Shadowy Seas

From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.

The Shadowy Seas were part of the Great Sea that lay closest to the shores of the Blessed Realm, to the east of Tol Eressëa. After the Flight of the Noldor and the rising of the Moon, the Valar decided to shield their realm from the outside world. They darkened the immediate sea with spells as well as lack of light and created a chain of Enchanted Isles, each of which had the power to cause any mariner braving this region to fall into an eternal sleep. Throughout the centuries that followed, no ship reached the shores of Aman, until Eärendil the Mariner finally succeeded in passing through the shadows of the Shadowy Seas. Later the Númenóreans under Ar-Pharazôn crossed this barrier, but were subdued when Ilúvatar crashed the mountians of Valinor on the mighty fleet.