to the witches that a child will play a decisive role in the fate of all worlds, and that this child must fulfil her destiny without knowing what it is - if she is told, she will fail. The child is Lyra, and the prophecy names her as the new Eve, destined to be tempted and to choose, just as the original Eve did. But in Pullman's retelling, the Fall is not a catastrophe but a liberation - Lyra's choice is what saves consciousness and Dust from destruction.