However, this emotional impact, stemming from the experience of life-magic, is essential to Faerie, and its absence implies the absence of Faerie. A second characteristic of Faerie is the heroic struggle. As a rule, the antagonist overwhelms the protagonist, allowing little or no hope for success. Success always comes, though, as surely as the sun rises. Whether the conflict is a war against an overpowering army or a battle of wits with a genius, good will triumph.
Happy endings go hand in hand with fantasy.
War, the ultimate struggle, has declined on Earth to an impersonal affair of missiles and guns. War in Faerie is a heroic struggle against the forces of evil for personal freedom. Those warriors on the field of honor earn their victory with their hands. War may kill many, but those lost earn eternal fame as martyrs and heroes. Only those brave enough to defend their freedoms carry the standards of battle in Faerie.