South of the Ered Wethrin lay the Pools of Ivrin, from whence the River Narog flowed. It was a fair place, and its waters came from crystal clear fountains, and were guarded against defilement by Ulmo. It was here that the Mereth Aderthad, the Feast of Reuniting, was hosted by Fingolfin. Gwindor son of Guilin brought Túrin Turambar here after Beleg Strongbow had died by his hand: “There Gwindor spoke to Túrin, saying: ‘Awake, Túrin son of Húrin Thalion! On Ivrin’s lake is endless laughter. She is fed from crystal fountains unfailing, and guarded from defilement by Ulmo, Lord of Waters, who wrought her beauty in ancient days.’ Then Túrin knelt and drank from that water; and suddenly he cast himself down, and his tears were unloosed at last, and he was healed of his madness.” (Silmarillion: 209) Sadly the Pools of Ivrin were defiled by Glaurung, before the destruction of Nargothrond.

The Pools of Ivrin, the River Sirion, and all the other waters of Beleriand that once glittered in the light of the Sun and the Moon and of the stars of Varda were drowned after the War of Wrath by Belegaer, the Great Sea. Belegaer was also named the Sundering Seas, for it separated Middle-Earth from Aman. After the drowning of Beleriand the Grinding Ice, Helcaraxë, ceased to exist, and one could no longer travel to Aman on foot. There are many islands in the Great Sea that have been remembered in tales and songs, and some of them are no more. Such is it with the Isle of Balar, which is said to be the eastern horn of the island upon which the Eldar journeyed across Belegaer to Valinor, which was later put in the Bay of Eldamar and became known as Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle. Such, too, was the fate of Númenórë, which sank into the depths of the ocean at the end of the Second Age.

Many are the rivers that flow into the Great Sea and other oceans, and many are their tributaries. Many are the lakes and pools and ponds where fish and birds and other animals live their lives. The veins of Ulmo are many, and they are ever changing, but his spirit runs through them all.

[i]Sources:[/i]
Tolkien, J.R.R., edited by Christopher Tolkien. The Silmarillion. HarperCollins Publishers, London: 1999.
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.councilofelrond.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Encyclopedia&file=index

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