Our stories are filled with monsters. Whether they are quintessentially monstrous, or more philosophical in nature, they appear as an ever-present trope in the way we communicate. Games are no different, sometimes even creating room for monsters where none exist. The otherwise peaceful castle and field tile game of Carcassonne is made monstrous by the The Princess and The Dragon
Whether the thought of them causes you to smile with terrible glee, turns your stomach with fear, or even causes a wave of apathy to overtake you – monsters are here to stay. So what is it about these brutes that causes such strong emotional responses from so many? I dare say that the answer lies in a quote from GK Chesterton. In its original state – the quote reads:
“Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon. Exactly what the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.”
Tremendous Trifles (1909), XVII: “The Red Angel”
While this gives the quote its full and intended weight, the most popular reading of the quote first appeared in the beginning of Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. To begin this tale of a little girl dealing with a horrible other-world that seemed wonderful at first only to reveal its true nature later – the author chose to paraphrase Chesterton simply as “Fairy tales are more than true – not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be defeated.” I have an intense love for this quote, and it’s not only because it is one of my favorite living authors quoting one of my favorite English novelist/theologians – a rare, but beautiful combination indeed. I love it because it has become the backbone for so much of my creative and personal life.
The presence of evil is not something anyone has to be informed of. While the blessed may only feel the edges of them – sadness, wrath, pain, and death are forces of such power that all of us have to feel them in our lives eventually. Those who do not know such good fortune find themselves in a place so impenetrably surrounded with these evils that a world where they are anything less than constant seems impossible. And thus we find the crux of Chesterton’s point and how all of this can reflect God’s redemptive plan in the Gospel.
Monsters give the evils of the world form. You cannot fight death. You cannot take up arms against sadness. But a dragon? A dragon is a creature. It is flesh and blood, though incredibly powerful and cunning. I remember the first time I fought one in D&D and was told to roll for dragon fear. In that particular game, the mere appearance of one of the scaled fiends caused adventurers’ courage to break. It was quite possible to spend the better part of a fight curled into the fetal position quietly crying as you tried to simply survive amid the screams of your companions. And yet . . . we were victorious, and in that victory we had hope. Sometimes that’s all we need.
The illustration you’ve probably been waiting to hear me make from the Bible is that of David and Golliath – the little man chosen by God who knew that if the Lord truly was fighting for him, he could not lose against the giant. While that is fitting, it is – pardon the pun – thinking entirely too small. We serve a God who has already brought about the end of sin and death, a God has crushed Satan under his foot. In short – to stand with God is to fear no dragon.
We are living in a time that sees us not as level 1 travelers fresh from the inn, but paragons empowered by experience and the Spirit of God who are indeed more than conquerors. The dragon isn’t looming overhead. He is twitching in the last throws of death before he is left still and lifeless for all eternity. How many times do we run in fear of monsters, ghouls, dragons, or demons because we are afraid that they are beyond us? We are quick to point out the verse that says Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to destroy us – but forget the ones that say God is our strong tower. What if instead of cowering behind the door, waiting for the monster to grow tired and leave – we burst through with blade drawn knowing that even if we lose the fight – the war is already won?
And what would we say to those who come after us, waiting to start their own adventures? What if we could arm them with the knowledge that they do not need to fear monsters when they stand with God? What if we told them that when the monsters come, they only need to seek God and act in the confidence that comes in the name of Jesus?
If you will allow another quote from Mr. Gaiman, this one entirely of his own making,
“If you are protected from dark things then you have no protection of, knowledge of, or understanding of dark things when they show up.”
Our stories and our games need monsters. Not to make them appear, but because they are already there. To deny their existence is to leave yourself and others without any defense or understanding of how to proceed. Not everyone will be like me – willing to stare them in the face – but when they appear, what will you do? You can choose to cower, or we can have a seat at the inn telling stories of the day we stood in the shadow of a dragon and won.
I’ll take some scars and the smell of dragon fire any day.