Chapter 5
Chapter five
The Fall of a House
by our trusted correspondent, Scaleheart
It is a matter of public record, and so I can say without redaction: Wintgomery house is no more.
Astute readers who have been following the story will know that after their dragon (named Quanzy) tilled their fields for the spring planting, the Wintgomery family loaned him to the army.
Desperate for money (you remember the incident three years ago!), they decided not to participate in the summer derby season.
Though this lowered their reputation — and therefore their ability to make breeding and trade deals considerably — it was all they could do to keep the house afloat.
They also could not sell their dragon to the army, as is typically done, as they had no surplus dragon to give. Quanzy was their only asset.
Last Tuesday, Quanzy died in a brawl with another army dragon. He was four days flight from home, and by all reports dangerously nest-tetchy. (The dragon who killed him was little better, also recently taken from its home nest.)
I have an insider source who says that solicitors employed by C— house are already preparing a case against the Wintgomery family.
There was a breeding deal in progress between the two houses, with a C— nest dame serviced by Quanzy.
The eggs have yet to be laid, and C— house intends to withhold them.
They argue (and the solicitors are confident they will win this in the courts) that because Wintgomery is no longer a dragon house they have no legal claim to any eggs.
Even if it was legal to buy a dragon egg, the Wintgomery family could never afford it. They have been scrounging for money for years, and this will surely be the end of their wealth.
The only possible route for them to get an egg is through a marriage contract, which they might just be lucky enough to execute.
Young Miss Wintgomery is engaged to Mr. G—, though it is yet unknown if they have drafted the marriage contract.
With the death of Quanzy, it seems unlikely they will be able to negotiate for an egg even if the wedding proceeds.
And so, Wintgomery house is no more. The dragoneers of Kinella will doubtless never mourn them, as they were an embarrassment to the kingdom for the last decade, anyway.