Rivalry

Preface

If i have learned anything from writing, it is that it holds something special for each and every one of us. Writing allows one to deepen one's understanding of themes, that are interwoven with our other passions and hobbies, and make up the fabric of the world as we, the individual sees it. I have always been fascinated by History, particularly that of the Military of all nations and the brave and noble events that have occurred when these nations engage in conflict. Through the mistakes we as a species have made in the past, we build the foundations of our future.

War is like a black pit into which thousands, sometimes millions of lives are swallowed. In the words of ollivander from J.K Rowling's acclaimed Harry potter series, war is 'great. Terrible, oh yes. But great." War causes pain, suffering, poverty, moral corruption and fear. We go to war to prevent war, and almost always cause further wars in doing so. (Ahem...treaty of versailles.) The irony of this paradox is not missed in the modern media of creativity, and if you find yourself interested in Japanese anime as i suspect vast quantities of the Wattpad population are, then i would highly recommend 'youjo senki', which expresses this frustrating sentiment excellently. Never advocate war, unless you fully understand the implications that a war on the scale of World War Two for example would cause. Remember it is the duty of a nation's government to always act in the best interests of the people, and thus upholding international peace and democracy.

And yet war is not always negative, although most of the time that is the case. Sometimes, countries go to war to help those in pain, and those innocents who are suffering. Sometimes it is to bring down the great evils we find in corrupt leadership, and defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves. War offers the promise of glory, and justice, and just general badassery (excuse my colloquialism, but it's true.) I often find myself itching to jump into a history textbook and right all the mistakes that humanity made in the second world war. But then we would still be fighting it today. If we never make mistakes, we would never learn anything! So while conflict, in its essence, is a bad thing, i am of the opinion that it is our responsibility as those gifted with the power of hindsight, to determine what was right and what was wrong, to celebrate heroism in the face of adversity, and to mourn those who truly died in vain, who died alone.

When one writes about one of the most fascinatingly complex topics there is, morality becomes a fluid concept. History is truly written by the victors, and i know that we would view the war very differently had it been won by Nazi Germany and her allies. And we should all be very glad that she didn't, or this book would never have been written! (Kidding) along with all the other equally fantastically written novels and series such as Fatherland by Robert harris, and the man in the high castle. It is very hard not to get depressed when thinking about subjects that the modern society that grew out of the ashes of world war two would find highly controversial. But i commend any author for their bravery, because writing forces the writer to wear their heart on their sleeve, and lay open their soul to the whims of public opinion. As we have learned from our history, humans have the ability to be in progressively cruel. I would encourage everyone to take up writing, because although it had been used to twist reality and create lies, writing will always reflect the hidden truth, and so through writing people alleviate burdens and become more tolerant, honest and self- understanding.

This book is dedicated exploring both the positive and negative aspects of humanity's darkest years, through the eyes of an incredibly brave young girl, who represents hope and belief in our fundamental goodness. That no matter what, we will get it right in the end. And somehow, we will always have hope, even when we are surrounded by sorrow.

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