Kelldor Memorial Center for Personal Enrichment
The Kelldor Memorial Center for Personal Enrichment is a gleaming golden citadel located in Arl's historic district, across the street from the Crimson Forum. Having been remodelled from its pre-Gap origin, a nano-diamond emulsion sparkles on the building's entire surface, white Jabaskan glowsilk festoons all spires, and rare plants decorate the courtyards. Many tourists have mistaken the building as an AbadarCorp temple, or the message offered by its white-clad greeters with that of the Golden Vault.1
The Kelldor Memorial Center for Personal Enrichment advertises itself as a non-profit organisation with the purpose of educating fiscal responsibility to the public, but it is an open secret that it is little more than a front for the Prophecies of Kalistrade, an ancient philosophy from pre-Gap Golarion, and was named after the pre-Gap High Prophet Kelldor . Entry-level courses teach the fundamentals of business, including cash management, investment and resource conservation, and dissuade against charity. Tuition fee is paid monthly and comes with a few hours of volunteer service. Even the most destitute can borrow money from members, with low interest rates and involuntary employment clauses to minimise liquidity risk.1
As members develop their business acumen, they gain access to higher ranks of membership that demand higher fees in exchange for advanced classes and prestige. Once one reaches the tenth of sixteen membership tiers, financial lessons are replaced by sermons that teach one to wear white clothing, follow specific dietary restrictions, avoid physical contact with non-members, abstain from sexual activity, and abstain from the most basic comforts, focusing entirely on the accumulation of wealth. At this rank, most people have invested too much to risk losing their station over these dubious practices, and in time they fully embrace them, encouraging others to follow.1
Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Kelldor Memorial Center every year, but only a few manage to reach the rank of Kalistocrat and meet the centre's founder, High Prophet Luwin Carel Dynasi. Many richly-dressed Kalistocrats walk around the centre, giving new recruits a vision of the extravagance that awaits.1
The Kelldor Memorial Center's practices have sometimes been denounced as predatory, but it encourages members to follow all laws. Despite these facts, the masses continue to hear its promises, which are undoubtedly true, at least for a few; the less fortunate find themselves mired in debts. When someone defaults on loans or attempts to terminate membership, the Kelldor Memorial Center hires mercenaries to legally collect debts and reprimand rogue members. Contractors are paid well, but have to begin a 2-week trial membership to the Kelldor Memorial Center, and when it expires, the first fees come due, which can come as a nasty surprise if one failed to read the fine print.1
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 “Monasteries of the Galaxy” in The Forever Reliquary, 49. Paizo Inc., 2019 .