A Road to Nowhere or Everywhere?

    "Faerie, after all, is not one land, one principality or dominion.  Maps of Faerie are unreliable, and may not be depended upon.  We talk of the kings and queens of Faerie as we would speak of the kings and queens of England.  But Faerie is bigger than England, as it is bigger than the world (for, since the dawn of time, each land that has been forced off the map by explorers and the brave going out and proving it wasn't there has taken refuge in Faerie; so it is now, by the time that we come to write of it, a most huge place indeed, containing every manner of landscape and terrain).  Here, truly, there be Dragons.  Also gryphons, wyverns, hippogriffs, basilisks, and hydras.  There are all manner of more familiar animals as well, cats affectionate and aloof, dogs noble and cowardly, wolves and foxes, eagles and bears." pg 84, Stardust.

   This description of Faerie was what struck me most as we read Stardust by Neil Gaiman.  It fascinates me, this idea that it is ever changing, that what we lose here can suddenly spring into existence in this magical realm.  I would like to believe (though, alas, I know it to be false) that when we explore new lands and find unseen before countrysides, that somehow the magic of the unknown still exists somewhere else, promising a future adventure even if our maps tell us we have seen all there is to see. 
   The continuation to describe how there are both similar creatures to our everyday life but also the fantastical beasts of lore within the realm of Faerie, makes it all the more magical.  It excites that longing we have not just to find a new place or a lost place (how many novels are dedicated to rediscovering some lost society or a new land previously hidden away?) but it also encourages us to believe in what the world has proven impossible.  If dragons, gryphons, etc, exist, why not the rest of Faerie with its magic and unending adventure.
  I think that the purpose of telling us the maps of Faerie are unreliable is meant to invite us not just into Faerie with Tristran but also into believing, however momentarily, that there is still a place where fairy tales and myth can come true, where we may be a victim of an evil witch or be granted wishes by a genie.  It begs us to leave behind our skepticism for a time and relive our youth, when everything was possible, and all the world was new.