Just over an hour later, Rob enters the Red Scarves Library and immediately heads to the Archives section, where he finds Danny with two stacks of books, one three times the height of the other.

"Sorry I'm late," Rob greets quietly as he takes a seat beside his friend. "What're the books?"

Danny places a hand on the shorter stack of three volumes. "This is the chronicling of the entire Brock lineage," he explains. "Three volumes, covering every Brock from Harold, the very first Brock to be a Scarf, all the way through to my father Elias, and the start of my own entry. And this," he continues, placing a hand on the taller stack of ten volumes, "is the history of the Kims."

"That's quite a difference," Rob replies. "How much longer is the Kim lineage?"

"A single generation," Danny sighs. "They were involved in the founding of the Scarves; the first Brock joined seventeen years later."

"Then why is there so much more info on the Kims?" Rob asks.

Danny takes the second of the three Brock volumes and opens it to around the middle of the book. "These entries are typical of all three volumes on the Brocks," he explains. "As you can see, the entries are fairly short, dealing mostly in facts. There's very little describing the Brocks themselves, only what they did, and while what they did was vital Scarves work, it was mostly ignored or forgotten by the guild at large. Now, compare this to a typical Kim entry." Danny takes a volume from the taller pile, opening it around the middle, placing it on top of the open Brock volume. "As you can see, the entries are considerably longer," he explains, flicking through a few pages. "There's a lot more detail about not just the actions of the Kims, but also the personalities and accomplishments of each of them, alongside third-person accounts and all sorts of rubbish that doesn't matter, yet is still part of the historical record."

Rob takes a moment to marshal his thoughts. "This may sound a little… cruel, I guess, but that seems to me to be pretty typical of how history is recorded. People always find the spectacular and the glorious more interesting, and so they're the ones that get more attention. That doesn't mean that their achievements are any better, it just means people talk about them more."

"I know what you mean," Danny sighs, closing the books and returning them to their respective piles. "And I know my father taught me not to concern myself with glory and spectacle, just as his father taught him, and his father before that. But that was before I learned about the Kims."

"And now you're wondering whether your lineage, which you've been told all your life is a major part of Scarves history, actually matters at all," Rob guesses.

"Something like that," Danny confirms.

"Well, I can't claim to understand," Rob admits. "There is no Stiil lineage. Heck, before me, there were no Stiils at all, as you know. But it's clear that your lineage is very important to you, and you don't want to feel like it doesn't matter."

"That's… pretty much exactly right," Danny smiles weakly.

Rob stands and browses the nearby shelves. "Here's something to consider," he begins after a couple of minutes. "There's a lot of books here, chronicling the histories of all sorts of lineages, but I see very few lineages that have multiple volumes."

"So?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really."

Rob retakes his seat at the table. "If the importance of a lineage is measured by the amount of history documented right here, then the Brock lineage must be very important to have three whole volumes."

"The Kims have ten."

"And thousands of lineages have only one. And some don't even have that. And let's not forget, the Brock name carries a lot of respect around here, regardless of how tersely its history is recorded."

Danny ponders for a few moments. "Y'know, that does make me feel better. Thanks Rob."

"No problem," Rob smiles back. "Want to see something interesting?" he asks a moment later.

"Hm?"

Rob holds up a moderately slim volume with a familiar surname on the spine. "I found this book on the Skarlett lineage. I wonder if Hanna's ever seen this?"

"Isn't she an orphan?" Danny asks.

"Yeah," Rob confirms.

"Then it's likely pure coincidence," Danny concludes.

"I guess," Rob agrees. "Still, it's an interesting coincidence, especially with the húlí symbol on the spine."