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Sunday, October 27, 2013

The War Ingredient


Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Riftwar Cycle, Wheel of Time, Malazan Book of the Fallen, A Song of Ice and Fire, and a multitude of other fantasy books consist of battles and wars of epic proportionconflicts that shake the very foundations of the worlds these stories inhabit. Much of epic fantasy seems to be lost without the presence of warfare. Without war in fantasy, the stories almost fall into the identity of fairytales.

Unfortunately, war is in the fabric of the existence of mankind. It’s a dark, horrible blemish that writes our histories and forms the boundaries between nations. War is the death and destruction of lives and civilizations that causes an effect throughout existence for centuries and millennia. So for fantasy not to have at least a history of war within the story, it takes away the believability of that world and the civilizations therein.

The classic epic fantasy story takes the reader into a great conflict against a cancerous evil that is taking over the world. Another kind of fantasy story deals with the conflict between an antagonist building a force to dominate a region. Another story brings wars between different races, tribes or classes. These are usually the main three formulas, formed into different variations. Again, war does not have to be in the fantasy story itself, but at least a history of war, or the possibility of war tends to dwell in the world-building.

This element of fantasy seems to bring to life all the other elements in the genre. A wizard’s use of magic appears much more powerful and active in the setting of warfare. Dragon-riders soaring the heights, unleashing flames on their enemies below, bring about some of the most exciting moments of dragons in a story. The thrust and parry of a skilled swordsman, the lethal hack of a dwarf’s axe, and the graceful combat moves of an elf bring life to a battle scene on the pages. A sovereign’s declaration of war ups the stakes in a story of intrigue.

Just think about your favorite fantasy books without the battles. There wouldn’t be much of a story. The conflicts between good and evil, and the struggles between opposing kings would just be a game of chess. If only it was that easy. It’s sad that a genre where we go to escape this life carries over the vices of this world, but the difference, at least in traditional fantasy, is that we get to see the bad guys get their due justice, which is not always the case in our world.

Fantasy helps us look at reflections of our own existence. But, in most works, war in fantasy is usually glorified, and is used as a tool to entertain, and bring action to a story, yet leaving out the tragic consequences that real war tends to bring. However, in the majority of epic fantasy, war is a necessity. After all, the dark lord, the evil witch, the dark gods, and the force of chaos must not prevail; and they can only be stopped with the call for war—compromise, a therapy session, and a soft teddy bear just won’t do the trick.


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