Proof of Means
House of Vainglory
By appointment, and by temperament · The doors are closed, for now
Wealth is what you can part with and never feel.
Name the figure you will part with the day the doors open, and say it where everyone can see. Make it good when the House opens, or answer for the claim.
Name your figure
A boast, for now. Make it good when the doors open.
In preparation
The doors are not open. The records are being prepared.
For now the House takes only your word: a figure, named in public, at no cost and no risk. When the register opens, your word becomes a number, or a lie. What waits behind the doors:
The Register
Sealed until opening
One book, public and permanent, ranking those who parted with a fortune and felt nothing. Your name is not in it yet.
The Standings
In preparation
Rung upon rung, and a throne above them that no sum can buy. The House concedes a little more at each, and never all the way.
The Charter
In preparation
Seven articles bind every name within. None was asked to agree. Each is observed.
The Patent
Struck for no one yet
The document the House issues, and only the House can: an engraved record of what you surrendered and where you stand. Its craft rises with your standing.
The Atelier
Not yet struck
A collection made from what the register surrenders. Owed to no one, sold to no one, conferred by standing alone.
Until then, there is only the promise. Make it good.
NVMQVAM SATIS