Ekkaia, additionally called the Enfolding Ocean and the Encircling Sea, is a dark sea that surrounds the world before the cataclysm at the end of the Second Age. Throughout this flat-Earth period, Ekkaia flows fully around Arda, which floats on it like a ship on a sea. Above Ekkaia is a layer of ambiance. Ulmo the Lord of Waters dwells in Ekkaia, beneath Arda. Ekkaia is extraordinarily cold; where its waters meet the waters of the ocean Belegaer on the northwest of Center-earth, a chasm of ice is formed: the Helcaraxë. Ekkaia cannot help any ships besides the boats of
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