Aha! It was like ending a visit at someone's house, and then running into them again a minute later at a coffee shop three towns away (and overhearing them talking about me).

I have the same problem with a lot of fantasy. It seems like it would be obvious to have the hero responding to a personal experience of the horrors of war, rather than just inherent nobility, and the need to protect others from those experiences. If the hero is bringing war upon people who were at peace and moderately content, well, maybe they're not heroes at all.

I like the quote! It's a pretty crazy poem. The last couplet and the rest of the poem seem to not exactly be on the same topic. It's curious. I will have to think on it more.