PLUTO

(Shadowy Darkness, Agathocacological, Ordered, Great God)

Pluto was known as the god of the underworld, the place where spirits went when people died. The Greeks worshipped Hades as the god of the underworld and the dead, and he was said to reign supreme there, with his part-time bride. The Romans, seeking, it is theorized, to appease this terrible god lumped him up with money as well. Pluto was said to jealously guard the hoards of minerals under the earth as well as the spirits of the departed.

Pluto's priests often officiate at funerals, and their blessing is sought for the soul's passage into the afterlife. The few offerings that seem to have meaning to Pluto are those which seek to return "his" riches back to him, such as gold and gems.

A side note on undead/unalive: To Pluto and most of his priests, the undead/unalive would be an abomination, to be destroyed, for they have attempted to cheat Pluto of their spirits, and unnaturally extend their "life" beyond the normal limit. Priests will go out of their way to lay the undead/unalive to proper rest.

Grade I:

Fear of Death Charm
Time: 1 BT per 10 STEEP
Area: One creature
Distance: Touch
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

E/F/M: This Casting allows the priest of Pluto to instill fear in the subject, a fear of the priest. Creatures that have no concept of death, or who would never have had any fear of death, are immune, and undead/unalive are, of course, completely immune and often amused by attempts to use this Casting on them. Then again, this has proven to be an effective test to see if a human is alive or not.

Hound of Cerberus Ritual
Time: 3 hours per 10 STEEP
Area: One dog
Distance: Touch
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

E/F/M: This Casting will temporarily transform a normal dog into a particularly effective and supernatural guard dog immune to the need for sleep, with preternaturally excellent senses, and physical enhancements. Take the subject's physical TRAIT, and double it, then double the combat damage, and that will be the new effects. Double all armor as well, and consider the Hound to take only half damage from any attack involving fire. The Hound undergoing this transformation will be much larger than normal (half again in size), and it will be limned with a supernatural aura.
This may not be Cast on a given dog more than once in their lifetime. If attempted, the Casting will simply fail, at the full cost in Heka.

Grade II:

Funereal Blessing Ritual
Time: Special
Area: One corpse
Distance: Touch
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

E/F/M: This Casting allows the priest to bless the corpse of some slain individual such that they will receive slightly better treatment in the afterlife -- if the priest speaks truly on their behalf. This will also prevent the corpse from rising as undead or unalive, simply because the spirit's journey to the underworld is sped up, and the corpse has been blessed. The ritual takes as long to perform as it takes for the priest to think of good things about the deceased, and if these are lies (for instance, it is to console the departed's relatives, but the departed was a lousy person), the blessing will have no significant effect.

Underearth Freedom
Time: 1 hour per 10 STEEP
Area: Self
Distance: 0
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

E/F/M: By means of this Casting, the priest is able to survive quite handily under the earth's crust, and also allows normal movement over "normal" obstacles, such as fissures, rubble, or even through a cave-in. Although this allows ventures into and back from the Underworld, it will not allow the priest to delve into Pluto's realm in any way.

Grade III:

Chariotride Ritual
Time: 1 hour per 10 STEEP
Area: Special
Distance: 0
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

E/F/M: This Casting causes an unearthly chariot to rise from the ground and bear the Caster forward on a quest of high passion. It will resemble the legends of Pluto's ride that were learned by the Caster, so it is possible for this chariot to take on different appearances, depending on the Caster. The Chariot may never be called more than once per year, and it must always be used for a purpose that echoes something of importance to Pluto. One such valid use would be to seek a bride.

Grade IV:

Seedbind Charm
Time: 1 AT
Area: One object
Distance: Touch
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: 20:1 additional AT

E/F/M: By means of this Casting, the priest paralyzes an individual, holding them to a particular spot by hitting them or touching them with a specially-blessed, consecrated, and enchanted pomegranate seed. The normal length of this Casting is one AT, but that can be increased by spending 20 additional Heka per additional AT, up to a maximum of 1 AT per 10 STEEP possessed by the Caster.

Grade V:

Earthswallow Formula
Time: Instantaneous & special
Area: One creature
Distance: One sword's length
Other Heka Costs:
R&D: Nil
Other: Nil

Special materia cost: golden, consecrated sword worth 80,000 BUCs

E/F/M: By means of this Casting, the priest of Pluto can strike the earth at the foot of an opponent with a specially consecrated golden sword, and as the strike lands, the earth will sunder beneath the opponent's feet and the opponent will be swallowed within. The sword must be specially made, and it must be specially blessed. Unfortunately, the sword is also required to seal the earth back, and that will consume the sword.