Our next stop in The Planes series is Limbo - a plane of chaos and primal energies. What is Limbo?
The Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo is a plane of chaos and is known as a bubbling soup of elements and energy. Those who reside on this plane do so either to prove their strength against the chaos, to revel in the chaos and let it drive them forward, or they got lost and can’t find a way to leave Limbo. There is a lot of disagreements among planar travelers about the exact number of layers to Limbo, with some claiming there are five layers while others say there is only one, with another group saying there are five layers but they are so jumbled together that it seems like there is only one layer. Most traders and travelers want little to do with Limbo, treating it the same as the Lower Planes like the Abyss or Gehenna. It’s not a pleasant place to visit, even if many of its chaotic elements might create breath-taking sights.
History
Limbo is first introducted in the
Manual of the Planes (1987) and is the first to mention the five layers of Limbo and how they all jumble together. This book attempts to name each layer based on what creatures are can be found the most on that layer, those layers are: Gith and Slaad, Susanowo, Agni, Indra, and the final layer is known as the Layer of the Lost Gods. Susanowo, Agni, and Indra are gods of various pantheons, though they don't remain here as later editions state that no gods make their domain here.
In 2nd edition, these names are immediately thrown out and state that since all these layers look the same and the inhabitants can be found on any ‘layer’, then maybe Limbo only has a single layer. Limbo shows up again in 3rd edition without many changes from 2nd edition, though it does provide information on how, if you don’t use the Great Wheel cosmology, Limbo can operate as if it is the edge of reality and that the further you get away from the real world, the madder and more abstract Limbo becomes.
In 4e, Limbo takes a dramatic turn and is combined into the elemental chaos, along with the Abyss and the Inner Planes. 5e returns the Great Wheel cosmology with the elemental chaos and Limbo both returning. This edition provides scant information on Limbo with no information about the potential various layers.
An Outsider’s Perspective
To any outsider, Limbo is a mess and there is no other way about it. Most people call it ever-changing, but that does little to accurately describe how chaotic and tumultuous this plane truly is. Most visitors like to compare Limbo to soup on a roiling boil with the contents and type of soup constantly changing in and out of different materials and energy. In one moment the soup could be full of potatoes and leeks, in the next moment the potatoes have changed into diamonds and the leeks into an explosive gas that sets fire to the peas that suddenly appeared in the broth. Just as soon as the peas appear, they morph into crackers made of hoarfrost that begin spewing acid and frozen metal in equal measure.
Those who travel to Limbo unprepared, whether on purpose or through no fault of their own, often wind up dead. Those who venture here must know how to enforce their will upon this plane or else the constant shifting elements will quickly change from rock to fire, from air to water, from clear and open skies to a solid block of metal with you entombed within. This plane never stays the same for any length of time and to survive, you must be constantly forcing your will over the chaotic forces that make up this plane.
Travelers and traders only go to this plane if they have nowhere else to go as leaving this plane can be incredibly difficult. Even traveling this plane can be impossible as locations of cities, monasteries, and more keep changing where they are in relation to each other.
A Native’s Perspective
Many of those who choose to live here see Limbo as a brutal and deadly proving ground. Their resolve is unmatched and they revel in their constant fight for survival, those who make mistakes or get sloppy are quickly destroyed by the plane. Those that have survived here have done so thanks to their iron will and their stubbornness, or they are just trying to make the best of their situation.
The largest groups in Limbo are the githzerai and the slaadi, with the githzerai appearing here thousands and thousands of years ago and this being the slaadi’s native plane of existence. Each group rarely interacts with each other, and when they do it typically ends in violence. The githzerai are focused on training and bettering themselves, their entire race is focused on ‘fighting’ the chaos of Limbo to train themselves. The slaadi have the exact opposite approach to this plane, because they were originally born in the chaos, they can revel in the chaos safely. They exude a tight aura of stabilization around them and can travel this plane without worrying about suddenly being entombed in mithral or forced to breathe in a liquid fire that changes to solid lead in their lungs.
Every creature here, apart from the slaadi, must learn to rely on the group to survive. The chaos can only be controlled by creatures actively imposing their will on the plane, and as a creature must eventually fall asleep or rest from the mental exhaustion of concentrating so completely on the task of fighting the chaos, groups are the only way to survive. A traveler by themselves will only last as long as they can focus, even one slip up is enough for the plane to immediately change around you and subject you to a lightning rainstorm that soon turns into the blistering heat of the surface of the sun.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Limbo is difficult to pin down due it constantly changing its physical and metaphysical properties. In a single moment, one small section of the plane could have the air turned into napalm, another section could be poison, while another might suddenly shift into a solid block of metal. Unless the travelers are inside a true pocket of air, they are unable to breathe in what ‘fills’ this plane and makes up its atmosphere. Some do claim that certain spells that allow you to breathe water can function on this plane, though it does nothing for you if the air suddenly turns into aerosolized lightning.
There is no day or night on Limbo as well as no clear way to mark the passing of time or days, this plane is full of chaos and it never slows down. The only light in this plane comes from the sudden bursts of fire and lightning that morph into and out of existence, none of it reliable or constant.
Traits
Travel to the Plane
Traveling to this plane can be accomplished in the usual manner of traveling from a neighboring plane, either Ysgard or Pandemonium through portals that link them. A traveler could also travel from the Outlands through the gate town of Xaos, from Sigil, or by taking a jet black color pool from the Astral Plane. One of the problems that face would-be visitors is that these portals are rarely reliable and, while they might be marked to take you to a specific place in Limbo, they could throw their travelers anywhere in the plane. Many travelers have taken a portal to Limbo, and before they can even get their bearings, they are immediately encased as the air around them changes to stone.
The other difficulty with the portals is that, while many are permanent, that doesn’t mean that the space around them stays so. Cities might suddenly change their location or layer that they are on, a fireball the size of a star might surround the portal or simply an avalanche of boulders blocks your access of the portal, forcing you to wait until the plane changes once more.
Traversing the Plane
This primal soup of matter, energy, and reality is incredibly difficult to navigate and isn’t helped by the fact that there is no gravity except what you can force onto the plane. Some are happy to simply will themselves to fly or swim through the chaos of this plane, while others prefer to impose their will and force gravity to function around them. Once a traveler has set up their sphere of influence and has settled the chaos around them, providing a brief respite from the dangers of this plane, they then have to figure out where their destination is.
With all the chaos and constantly changing elements in the primal soup of Limbo, seeing at any distance is exceptionally hard and there are few if any, permanent landmarks in Limbo to help guide you. Luckily for travelers, Limbo is full of conduits that act as small portals that can immediately teleport you to another location or layer in Limbo, of course, you have no control where you might end up but that’s not any different than if you were just walking. Some travelers have reported these conduits can lead to outside of Limbo with some claiming to have appeared in Elysium or Pandemonium, and some making it as far as one of the lower levels of the Abyss.
A beloved option by the more well-traveled is using teleport spells once they arrive on the plane, though this is only recommended for those who have previously visited the location before and are very familiar with it as all spellcasters are treated as one level of familiarity lower than they are. Being sent off course is very dangerous as the entire plane operates as one giant hazard just waiting for a single mistake.
Other teleport spells, like transport via plants is another very popular way of traveling through Limbo due to how reliable they can be. A user can simply imagine there is a set of plants in their intended location, while someone else focuses on a tree to form directly in front of them, they can then cast their spell and immediately journey from one plant to the next with little worry that they’ll end up somewhere they don’t want to be. Druids are highly sought after for their ability to easily navigate Limbo and it’s chaotic nature.
Damaged by the Chaos
An unprotected traveler who doesn't have a sphere of influence is exposed to the chaos of Limbo is more than likely to die within just a few minutes of arriving on Limbo. Exposed to the constantly shifting elements of this plane, from fire to ice to lightning and more, travelers will quickly succumb to the devastation of this plane. 2nd edition recommends that damage be dealt every round by rolling a d10 and then rolling a number of d6s equal to the number rolled on the d10.
For a tighter controlled amount of damage, DMs could instead choose to deal damage every round equal to a number of d6s equal to the character’s Proficiency Bonus. Certain elements, like being submerged in a massive orb of water, don’t deal damage but instead, a character would begin suffocating.
Sphere of Influence
To survive in the chaotic soup of Limbo, you must be able to enforce your willpower onto the plane and create a sphere of influence that transforms the plane into something safe for you to journey through. To control the area around you, you must focus your full concentration on the world around you, shaping and forming it to match what you want. Many who attempt this are unable to focus on anything else, their whole attention must remain on keeping back the chaos or they may falter and immediately perish in the chaos.
The area of control is determined by a character’s Wisdom score and the higher it is, the greater they can impose their will on the plane. A suggested chart for the sphere of influence is provided, this is taken from the
Manual of the Planes (2001) from 3rd edition:
Wisdom Score | Area of Control | Stabilized Area |
1-3 | None | None |
4-7 | 1-ft | None |
8-11 | 5-ft. radius | None |
12-15 | 10-ft. radius | None |
16-19 | 15-ft. radius | None |
20-23 | 20-ft radius | 5-ft. radius |
24+ | +5 ft. per 4 Wisdom points | +5 ft. per 4 Wisdom points |
A stabilized area is unaffected and can not be changed by Limbo for at least 24 hours unless something comes along that would interact with it and destroy it. A stabilized area could be a pool of water, and while Limbo can’t change that pool of water into liquid mercury, a massive fireball could blossom next to the pool of water and evaporate it into steam, thus destroying the stabilized area.
Spellcasting in the Chaos
Spellcasting is incredibly difficult while in the chaos of Limbo, and those who are concentrating on controlling their sphere of influence are further limited to what they can accomplish. The following are rules adjusted from 2nd and 3rd edition to better match 5th edition’s mechanics. The severity of the rules is not adjusted and a DM might adjust them to better match their tables.
Wild Magic Surges
To cast a spell, a spellcaster must roll a d20 and if they roll equal to or lower than their spellcasting ability score, the spell goes off successfully. On a failed roll, the spell slot is expended but the spell doesn’t go off, and instead, the spellcaster is required to roll on the Wild Magic Surge table in the
Player’s Handbook (2014), that effect immediately goes off. If a spellcaster rolls a 20 on this check, a Wild Magic Surge always goes off regardless of the ability score of the spellcaster.
Wild Magic spellcasters who cast spells on Limbo never have any problems casting their spells but still must roll a d20. If they roll higher than their spellcasting ability score, then a Wild Magic Surge will happen alongside the normal effects of their spell.
Concentrating on a Sphere of Influence
While a spellcaster is focused on their sphere of influence, they can not cast any spell that requires their concentration unless they drop concentration on their sphere. If they take damage, they must roll to maintain concentration on their sphere of influence just as if they were concentrating on a spell.
In 2nd edition, a creature could not take any other actions if they wish to concentrate on their sphere of influence. If they did anything else on their turn besides move, their sphere would drop and they'd begin taking damage from the primal soup around them. In 3rd edition, a creature must make a Wisdom check against a set DC of 16 at the start of each of their turns, this didn't take their action but if they failed they couldn't reform their sphere until the start of their next turn and they immediately take damage.
Casting Inside a Sphere of Influence
While a spellcaster is in a sphere of influence and they cast a spell, they can roll their d20 twice when determining if their spell works or if it is replaced by a Wild Magic Surge. They can choose which result they wish to use.
In 3rd edition, there were no spellcasting mishaps while casting in the sphere of influence, unlike in 2nd edition, and spells went off without any chance of Wild Magic Surges.
Divine Magic
In 2nd edition, only arcane spellcasters must worry about Wild Magic Surges as the deity can impose their will and allow their cleric to cast their spells successfully with no worries about the spell failing. In 3rd edition, there is no restriction on which spellcasters are required to roll on the Wild Magic Surges.
Locations
While there might be five layers to Pandemonium, they are so jumbled together on this plane that it’s impossible to truly know where you are. Due to the constant chaos of this primal soup, set locations rarely stay around for long without the constant vigilance of its inhabitants. In every city, monastery, or trading post some inhabitants spend their entire day concentrating on the area around them, keeping out the chaos that could suddenly sweep through and annihilate them. Day after day, night after night, the inhabitants rely on each other to focus on their city and keep it from drifting into the primal soup.
Some cities are fortunate enough to have anarchs, highly gifted and extremely rare individuals who can subconsciously control the chaos around them. Even while they are sleeping, their willpower can not be broken by the chaos and cities will build up around these individuals.
Shra’kt’lor
The largest city of the githzerai, this city is said to house 2 million githzerai and is more of a massive fortress than a city. While magnificent, with iron gatehouses and made up of seven rings of massive granite walls, the fortress city has cramped buildings, and outsiders are relegated to a tent city outside the city walls. The lifestyle inside the city is severe and the leader of the Shra’kt’lor is very similar to the city itself.
Severe and calculating, the immortal Great Githzerai, sometimes known as the god-king or by his name Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith. The Great Githzerai rules over this militaristic city, ensuring that all githzerai continue their discipline and uses the soldiers to ensure that order is maintained in the city, and outside its walls. The githzerai are typically focused on honing their iron wills on the plane, while those who reside in the tent city are just hoping to stay safe if they can stick close enough to the city.
This city is fed from stabilized pieces of earth that float nearby, thanks to the powerful minds of the githzerai they can easily create bountiful harvests from simply thinking of the plants. Though, they, and everyone else in Limbo, are restricted to what they can create as anything thought into existence inside of the chaos must be natural and can't be a living creature.
The Floating City
One of the many monasteries of the githzerai focused on finding themselves in the swirling chaos of Limbo. Not every githzerai lives in a monastery, despite the common misconception. Outsiders are welcome to wander it’s streets - though they do so at their own risk. This city is full of spires connected by stone walkways, narrow and winding streets have a slight dull glow to them, providing scant illumination for the people who walk the streets in silence.
Outsiders are allowed anywhere in this city except for the Tower of Luminescence which houses the god-king of the githzerai and his aides, though they often travel back and forth to Shra’kt’lor. Those who enter the city immediately become used as practice targets for every thief and monk that lives here, walking through the streets, outsiders are stalked by the dark and silent figures of the githzerai, training their techniques.
Barnstable
This quaint halfling village resides throughout the roots of a great tree and floats through Limbo quite contently. The halflings are originally from some world on the Material Plane before a stray surge of wild magic caught the whole village and dragged it into Limbo. Luckily, many of the halflings quickly understood how to control the chaos and decided to make the best of a bad situation. They have regular schedules where every inhabitant must spend time concentrating on their village, but otherwise, they live out their lives like normal.
The village itself is composed of a few dozen homes nestled into the roots of a huge oak tree. Cobbled streets wind their way from home to home and the only free-standing building is the central barn where the villagers keep ponies, goats, and other communal property like harvested food.
The halflings are welcoming and excited to meet travelers, trading for any goods they can’t simply will into existence in Limbo, which is anything not natural. Worked metal, any living creatures like ponies, and other processed items are of great value to the halflings and, while they have no money and care little for coins, they are happy to barter with anything they have. They are happy to offer a place to rest in the chaos, hearty meals, and good company.
The Spawning Stone
This is the home of the slaadi, the realm where every race of slaad must gather for their season of mating. The slaadi are hermaphroditic and must fertilize each other’s internal egg sacs, unfortunately for them, they can only do this at the Spawning Stone. Attempting it anywhere else is futile and so when it comes time for one race of slaadi, like the blue slaadi, to spawn more of their kind, they must wrestle control of the Spawning Stone away from the previous group.
After a season, that group will then get driven away by another race of slaadi and the cycle continues. The red is driven out by the blue, the blue driven out by the green, and the green driven out by the gray slaad. Due to the sheer numbers of red slaad, the gray slaad will then be driven out and the red slaad will repeat the cycle.
There is a single death slaad that watches over the Spawning Stone, said to be able to control the primal soup that churns for hundreds of miles around the stone. This slaadi, known as the Guard of the Stone, is believed to be the most powerful of the slaadi and it’s control over the stone ensures that it never falls into the hands of the githzerai who would like nothing more than to destroy it.
Factions & People
Chaos Beast
A mass of claws, limbs, trunks, or tusks, this horrendous beast is considered to be the only natural animal on Limbo. They are constantly morphing in and out of their form, and are, more often than not, a grotesque and twisted creature. While they avoid stabilized areas of land in Limbo, especially places controlled by an anarch, they drift through Limbo as chaotically as the wind, wandering without direction. When they spot another creature, they immediately go on the attack, their wild limbs flailing about them. For most adventurers, chaos beasts look fearsome but their attacks are fairly weak and do little to hurt you, instead the fearsome aspect of these beasts is that their simple touch can cause your body to turn to a sponge-like consistency. Those that don’t have the necessary willpower to fight it off become weak and lose the ability to properly control their bodies until they eventually become mindless. It’s thought that at this point that unless the creature receives magical aid, they will transform into a chaos beast.
Githzerai
Not originally from Limbo, the githzerai made their home here thousands and thousands of years ago when they finally broke free of their slavery to the mind flayers. Gith, the warrior-queen who struck down their oppressors and whose name became the name of the species, was seen as evil by many of the githzerai who were lead by Zerthimon. The two factions fought each other before Zerthimon was struck down and killed. Upon their leader being killed the githzerai escaped to Limbo while the remaining faction, the githyanki, stayed with their leader in the Astral Plane. Ever since then, the gith have hated each other and are constantly plotting to destroy the other.
Petitioners
Many believe that the petitioners of Limbo are in actuality the chaos beasts that rove across the chaos, but they are mistaken. The petitioners of Limbo are the elements of matter all around them. A petitioner could easily be a column of fire one moment, and then change into a massive boulder the next, all depending on their whim. Petitioners rarely take on their original, mortal forms but rather move in and out of whatever matter strikes their interest at that moment.
Some petitioners can be treated with, to act as guides through Limbo, to not be a burning orb of fire killing the entire party and more. Petitioners hold little value on anything, as they can simply will anything they might want into existence except for one thing. The petitioners all have a love of stories and if a traveler has a very engrossing story, they can offer it up in exchange for safe travel through Limbo. Of course, if the story ends or hits a dull spot, the petitioner can quickly grow bored and wander off or change their form again, which might end up killing the storyteller by accident.
Slaadi
For most, slaadi are often seen as chaotic creatures more akin to nomadic berserkers than a functioning society. Slaadi care for nothing outside of their kind and only respect those who they deem to be powerful. Of course, the only way to determine how powerful another creature is is to fight them - often to the death. Slaadi assume that they own whatever they can take, be it by force or by intimidation, and refuse to back down even if they are losing. They believe if they just believe in themselves enough, they can still win a fight that is fast turning against them.
Slaadi like to watch such fights, judging and evaluating the skill of the challenger against the other slaadi. They don’t all run in at once, overwhelming the individual in a single go, but rather send slaad after slaad in to test the power of the individual. The weakest of the slaad runs in first, this gives the stronger, more powerful slaadi time to ascertain any weaknesses to exploit. If you are successful in killing a slaad, there are a thousand more waiting in line to fight, interested in proving that they are the toughest.
Eventually, after cutting down dozens or more of the slaadi, the carnivorous frog race would come to revere that individual’s prowess and may even treat them as their better. This might mean that the individual is welcome to travel where they want throughout the slaadi territory, or the slaadi are simply going to find a more powerful slaad and send them against the individual to test their mettle.
Encounters
Astral Strikeforce - Rumors are circulating through the tent city outside of Shra’kt’lor that the githzerai are mobilizing inside the city walls. They are planning to invade the Astral Plane and strike deep into their hated enemies, the githyanki. No one has been able to verify these rumors though as the city remains securely locked down.
Boulder Problems - Tumbling through the atmosphere of this plane is a massive boulder of ice with veins of magma spewing out of it. It is heading straight towards the party and anyone who is concentrating on their sphere of influence must make a Wisdom check verse the DC of the boulder or begin taking damage from the chaos around them. (Suggested DC is 15 for a hard check or 20 for a very hard check. Suggested damage should be a number of d6s equal to their Proficiency Bonus per round until they succeed on their Wisdom check.)
Chaos in Barnstable - While Barnstable doesn’t have a set guard force, they do have a militia of sorts that can be called on during dire circumstances. Unfortunately, a chaos beast has wormed its way into town and the militia is far too scared to deal with such a horrifying creature.
Githyanki Trouble - The Great Githzerai, the god-king of the githzerai people, is offering a reward to all outsiders. For every githyanki they bring back to be punished for their evil, they can be paid quite handsomely. If they can bring back githyanki ships, outsiders can be paid even more, and if they can secure a githyanki kith’yak or a supreme commander, they can even get a building inside the walls of Shra’kt’lor.
Slaadi Tests - Traveling across Limbo, the party stumbles upon a pack of slaadi who are deciding who will be the first to challenge a small group of scared-looking travelers. Multiple half-eaten bodies lie scattered forgotten on the ground, the past challengers who didn’t make it against the slaadi.
Story Guide - A petitioner in Limbo is offering to travelers to guide them where ever they want in Limbo, but they require intriguing stories, none of that droll that others attempt to pass off as stories. They want action, romance, and more in their story. If the story is dull, the petitioner is likely to abandon the party with little thought of them, if the story is particularly bad, the petitioner might decide to lead them into a massive firestorm for a bit of entertainment and watch as they die.
Resources & Further Reading
Manual of the Planes (1st edition)
For more information on Limbo. Planes of Chaos (2nd edition)
For detailed information on the githzerai cities, slaadi territories, and Limbo. Manual of the Planes (3rd edition)
For more information on Limbo and it’s chaotic nature. Deep Dive - The Mind Flayer For more information on Illithids throughout the editions, and their relationship to the Far Realm and Thoon. The Planes: Pandemonium For more information on Pandemonium. DnDBehindTheScreen
Limbo submitted by What's a term that can collectively describe 1) aquatic toxicity, 2) biodegradation, and 3) bioaccumulation? ("Environmental Parameters is an idea but just seems bland and lame.)
Essentially, help me with some writers block and finish this sentence - "All of these are..."
submitted by Safety out here was never a guarantee, this far from the beaten path even the slightest issues could be hazardous to your your health. One wrong step, one wrong decision, one stroke of bad luck was all that separated you from being a meal for those out in the void. Whether it was Privateers, Explorers, Primitives, or Space itself, death would come fast - if you were lucky - for the unprepared. The Covenant worked hard to ensure their space was free from the more nefarious wrecks of life, any primitives were put down as quickly as they were discovered, explorers who were not licensed for operation in Covenant space or didn’t comply with their very strict standards were put down, and if a privateer became an annoyance or posed a threat to their operation they too were put down. The Covenant through a number of member organizations - not known for their tolerance - did not allow any unlicensed actions within their space, but out here in the void, they had no direct control until a node was established.
“Set Sensors to High Sensitivity”
Establishing a node took skill, time, and a tremendous amount of good luck - solid scientific principles also helps. The dangers posed by space in the void is not the darkness, in fact the void is often brighter than back home, the danger is in not respecting what space truly is. Space is not the extension of a planet's atmosphere beyond the gravity well like the sky or the ocean which hits upon the beach, it is more akin to the spume which rides a wave in the ocean. Space is both the spume and the wave and failure to navigate these two facets causes the death of many unprepared explorers. The dynamic matrix of spume and waves moves in complex ways, folding, twisting, convulsing, and swirling against itself, where space becomes a mangled mess the dense fibers within the spume form manifolds of such beauty they act upon the explorers like the sirens of old.
“Keep Sensors Randomly Fluctuating in Frequency and Amplitude”
The manifold becomes the physical point where the vibrations of space become so intricate that the spume of space is torn apart, popped, and reapplied to other parts of space. Anything within the manifold exists everywhere in space the manifold touches, effectively transporting the matter with the manifold over great distances as measured by light shift instantly as if it was always there. Each manifold is slightly different, conceptually depending on the vibration of space the manifold may interact with space very far away, space in in close proximity, with itself, may be large, small, stable, unstable, etc.
“Thrusters to station keeping”
Every naturally occurring manifold is not stable due to the dynamic nature of space, collapsing, reopening, moving, inverting, or otherwise destroying anything in space wherever the manifold exists. The sheer destructive power of a manifold is akin to having yourself torn apart by the very fabric of space at the molecular level leaving no trace that you or the manifold once occupied space. Untold explorers ventured too close to the manifold only to see their ships, their crew, and themselves succumb to the sirens of new. It is uncertain how long it took or how many were lost until The Covenant would fully grasp the power of the manifold, but once the synamps were formed and the engrams established the manifold became key to navigating the vast reaches of space. Eventually the mechanics of the manifold became so common in knowledge that great projects were constructed in an attempt to stabilize manifolds which lead to strategically important locations.
“Turn 42 degrees starboard x 33 degrees Apparent”
Great projects could be considered an understatement, what was needed to stabilize a manifold could be considered nothing less than the most massive undertaking a species of life could undertake. The structure was so massive, so dense, so contrived that no sane sentient species should have attempted it, but The Covenant was not deterred and eventually through a methodical study of manifolds, determined where a manifold of significant strategic importance would materialize and at the right moment captured the manifold in the largest - at the time - cornucopia. The cornucopia was composed of a series of concentric counter rotating rings along a long tubular structure with navigational thrusters to allow the cornucopia to be kept in a stationary location, realigned, or the physical movement of the manifold to an entirely new location. Since the manifolds are isolated from the space around the cornucopia does not fundamentally change the conditions of space which initially created the manifold it is not uncommon for new manifolds to appear in proximity of the cornucopia. Should new manifolds appear and prove strategically important they too are stabilized and in the process a network of manifolds are created.
“Launch the net”
Massive ships were designed and built to harvest the resources necessary to construct another cornucopia and sent into manifolds, study the destination, and utilize whatever manifold was a logical fit to existing cornucopias. There was often insufficient information about the destination and many of the ships were sent blind into the manifold never to be seen again. Be it because there were no planets at the destination, no stars, they were torn apart on entry or exit, or for unknown reasons about half of these ships never came back. After building the first cornucopia The Covenant understood the importance the manifold and sent thousands of ships out into the void and soon more cornucopias came online to form an extensive network connecting stars from all over space. Those lost in the process were not mourned, considered expendable, and in the end The Covenant continued to grow demanding even more of its people, its technology, and of those nodes in the network.
“Give the net a wide berth”
Nodes became locations in space that were connected to the cornucopia network, and those nodes where two or more cornucopias existed became important for trade, logistics, and resource harvesting. Even as the cornucopia network was expanded there were still pockets of space that remained unconnected, and these became known as voids. Given that movement within a node was restricted by relatic physics there was a natural limit to the effective size of each node, and The Covenant desired to keep each node as consistent as possible - where possible. Some nodes clearly violated this principle due to their proximity to resources, logistical connections, or for more nefarious purposes. Maintaining an expansive network of nodes requires many resources, and although The Covenant was resourceful, they became excellent at planning the overall network as efficiently as possible. As new nodes came online to the network, less used nodes would be discontinued, larger cornucopias would replace smaller ones where needed, or the node no longer contained valuable resources for harvesting. For the pilots navigating the network it became just as dynamic as space when the manifolds are formed.
“Vibrations on the Net, sir”
The same mechanics which stabilize naturally occurring manifolds can be used to artificially create manifolds although with considerable more resources being consumed in the process. This allows transportation to and from distant nodes without the use of the network and can be used to visit disconnected nodes. The size and power of the artificial manifold depends on the light shift of the target, if there are nodes between the origin and destination, and what physically exists in between. Generally such manifold creators are the most massive ships in existence and used sparingly, if at all due to new natural manifolds always being formed. There are smaller manifold ships in existence, but because each manifold must be plotted and there is a certain amount of error in each calculation the further you can go with the least amount of manifold nodes the better. Like all errors, the probability exists at a certain point that there is so much commutative error that you can not successfully determine where you will end up at.
“Real it it”
The network is always expanding, reorganizing, becoming more efficient all the time with new harvesting ships exploring the void all the time. As captain of such a vessel there are a few reasons why The Covenant considers us expendable: (a). Manifolds are not considered rare and a return trip is considered probable; (b). Because manifolds are not considered rare, the resource ship may not be at the original destination anymore causing an inappropriate waste of resources on a rescue; (c). There are many resources ships all over the network that one missing ship is not an immediate concern. Fortunately our crew and ship has had a number of successful discoveries in the past and due to our record and notoriety within The Covenant they have placed a Rapid Assault Interdiction Department on board. These RAID teams often came in handy when a nodes discovery resulted in hard contact.
“Net is experiencing drag on the line, sir”
Many of our missions focused on collecting a specific type of resources that was not reliably found through any other method. The Covenant had tried collection in space at the source, fracturing a planet, compressing a star through a series of ever smaller manifolds, and ultimately found the current approach the most efficient. What we collect ultimately is refined into a solid state fuel for intermodal transportation. If Manifolds are the method of intranodal transportation, the declivity was how ships traveled internode. As the name may imply declivity was similar to driving a super massive semi truck and trailer down a hill without brakes accelerating to relativistic speeds without the harmful effects to life and space. The declivity drive or DD shared a common technological heritage to the cornucopias although on a much smaller scale and due to their function ships were often built around them into a long tubular shape with what could look like maw of a monster in the front with specific style and shape dictated by the ship's utility and function.
“Start the accelerator”
Only some organizations of The Covenant were licensed to construct resource harvesting vessels and each one had a different focus, style, or approach on what made a successful ship. Neither are significantly better than the others but the differences between them becomes more important out here in the void. Before we had RAID teams on board our crew used a xxxxxxxxxxx vessel designated as the yyyyyyyyyyyy, but with RAID now a larger part of our mission we moved to a zzzzzzzzz vessel designated as the wwwwwwwww. The Covenant calls it the PUF Collider but we just call it home. Home was not as well suited at resource harvesting as our previous ship due to the conversion of some machinery and cargo holds to quarters for RAID, but what we lost in efficiency was made up for in performance with higher resistance, reinforced arresting pods, and additional science laboratories. All of which was becoming more useful to us as the network continued to expand.
“Align the beams”
As resourceful as The Covenant was the DD and cornucopias required a steady supply of fuel from newly discovered nodes composed of seven elements: 2, 8, 10, 18, 54, 82, and 126. The first six of which are easily harvested in space, asteroids, or within a gravity well if needed; however, as prevalent as 126 is harvesting it proved elusive and must be harvested from the surface of a gravity well. I26 is created in the explosion of a supermassive star of which the supernova spreads the elements at relativistic speeds across space. 126 has significantly more electrons than surrounding unstable elements ;however, the complex shape and density of the orbitals keep the element stable, although highly explosive when exposed to a catalyst. Ironically 126 is found near the surface of the gravity well, even though it is a heavier element than other surface materials, often found on or near the surface drawn closer to the more stable noble gases and the heavier oxygiders.
“Don't let them cross”
Interestingly enough it was 126 which first drove The Covenant to put down primitives as soon as they were discovered. When the cornucopia network was in its infancy The Covenant would work around the primitives of the void not intentionally causing them harm, but eventually it was determined that it would be more enlightened to put them down then allow them to suffer a silent death in the darkness of the void. For once we were done with the gravity well, no 126 would remain, forever preventing the primitives from reaching the stars, learning about the manifolds let alone controlling them, and eventually the primitives would die out due to the lack of resources. Those primitives which were not originally put down posed a significant risk to The Covenant and a special relationship developed where they were allowed to exist so long as they followed certain rules, worked for the greater good of The Covenant, and did not pursue interstellar travel. They would never be told of the vast universe, manifolds, declivity, or anything else which might pose a long term risk.
“Aperture formation imminent, sir”
Utilizing forecast models for the manifolds, records of locked nodes, and maps of existing and previous nodes our ship patrols the perimeter of the node network scanning for newly formed manifolds that are calculated to head deeper into void. If the calculations are correct you can see the formation of the manifold start as a single point out in space. Like a bright star floating not far in the distance, it twinkles and shines begging weary travelers to come closer. Then every iteration the manifold grows in a seemingly random direction and distance along a zipper like tear in 8 possible directions like a series of lightning bolts radiating from the single ball of light. After a few seconds the manifold begins to take final shape as space and spume from many light shifts converge into a radiating rainbow of blacks, red, yellow, and blue hues. The manifest of the manifold is breathtaking, ironically the culmination and conjunction of space from all over a three dimensional surface yields a one dimensional manifold which looks exactly the same from every visible angle.
“What have we got?”
Each manifold is different; however, there are commonly thought to be five individually distinct types classified as: Very Small [vs], Small [sm], Medium [me], Large [lg], and Very Large [vl]. Very small are the most stable, cover very short light shift distances, may only be navigated by some of the smallest vessels, take 65 iterations to fully form, and remain viable for 196 iterations. 釨Small manifolds are slightly less stable, cover longer ranges than very small, may be navigated by a wider assortment of vessels, take 78 iterations to fully form, and remain viable for 180 iterations. Medium are stable for 193 iterations after forming for 88 iterations, allow resource harvesting ships plus smaller vessels over a decent light shift. Large manifolds fully form after 95 iterations, remain stable for 73 iterations, cover significant light shift distances, and allow some of the largest vessels to navigate them. Then there are the Very Large manifolds which take 99 iterations to form, last only 10 iterations, allow the most massive vessels to navigate them, and cover very significant distances.
“Phased transition to Medium. Sir”
After 99 iterations from the initial formation of the manifold the size, shape, light shift distance, and navigational stresses are known. The strategic importance of the manifold can not be determined until a full study is done from the opposite side of the manifold, and there is very little time from the full formation of an extra large manifold to cross the threshold. There are very few cornucopias on very small or small manifolds as their use is severely limited by the manifolds specifications. A majority of all cornucopias exist on medium manifolds; however, large cornucopias are not uncommon. Very Large Cornucopias are exceedingly rare as special teams are used to track, forecast, and place cornucopias in position around the manifold prior to full formation. Very Large Cornucopias are nearly always found in areas where other manifolds in the area have not yielded any nodes of strategic importance. The result ends up being a network of nodes which only allow certain ships certain distances ensuring that there are many different sizes, shapes, and uses for an assortment of vessels.
“Take us in”
Each trip into the void was unique, the spume fluctuations which caused the manifold had their own affect on the visual appearance due primarily because of the light shifts involved. As you approach the manifold the blue hues fade into green and as you move further into the manifold the hues move to yellow then orange. Deep in the center of the manifold are the dark hues of red from light shifts far from you converge within a dark black center. Continuing down the manifold the strings and tears become visible to the naked eye. The string whip around like wind chimes in a hurricane each the manifestation of the spume from space many light shifts away. Should these strings hit the vessels, the ship would be molecularly spread across space instantly. As the dark center becomes bigger the stars from the node become visible off in the distance and the manifold appears larger although its physical size hasn't changed. Then without warning the spectrum of light fades away only leaving the stars of the node.
“Transition of the manifold completed, sir”
“What is our fix?”
Arriving on the other side of the manifold into a new node was something that took some getting used to as everything you were familiar with looked different. Stars, Anomalies, structures out in space were all in different places, the light shift of objects were different, and it often took the computers sometime to calculate where the node was located. Within our command center for the ship were a number of computer terminals and displays that flickered in a rainbow of colors as they calculated our position, and as new objects were discovered the brightness of our main tactical display intensified with each added object. The tactical display itself was made up of a large table composed of two layers. The first layer would be used latter, but for now, beams of light projected each object into a holograph column above the table. Walking around the table, or motioning for the display to rotate would allow me to see what objects were out in space. This node was shaping up to look similar to many other nodes in The Covenants network.
“Still calculating, sir”
After a few moments, the computers had discovered that the gravity well had one star, a number of terrestrial planets, a few gas planets, some comets, and other features that were not uncommon across the universe. Probably the most interesting part of the survey so far was the size of the planets were considerably smaller than would be expected. The computers continued to calculate our location which was starting to concern me as it normally wouldn’t take this long to get a fix from a medium manifold. There was another interesting aspect of this node which was concerning, due to the insufficient mass of the gravity well, our navigational computers were not detecting any manifolds, or conditions which would otherwise create them. We appeared to have entered a deadzone void, which would complicate our return or our ability to communicate with The Covenant. The location computers were still calculating our location, but the navigational computers had a solution.
“Insufficient mass for return, sir”
I must admit, I had never heard those words before, never have we ended up in a deadzone node, nor one with insufficient mass for a return trip. It always seemed country to logic that a manifold would connect to such a place, but clearly the spume is often times too dynamic for logic. There were two problems with the current node: the planetary masses were too small and the node looks to have been purposely sabotaged to ensure a return trip was impossible. Of those issues, the latter was the most concerning as the fifth planet appeared to have been destroyed stabilizing the spume in the node and preventing manifolds from forming. Soon the stellar computers had calculated that we were the effective distance of a large manifold from our previous location. So, here we are, far from home, in a node which had been stabilized to prevent manifolds from forming.
“What else is out there?”
The tactical display continued to pull information about the node casting light shadows all over the command center, then the beeping sound of a completed scan echoed across the room. Most of the information remained unchanged from earlier in the scan; however, trace signs of primitive life were discovered on planet three with inconclusive indications elsewhere in the node. That in itself was not uncommon these days, which is why RAID became so important; however, given everything else with the node, something was giving me an unsettled stomach. Had this been like every other arrival there are certain procedures to follow: record and send the findings of the stellar locator and the navigation computer back through the manifold to The Covenant, determine resource viability and send that information back as well, then start the process of harvesting the resources. Given our current situation, we can at least follow primitive protocol and do what we came here for.
“Which planet has the highest concentration of 126?”
“The fourth terrestrial planet from the sun, sir”
“Establish a path into the gravity well, for planet four”
For as minor as the mass of planet four was, the concentration of 126 was highly focused into one area and composed a significant portion of all 126 in the gravity well. Scans indicated that the concentration was along a single path and ran deep as though the concentration was drawn onto the surface of the planet by the pen of some spectral beast. Typically concentrations were spread across the planet in a somewhat even distribution similar to how scans indicated planet three was. The concentration pattern of planet four was more common for when the planet was directly hit by the supernova. It was not very common with some crews working their entire career never finding such a hot spot, so finding such a dense concentration here helped offset what was on everyone's mind, finding a way home. Starting with planet four also allowed us to avoid direct contract with the primitives of planet three, which eventually would come sooner probably than latter as RAID was already preparing a landing party.
“Time to contact?”
“A few moments till entry, sir”
Planet four was smaller than planet three and would require a less complex landing pattern; however, the process was essentially the same for all terrestrial planets. The navigator on the ship would pre position the ship over one of the magnetic poles, our navigator preferred the north magnetic pole; however, that too wasn’t too important. Once positioned over the pole the maw of the ship was aimed directly away from the planet and we used a combination of declivity and gravity to do the hard work as the ship slid towards the planet, being pulled in by the mutual attraction of our ship and the planet. Ever so slowly we would descend upon the planet using as few resources of our own to ensure adequate resources existed for departure. Scans from out in orbit were used to set our touchdown point which would be at one of the ends of the concentration, in this case we would set down on the west side and work east. As the ship continued down to the planet our scout drones parsed the planet uploading higher resolution images of the planet, the concentration, and detailed analysis of all resources on the planet. We would take it all.
“Board is green for touchdown, sir”
“Set it down”
And with those words the giant resource harvesting ship would cause a localized dust storm as the declivity engines throttled to break our descent and the arresting pods came into contact with the surface of the planet. RAID was sending communications to the command center seeking authorization to conduct survey work on the planet outside of the mining site as their sensors picked up anomalies on the planet they wished to explore, science screws wanted to do their own exploration of the planet, and the resource crew was down in the bays reporting ready for action. There was no set protocol for whom got to go out first, but it would be a dash once the doors were opened and given that RAID was suppose to be our safety net it only seemed logical to send them out first.
“RAID, you are clear for departure.”
“Copy, We will be on COM channel Sratccc1”
“Good Luck out there”
RAID didn’t need luck, nor would they stay on Stratccc1. RAID has its own priorities which didn’t align perfectly with our mission in the void, but the services they provided made up for their behavior. Watching from the command center we did not have clear visibility to the RAID bay; however, our monitors made up for that by giving us a 360 degree view all around and inside the ship. It always impressed me how organized RAID was, they are military, but everything they do appears so controlled. Each soldier of the RAID team exited the bay in a strategic order which allowed them to rapidly counter any situation they found themselves in after the doors opened. First out the door would be the fast reconnaissance team with their drones in tow, next was light infantry that prioritized anti personnel, followed by their support vehicles. Then things got exciting, heavy ground troops focused on anti-vehicle, anti-ship combat, whereas the behemoth that followed them was specially designed to slaughter entire armies by itself. Did we need all this here with only one planet with primitive life, no, but RAID treated every encounter like it might be their last.
“Ha!”
Ha is right. Each soldier of the RAID team was genetically engineered from a common source and then customized for the part of the service they were selected for. Light Infantry stood about 6 feet high, had highly defined muscular structure, and was - country to what the name would imply - heavily armored. Their armor was an extension of themselves, grown with them, and for all practical purposes was indistinguishable from them. The science teams called them little green men, which as ironic as it sounds proved just how big some of the RAID members were. Heavy ground troops took the genetic engineering of the little green men to an entirely different level. Dwarfing the light infantry they stood on average 20 feet tall; however, they could be as tall as 35 feet depending on how accelerated their growth was. They had four legs and shaped something like a Sauropod; however, these were less interested in eating plants than they were eating the hearts of their enemy. The behemoth was the pride of The Covenants arsenal for RAID teams, although it was not as large as the heavy ground troops it made up for its ability to fly on its own, disable targets, and generally be the last to die under heavy fire.
“Science reporting ready to depart, sir”
“Clear the bay, and let them go”
If RAID was jocks, then the science teams were nerds and came from all over Covenant space educated in some of the best schools available. Unlike RAID the science teams travelled in their vehicles exclusively, which were modelled after the support vehicles of RAID, just with less weapons and more instruments. The Ground Assault Vehicle flew due to ground effect like an airplane with small wings and more akin to a hovercraft. In science configuration it carried a team of six plus a small all terrain vehicle, tools, equipment, and replacement parts. Home was the host to three different science teams and as such all three were in a friendly competition - which at times could be less than friendly - to get the most accurate, more complete, better anything they could. This helped The Covenant get better results, made for quicker surveys, and kept the total cost of the operation lower. Their exit from the ship was less impressive than RAID and much more silent.
“Harvesters Ready, sir”
“Any response from RAID?”
“None reported, sir”
“Let them out and deploy the refineries”
Our hunt for a manifold, our eventual trip through it, and our landing all lead up to this moment. The deep mechanical sound of the ship transforming overcame our thoughts in the command center and the vessel deployed three comprehensive 126 refineries spaced 120 degrees from each other along the outer surface of the ship. This is afterall what the ship was designed for, and once the refineries were fully deployed we wouldn’t look so much like a giant flying cornucopia and more like a large town with a giant chimney superstructure in the center. Each refinery lowered to the ground in a slow but precise manner so that the ship would maintain balance as condensation from the internal atmosphere of the refinery leaked out onto the planet. As the refineries lowered the resource collectors left their bays and headed to a rally point a safe distance from where the refinery would settle.
“Refineries in position, sir”
The heavy ground troops were big, but the resource collectors were no joke. Each designed to collect more tons of 126 then they weighed, and capable of collecting small areas of concentration all by themselves. The actual collection of resources was done in two phases. First, an amplified wave would break apart the ground like an earthquake, and then the second phase would teleport the broken rock onto the collector for transport back to Home. Home itself had no ability to collect resources due to those components being removed to accommodate RAID, so we couldn't teleport 126 directly from the collector or the ground on our own. Although the process of having the collector develier 126 directly to the refineries was slower, it allowed for a clearer picture of the process which we would watch from here in the command center.
“Now we wait…”
Our part of the coordinated chaos was over for now as each division of the ship set off to do their mission, and although we would keep in contact with all our assets on the planet, this is the phase of the process where I always felt the most exposed.
* * *
Exposed, what we should have done was take the spoils we had from planet four and leave satisfied, certainly not full, but with enough resources to break orbit, head out of the gravity well, and research our options for a return to Covenant space. RAID lobbied hard for a push on planet three as did the science teams. One should take note that when the warrior caste and the science castes agree on a course of action, not only are your hands tied but you are probably in for one heck of a ride. Fact of the matter was that The Covenant had clear procedures that had to be followed when primitives were detected and RAID was clearly correct that we had a duty to fulfill. Far from the network, no clear path back, and a node which clearly had oddities all told me something was off, but as they expressed to me we are expendable.
“Orbital brake engaged”
Once everything was back into position, the refineries retracted, navigation gave the clear to fire up the declivity drive and break orbit. On lift off you could look out to the planet below and see just how much of the planet was removed, relocated, or otherwise transformed. This planet would never host primitives, let alone any life ever again as the mining process pollutes the atmosphere, leaves few organic composed in the atmosphere and what we could collect of the the other magic seven were taken too. It always stuck me how efficiently we could harvest a planet's resources and in this case left a giant hole nearly the entire planet across and just as deep with much of the tailing stacked in one massive mound.
“Declivity path programmed, sir”
Our destination was not far away, travel there wouldn’t take much time, and we would be in this gravity well a while not just because we had no clear path home, but there was enough 126 spread over the node to keep us busy for awhile. In hindsight though I wish I never came here this far into the void. In contrast to planet four which was smaller, planet three had a stronger magnetic signature, had more gravity, and smaller more dispersed 126 which would require a different approach to collection. Our plan of attack would be to come down the magnetic north pole, similar to planet four, then slide south along the planet's rotation ending up at the equatorial region where our scanners indicated the highest concentration was. Our resource collection team would then work in conjunction with the science team to calculate the best removal pattern, all the while RAID dealt with the primitives.
“What was the drone report?”
“Inconclusive, sir”
Inconclusive may as well mean hard contact as there was no guarantee what we were going to encounter with the primitives on the ground. Primitive cultures themselves posed no threat to our operation and would succumb to pressure soon enough; however, this node was an enigma and inconclusive only increased my hesitation to stay here. Drones and the scanners were all reporting a rudimentary society of primitives which appeared to be organized in cultural governments, established boundaries, and participated in localized warfare over those boundaries. Nothing uncommon for a primitive culture and certainly no reason for concern. These were the types of primitives that RAID looked forward to, not only because they proved good practice, but some might even provide a good hunt. RAID wanted a fight, so I wasn’t surprised that the internal reports prevented from saying hard contact; however, the scientific team reports indicated that there was inconsistency in density and that hard contact was certain. If only…
“Polar position achieved, sir”
“Bring us in”
Our landing on planet three went according to plan and that would be the only part of our visit that did.
submitted by Long and short a, e, i, o, u
Doubled consonants are supposed to show when the letters a, e, i, o, u in words of more than one syllable have a short sound, as in matter, hemmed, hidden, dotty, tubby, rather than long, as in mate, theme, hide, dote, tube. When followed by just one consonant, or several consonants and a vowel, a, e, i, o, u are meant to be 'closed' , with a short sound, as in: am, ample; ten, tender; pin, pinked; pond ponder; bun bunker.
When followed by a single consonant and a vowel, they are ‘open’ and meant to be long; male, halo; peter, period; fine, final; sole, solo; tube, tubular'.
If a stressed short vowel before a single consonant and another vowel is to be short, or is to stay short, it should be followed by a doubled consonant: allergy, petty, Finnish, dolly, butter.
Schoolchildren spend much time learning to apply this rule when adding suffixes to short words: cut + er → cutter, prefer + ed → preferred; but: cute + er→ cuter, enter +ed → entered.
Sadly, at least 1,700 words of more than one syllable disobey the ‘closed /short' - 'open / long’ vowel system in 5 ways: 1. At least 567 common words fail to double the consonant after a short, stressed vowel, e.g. 'habit, very, similar, body, study'. 2. 219 words have needlessly doubled consonants after unstressed vowels, e.g. 'account, terrific, immense, occur, hurrah', undermining their regular use, as in: accurate, terror, simmer, occupy, hurry. 3. Nearly 200 words end with a surplus –e: (give, promise – cf.spiv drive; surprise tennis). 4. Around 200 words have irregular spellings for a, e, i, o and u (plait, bread, pretty, cough, touch), sometimes with missing doubled consonants as well (many, women, sausage, money). 5. At least 665 words do not use the long vowel method, of 'male, mere, mile, mole, mule': 87 for long a (late - wait, straight, eight), 373 long e (eke – seek, speak, shriek) - [e-e is used just in 86 words], 79 long i (while - style, whilst, island, height), 100 long o (mole – bowl, roll, soul), 26 long u (use - youth, juice, feud, lewd, beauty, Tuesday). All common words affected by the five irregularities are shown below in the following order: 1) Omitted consonant doubling; 2) Needless consonant doubling; 3) Surplus -e endings; 4) Exceptions to a, e, i, o, u; 5) Exceptions to a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e and 459 unpredictable spellings for the /ee/ sound. The exceptions dilute the English 'long/short' system so much that hundreds of spellings simply have to be learned word by word, instead of being spelt systematically, like 'pal, pale, pallid'. They were made irregular mainly with careless changes to the original English spelling system and are now most responsible for making learning to write English exceptionally difficult and time-consuming. Most of them cause reading difficulties as well, not just spelling ones: e.g. hide, hidden – hideous; arrow - arrive (cf. arise); save - have; ouch - touch. --------------------------------------------------------------
1) Words of more than one syllable without doubled consonants after their short, stressed vowel (which undermine the 500+ words with doubling, e.g. cabbage, chicken, adder...). (Only one-syllable words lengthened with suffixes have systematic consonant doubling: e.g. beg – begged, beggar, begging; fat – fatten, fatty).
Cabaret, cabin, cabinet, distribute, elaborate(X2), fabulous, habit, inhabit, liberal, liberty, nebula, probable, prohibit, rebel(noun), robin, tribute.
Articulate, binoculars, crocodile, decade, decorate, document, executive, faculty, placard, recognise, record(n), ridiculous, second(n), secondary, secular, vacuum, vicar. Accurate, broccoli, hiccough, hiccup, occupy, piccolo, soccer, succulent, tobacco. Echo, mechanism. Chequered, lacquer, liquor, liquorice.
Academy, adequate, body, credit, deciduous, edible, edit, educate, federal, graduate(X2), hideous, idiot, madam, medal, medical, moderate(X2), modern, modest, pedal, pedigree, produce(n), product, radical, radish, ridicule, shadow, study, video, widow.
Café, certificate, magnificent, Pacific, profit, reference, refuge, refuse (n), significant, specific,
agony, brigand, dragon, flagon, frigate, hexagonal, jaguar, negative, regular, sugar, vigorous, wagon,
Ability, abolish, analysis, apologise, astrology, balance, bilious, calendar, celebrate, celery, chalet, civilian, colony, column, delegate(X2), deliberate(X2), delicacy, deluge, demolish, develop, element, elephant, eligible, expel, facilities, felon, galaxy, helicopter, holiday, invalid(adj), italic, knowledge, lapel, lily, melody, melon, metropolitan, military, morality, motel, olive, palace, palate, pelican, policy, polish, politics, polythene, probability, qualify, quality, reality, relative, relevant, relic, salad, salary, salmon, salon, skeleton, solemn, solid, solitary, talent, talon, telescope, theology, tolerate, valentine, valiant, valid, value, ventriloquist, vitality, volume, voluntary.
Abominable, academic, amateur, atomic, barometer, calamity, camera, camouflage, cemetery, chemical, chemistry, comedy, comet, comic, criminal, damage, democrat, dominate, domino, dynamic, economic, eliminate, emerald, emigrate, epidemic, family, famished, feminine, glamour, image, kilometre, laminate(x2), lemon, limit, memorise, memory, plumber, preliminary, premier, premise, primitive, prominent, promise, remedy, semi, similar, simile, thermometer, timid, vomit.
Aluminium, animal, anonymous, anorak, astonish, astronomy, banish, banister, benefit, canopy, cinema, clinical, conifer, continue, degenerate(x2), economy, electronic, enemy, energy, finish, granary, honest, honour, January, lieutenant, linear, manage, manor, manual, manuscript, menace, menu, mineral, minimal, minimum, minister, minute(n), monarch, monastery, monitor, monument, opinion, organic, panic, penalty, penetrate, planet, punish, senate, sinister, spaniel, spinach, strenuous, supersonic, tenor, tonic, vanish, venison, vinegar.
Capita, capital, capitol, copy, deputy, dilapidated, epic, episode, leper, opera, operate, popular, proper, property, rapid, separate(x2), tapestry, tepid, topic, tropics.
America, Arab, arable, arid, asparagus, authority, baron, beret, caramel, caravan, caricature, carol, ceremony, chariot, charity, cherish, clarity, comparative, comparison, conspiracy, coral, derelict, empirical, experiment, florist, foreign, forest, garage(UK), herald, heritage, heroin/, heroine, heron, historic, horoscope, inherent, inherited, majority, merit, minority, miracle, moral, necessarily, numerical, orange, origin, parasol, parish, peril, periscope, perish, popularity, primarily, priority, quarantine, sheriff, sincerity, spirit, sterilise, therapist, transparent, very.
Acid, adolescent, anticipated, capacity, decimal, discipline, electricity, explicit, fascinate, glacier(UK), municipal, oscillate, pacifist, participate, precipice, prosecute, publicity, recipe, simplicity, solicitor, specify, specimen, velocity; glisten, listen; convalescent, crescent.
Gratitude, aquatic, athletic, atom, baton, botany, British, catalogue, catapult, category, citizen, city, compatible, competitive, critic, critical, dedicate, diplomatic, lateral, latitude, literal, literary, magnetic, mathematics, metal, monotonous, obliterate, pathetic, petal, pity, platinum, platypus, poetic, political, satin, saturate, Saturday, Saturn, static, strategy, tetanus, veteran, yeti.
Avenue, average, cavalry, cavern, cavity, civic, civil, clever, controversy, crevice, deliver, devil, driven, eleven, equivalent, ever, evidence, given, gravity, havoc, hover, javelin, lavender, navigate, never, novice, poverty, privilege, proverb, providence, quiver, ravenous, reverend, river, rivet, savage, scavenge, seven, shiver.
Hazard, lizard, lozenge, wizard, wizened; deposit, closet, desert, designate(x2), desolate(x2), hesitate, miserable, positive, presence, present, president, prison, resident, risen, visible, visit; scissors.
56 words have irregularly spelt short vowels and missing doubled consonants:
Any, berry/bury, burial, endeavour, heaven, heavy, heifer, jealous, jeopardy, leopard, many, meadow, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, ready (already), steady, threaten, weapon, zealous,
busy, chrysalis, cylinder, cynical, lyric, physical, physics, synagogue, synonym, syrup, typical, tyranny, women,
colour, courage, cousin, covenant, cover, covet, covey, dozen, govern, honey, monetary, money, nourish, onion, oven, shovel, slovenly, somersault, stomach, thorough. Sausage. Courier.
2) Words with needlessly doubled consonants (i.e. not after a stressed short vowel; the stressed syllable is underlined). - Compare: abridge, acute, adrenalin, afar, alone...
Abbreviate.
Accompany, accomplish, accord, accordance, accordion, account, accrue, accumulate, accuse, accustom.
Address(uk). Affair, affect, affection, affectionate, affluent, afford, chauffeur, differential, diffusion, effect, efficient, effluent, effusive, giraffe, graffiti, offence, offend, offensive, official, officious, paraffin, sheriff, sufficient. Aggravate, aggressive, suggest.
Alliance, allotment, allow, allowance, allowed/aloud, ballistic, balloon, caterpillar, collage, collapse, collect, collection, collide, constellation, controlled, excellent, hello, illegal, illegible, illiterate, illuminate, illusion, illustration, installation, intellectual, jewellery, llama, marvellous, parallel, pastille, roller, satellite, swollen, tonsillitis, traveller(UK), virtually, wholly, woollen.
Accommodation, ammunition, command, commemorate, commence, commercial, commission, commit, commodities, commotion, communication, communion, community, commuter, immaculate, immediate, immense, immersion, immortal, immune, programme, programmer, recommend.
Anniversary, announce, annoy, annul, connect, Finn/fin, inn, mayonnaise, personnel, questionnaire, tyranny.
Appal, apparatus, apparent, appendix, applaud, applause, appliance, apply, appoint, appreciate, apprehensive, apprentice, approach, appropriate(x2), approve, approximate(x2), hippopotamus, opportunity, oppose, sapphire, supply, support, suppose.
Arrange, array, arrest, arrive, barricade, correct, correlation, correspond, curriculum, erratic, hurrah, interrupt, irregular, irrigation, occurrence, serrated, surrender, surreptitious, surround, terrific, torrential, verruca.
Assail, assassin, assassinate, assault, assemble, assert, assessment, assessor, assign, assist, assistant, associate(x2), assort, assume, cassette, dessert, embassy, essential, lasso, moose/mousse, necessarily, necessary, possess, possessive, possibility.
Attach, attack, attain, attempt, attend, attention, attorney, attract, attributed, battalion, cigarette, mattress, omelette, palette, silhouette.
3) Words with surplus –e endings which obscure the vowel-lengthening function of –e in words like 'define, bone, care, endure, advise, inflate, ignite, drive, save, survive'.
Destine, determine, discipline, doctrine, examine, engine, famine, feminine, genuine, heroine, imagine, iodine, intestine, jasmine, masculine, medicine, urine,
gone, shone. Are, (cf. care, endure, mature). Conjure, exposure, failure, figure, fissure, injure, measure, pleasure, pressure, procedure, treasure. Adventure, agriculture, architecture, capture, caricature, creature, culture, departure, expenditure, feature, fracture, furniture, future, gesture, lecture, legislature, literature, manufacture, miniature, mixture, nature, picture, puncture, scripture, signature, structure, temperature, torture, venture, vulture. Purchase, premise, promise, purpose. (cf. atlas, devise, propose). Accurate, adequate, affectionate, candidate, chocolate, climate, considerate, corporate, delicate, desperate, extortionate, fortunate, frigate, illiterate, immaculate, immediate, intermediate, intricate, laureate, legitimate, obstinate, palate, passionate, pirate, private, proportionate, senate, Composite, Definite, exquisite, favourite, granite, infinite, opposite. In 25 words the –ate endings are used for two different words (to deliberate a deliberate act). Advocate, alternate, appropriate, approximate, articulate, associate, certificate, co-ordinate, degenerate, delegate, deliberate, designate, desolate, dictate, duplicate, elaborate, estimate, graduate, intimate, laminate, moderate, separate, subordinate, syndicate, triplicate (cf. inflate, dilate, obliterate). Give, forgive, have, live (cf. drive, save, alive), abrasive, abusive, adhesive, aggressive, apprehensive, comprehensive, compulsive, conclusive, creative, cursive, decisive, defensive, depressive, derisive, detective, dismissive, divisive, effusive, elusive, evasive, excessive, exclusive, expensive, explosive, expressive, extensive, fugitive, impressive, impulsive, incisive, inclusive, initiative, intensive, invasive, massive, motive, narrative, objective, obtrusive, offensive, oppressive, passive, pensive, permissive, perspective, persuasive, possessive, productive, progressive, prospective, radioactive, repulsive, respective, responsive, selective, sensitive, subjective, submissive, subversive, successive.
4) Words with irregular spellings for short /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and - (Letters in red are redundant.)
A - (bad, cat, rang, chav) - plaid, plait, meringue, have.
E - (bed, bend) – but : Bread/bred, breadth, breast, breath, dead, deaf, dealt, death, dread, dreamt, head, health, lead(x2), leant, leapt, meant, read(x2), ream, spread, sweat, thread, threat, wealth. Breakfast, cleanliness, cleanse, endeavour, feather, heather, heaven, heavy, instead, leather, measure, stealthy, treacherous, treadmill, treasure, weather. Friend, every, said, says, Wednesday.
Some lack doubled consonants as well (c.f. jelly, teddy, penny): Berry/bury. Any, many. Jeopardy, leopard. Heifer. Jealous, meadow, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, ready, (already), steady, weapon, zealous.
Different in US and UK: Leisure, lieutenant [leesure/lesure, lutennant/leftennant].
I – (in, it, sit ) - except: Build, built, busy, English, pretty, sieve, vineyard, women. Abyss, crypt, crystal, cyclical, cygnet, cymbals, cyst, eucalyptus, gym, hymn, hypnotise, lynch, lynx, mystery, myth, Olympics, rhythm, syllable, symbol, symmetry, sympathy, symptom, synchronise, syndicate, syndrome, synthesis, system. Without doubled consonants as well (unlike ‘syllable’ and ‘symmetry’): Chrysalis, cylinder, cynical, lyric, physics, synagogue, synonym, syrup, typical, tyranny.
O – (on hot spot) – irregular mainly just after w and qu: Swallow, swamp, swan, swap, waft, wand, wander, want/wont, wanton, warrant, warren, warrior, was, wash, wasp, watch, watt, wattle, what. Quality, quadrangle, quantity, quarantine, quarry, squabble, squad, squander, squash, squat. + Cough, trough; laurel, sausage.
U – (up, under) - Next to m, n , v and w, the short sound is often spelt o or o-e.
(* quite often without doubled consonants too, e.g. money– cf. funny).
Among, Monday, money
, monger, mongrel, monk, monkey, month, mother, smother. Comfort, company, compass, pommel/pummel, stomach. Come, some/sum. Front, son, ton/tonne , tongue, sponge. Done, none/nun, nothing. Honey
, onion. Above, cover
, covet, covey
, covenant, dove, glove, govern
, love, oven, shove, shovel
, slovenly.
Won/ one, wonder, worry. Once. Country, nourish
, young. Enough. Not next to m, n or v: Double, couple
, trouble. Rough, slough(x2), tough. Brother, colour
, courage, cousin
, dozen, does, hiccough/hiccup, other, Southern, thorough*, touch. Blood, flood.
5) Words with irregular spellings for a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, followed by e-e (because e-e is no longer the main spelling for the /ee/ sound, as it used to be until the 15th century).
A-e (late, tale) Ale/ail, bale/bail, male/mail, pale/pail, sale/sail, tale/tail, whale/wail, assail, cocktail, detail, fail, hail, jail, nail, prevail, rail, retail, snail, trail, Main/mane, pain/pane, plain/plane, rain/reins(reindeer)/reign, vain/vein, Abstain, brain, chain... (in 31 words) Skein; deign, feign; campaign; champagne. Crane, lane, sane, membrane. Made/maid, aid, braid, laid, paid, raid, afraid. Brake/break, stake/steak. Aim, claim, exclaim, maim, proclaim. Place/plaice. Haste, paste, taste, waste/waist; Daisy, praise, raise, raisin. Traitor, waiter. Ate/eight, bate/bait, grate/great, straight/straits, wait/weight. Fête, freight. Faith. Halfpenny, neighbour. Able, cable, cradle, fable, gable, ladle, sabre, stable, table – (cf. label).
I-e - (ice) - except: I /eye/aye/ay, bite/bight(bay), knight/night, lite/light, mite/might, rite/right/write,
slight/sleight(trick), sight/site/cite. Alight, blight, bright, delight, fight, flight, fright, frighten, lightning, mighty, tight. Height; indict. Behind, bind, blind, find, grind, hind, kind, mind, ninth, pint, rind, wind (x2); Bible (cf. libel), bridle, disciple, idle, rifle, stifle, trifle. Child, mild (cf. children, mildew), wild, whilst; island; climb. Eider-down, Fahrenheit, kaleidoscope. Either, neither (UK pronunciation). Choir. Resign, sign. Tire/tyre, asylum, cycle, cypress, dyke, dynamic, dynamite, dynamo, hyacinth, hydrangea, hydrogen, hyena, hygrometer, hypothesis, nylon, paralyse, psychology, pylon, python, rhyme, scythe, style, thyroid, type, tyrant.
O - e, -o - (open, so) – quite regular in more recently imported words: Alcove, associated, chrome... video, volcano, zero. Except: Bungalow. Cocoa. Oboe. Pharaoh. Depot.
In older English words, the o-e/-o sound is spelt very unpredictably:
Approach, boast, boat, broach/brooch, cloak, coach, coal, coast, coat, coax, cockroach, croak, float, foal, foam, gloat, goal, goat, groan, load, loaf, loan, loathe, moan, oaf, oak, oath, oats, poach, road, roam, roast, shoal, soak, soap, stoat, throat, toad, toast.
Bold, cold, fold, gold, hold, old, scold, sold, solder, soldier, told. Folk, yoke/yolk. Holster.
Bolt, colt, dolt, jolt, revolt. Mould, moult, sole/soul, shoulder, smoulder.
Knoll, pole/poll, role/ roll, scroll, stroll, toll, troll, swollen, holy/ wholly. Control, enrol, patrol.
Host, most, post, postal, poster. Both, gross, noble, only, sloth. Goes. Mauve. Blown, bowl, grown, growth, known, mown, own, shown, sown/sewn, thrown, rowan. Blow, bow(x2), crow, flow, glow, grow, know, low, mow, row(x2), show, slow, snow, sow(x2), stow, throw, tow. Arrow, barrow, bellow, below, billow, burrow, elbow, fellow, follow, gallows, hollow, marrow, narrow, pillow, shadow, shallow, swallow, sorrow, sparrow, tomorrow, wallow, widow, willow, window, yellow.
Doe, floe, foe, hoe, roe, sloe, toe, woe. Oh/owe. So/sew. Dough, though. Ago, also, fro, go, hello, no. Alone, arose, bone, bony, broke, choke, chose, chosen, close, clothes, clover, code, cone, cope, cove, dole, dome, dose, doze, drone, drove, froze, frozen, grocer, grope, hole, holy, home, hope, hose, joke, lone, mole, nose, open, over, poke, pony, pope, primrose, rode, rope, rose, scope, slope, smoke, spoke, stoke, stole, stolen, stone, strode, stroke, tadpole, throne, tone, whole, woke, wove, wrote, yodel.
U - e, -ue – (use, tuba; cue, due) – In the stem of words, few exceptions: you/ewe/yew, Eucalyptus, ewer, youth. Feud, feudal, neutral, pneumatic, pseudo, rheumatism. Lewd, newt, pewter, sewage, jewel, steward. Juice, nuisance, suicide, suitable, suitcase. Beauty. Nuclear. Tuesday.
In endings unpredictable: Cue/queue, due/dew, sue. Argue, avenue, barbecue, continue, imbue, issue, pursue, rescue, revenue, statue, subdue, tissue, value, devalue, venue, virtue. Chew, few, Jew, knew, new, pew, spew, stew, askew, curfew, curlew, mildew, nephew. View, interview, review. Emu, menu.
E - e / ea / ee ... – (deed, lead, concede, siege, conceive, police, people, key, ski ...) The spellings of the /ee/ sound were made unpredictable mainly in the 15th C, when court scribes were obliged to switch from French to English. They changed most e-e spellings (like Chaucer's 'seke, speke, shreke, beleve') to the many different ones we still use now. Johnson's dictionary of 1755 made them even worse by giving 48 words 2 spellings: Bee/be, beech/beach, been/bean, beet/beat, breech/breach, cheep/cheap, creek/creak, deedear, discreet/discrete, eerie/eyrie, eve/eaves, feet/feat, flee/flea, freeze/frieze, jeans/genes, Greece/grease, heel/heal, heahere, key/quay, leech/leach, leek/leak, meet/meat, need/knead, pee/pea, peace/piece, peek/peak, peel/peal, peepier, reed/readx2[reed/red], reek/wreak, reel/real, sealing/ceiling, seamen/semen, see/sea, seem/seam, seen/scene, serial/cereal, sheeshear, sheikh/chic, steel/steal, sweet/suite, tee/tea, teem/team, wee/we, week/weak, wheel/weal. In UK also: geezegeyser, leavelever.
Open e : Adhesive, arena, cafeteria, cedar, chameleon, Chinese, comedian, compete, complete, concrete, convene, convenient, decent, demon, equal, era, even, evil, experience, exterior, extreme, female, fever, frequent, genie, genius, hero, hyena, imperial, inferior, ingredient, intermediate, legal, legion, lenient, material, medium, mere, meteor, meter, millipede, mysterious, obedient, period, peter, polythene, precede, previous, query, recent, recess, region, relay, scheme, sequence, sequin, series, serious, serum, species, sphere, stampede, strategic, superior, supreme, swede, tedious, theme, theory, these, torpedo, trapeze, vehicle, Venus, zero. He, me, she. Beef, beer, beetle, between, bleed, bleep, breed, breeze, career, cheek, cheer, cheese, cheetah, creep, deed, deep, eel, exceed, feeble, feed, feel, fleece, fleet, geese, greed, green, greet, indeed, jeep, jeer, keel, keen, keep, kneel, meek, needle, peep, pioneer, preen, proceed, proceedings, proceeds, queen, queer, reef, screech, screen, seed, seek, seep, seesaw, sheep, sheet, sleek, sleep, sleet, sleeve, smithereens, sneer, sneeze, speech, speed, squeeze, steep, steeple, steer, street, succeed, sweep, sweet, teeth, teetotal, thirteen, tweed, tweezers, weed, weep, wheedle, wheeze, wildebeest. Appeal, beacon, bead, beak, beam, beard, beast, beaver, beneath, bleach, bleak, bleat, breathe, cease, cheat, clean, clear, colleague, conceal, congeal, cream, crease, creature, deal, dean, decrease, defeat, disease, dream, dreary, each, eager, eagle, ear, ease, east, Easter, eat, fear, feast, feature, freak, gear, gleam, glean, heap, heat, heath, heathen, heave, increase, leadx2, leaf, league, lean, leap, lease, leash, least, leave, meagre, meal, mean, measles, near, neat, ordeal, peach, peat, plead, please, pleat, preach, queasy, reach, really, reap, rear, reason, release, repeat, retreat, reveal, scream, seal, sear, season, seat, sheaf, sheath, smear, sneak, speak, spear, squeak, squeal, squeamish, steam, streak, stream, teach, teak, tearx2, tease, theatre, treacle, treason, treat, treaty, veal, wean, weary, weasel, weave, wheat, wreath, year, yeast, zeal. Open i: Albino, antique, aubergine, bikini, clementine, fatigue, guillotine, machine, magazine, margarine, marine, mosquito, plasticine, police, prestige, ravine, regime, routine, sardine, suite, tambourine, tangerine, trampoline, unique, vaseline, pizza.
Achieve, belief, believe, brief , chief, diesel, field, fiend, fierce, grief, grieve, hygienic, medieval, niece, pierce, priest, relief, relieve, shield, shriek, siege, thief, thieve, tier, wield, yield. Caffeine, codeine, protein, seize, weir, weird, conceive /coneit, deceive /deceit, receive /receipt. Assorted variants: People; cathedral, secret; pizza, ski, souvenir; debris.
Learning to read and write English could be made much easier by merely correcting some of the above irregularities which make it exceptionally difficult and time-consuming.
Posted 1st July 2010 by Masha Bell (
http://improvingenglishspelling.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-and-short-vowels.html?m=1)
submitted by Hazardous Materials Table. Figure 9-4 shows part of the Hazardous Materials Table. Column 1 tells which shipping mode(s) the entry affects and other information concerning the shipping description. The next five columns show each materialʼs shipping name, hazard class, ID number, packing group and required labels. Figure 9-4 The first five columns of the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) contain the information required for the basic description on the shipping paper document or the hazardous waste manifest. The Table covers the transportation of hazardous materials in all modes: air, water, rail, and highway. The Hazardous Materials Table, or HMT, is the backbone of the Hazardous Materials Regulations. Understanding and knowing how to use the HMT is the first step toward compliance. For each material listed, the 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table identifies each hazard class or specifies that the material is forbidden in transportation. The first five columns of the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) contain the information required for the basic description on the shipping paper document or the hazardous waste manifest. The Table covers the transportation of hazardous materials in all modes: air, water, rail, and highway. If you are a carrier or shipper of hazardous materials, you should already be familiar with the Hazardous Materials Table. Found at 49 CFR 172.101, it contains the necessary information to complete the shipping paper and comply with other aspects of the Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR) of the Department of Transportation. You may not be familiar with the purpose and importance of the ... HazMat Transportation - Part 1 - The Hazardous Materials Table (US) Because of the risks and dangers associated with shipping hazardous materials, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and its supporting agencies regulate the transport of these materials within the US and ensure we comply with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (or ... Columns 8B and 8C refer to non-bulk and bulk packaging requirements. ... As can be witnessed in our discussion above, the Hazardous Materials Table is designed for use by hazardous materials employees that perform certain functions related to hazardous materials transportation. The Hazardous Materials Table has columns 1-7, as well as columns 8A, 8B, and 8C. Select the answer which gives two of the columns in the table: A.: “Hazard Class or Division”, “Identification Numbers ... HAZARDOUS MATERIALS GUIDE §172.101 172--25 §172.101 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TABLE, Continued Sym-bols (10) Vessel stowage (9) Quantity limitations (8) Packaging Special (§173.***) provisions (§172.102) Label PG Codes Identifi-cation Numbers Hazard class or Division Hazardous materials descriptions and proper shipping names Cargo Location Other ... A Shipper of a hazardous material is responsible for its classification and packaging prior to offering it for shipment to a Carrier. An important, but often overlooked, requirement for the safe and regulatory compliant transportation of a HazMat is an understanding of the special provisions in column 7 of the Hazardous Materials Table.