Chapter 7

Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor

Feanor, like most people, liked shiny things. He was looking at the shiny glowing Two Trees one day when he decided that hey, wouldn't it be great if their light could be preserved so he could carry it around with him? And that's why he made the Silmarils, the titular shiny jewels that caused most of the problems of the First Age.

The Silmarils were three glowing gems, filled with the light of the Two Trees of Valinor. Since Elves and Ainur like glowing things, as soon as the Elves, Maia, and Valar saw them, they declared that the Silmarils were amazing. Varda even hallowed them, so nothing evil could touch them without pain. Feanor was quite proud.

Melkor, upon seeing the Silmarils, decided that having them for himself would be a new goal alongside destroying the friendship between the Valar and the Elves. He progressed more heartily toward his plan of gaining the trust of the Noldor, and with a bit of good advice here and a bit of forbidden knowledge there, he'd soon amassed quite a following. With his new crowd of eager listeners, he now began the next stage of his plan. With fair words he would speak of the realms they might rule in Middle-earth, the land that the Valar had brought them from. Whispers began circulating that the Valar had been jealous of the Elves, and they had brought them from Middle-earth in an effort to control them and keep them from growing in power.

To these lies Melkor added a new idea: the coming of Men. While the Valar had known that Men were going to arrive due to Iluvatar having shown them, they hadn't told the Elves of this. Melkor twisted their silence to his advantage, telling the Noldor that the Valar were hiding the existence of Men in the hopes that the Valar would rule both races. He spoke of a future in which the Elves remained under control in Aman while Men spread across their promised lands in Middle-earth, the short-lived race being easily influenced by their Valar overlords. This was, of course, a complete lie, but many of the Noldor began to doubt the motives of their angelic friends.

The peace of Valinor was poisoned. Feanor especially took heart to Melkor's words and a fierce desire grew in his heart for freedom and realms of his own. When he was alone, Melkor spent half his time privately laughing at how much Feanor had fallen for his lies, and the other half lusting crazily for the Silmarils. Feanor, too, began going Silmaril-crazy. Although he would show them off at parties, he wouldn't let anyone but his father and sons near them. His ego growing boundless, Feanor often forgot that the light within them was from the Two Trees and not of his own devising.

Feanor now had a new rival to his pride. Fingolfin, the elder of his two younger brothers, was now an adult and beginning to make his own accomplishments. Never one to miss an opportunity, Melkor took immediate advantage of this rivalry and began spreading lies to the two brothers. To Feanor, whispers came that Fingolfin was getting the Valar on his side (as they weren't on the best terms with Feanor due to his behavior around the Silmarils) and planning to usurp him. To Fingolfin and Finarfin, other whispers came that Feanor was getting their father on his side (as Finwe had made it clear that Feanor was his favorite son) and planning to kick them out. Both sides, with additional promptings from Melkor, began to arm themselves for war.

All of this tension came to a head one morning, when Feanor went outside and began yelling about how the Valar had enslaved the Elves and that he was going to leave the country to claim his freedom. Fingolfin, upon seeing his brother making a scene, headed home to find his dad. "Father," he said, "Feanor appears to have gone insane. Could you please calm him down?"

As he was saying this, Feanor strode into the room dressed in full armor and brandishing a sword. "Just as I thought!" he shouted. "My half-brother wishes our father to listen to him rather than me." He pointed his sword at Fingolfin, yelling, "Leave, and learn your place!"

Fingolfin gave his father a curt bow and headed out without a word or glance of acknowledgement to Feanor. Feanor chased after him and stopped him at the front door, setting the point of his sword on Fingolfin's chest. "See, half-brother, that my sword is sharper than your tongue. If I ever catch you trying to usurp my place or my father's love again, I shall have to be rid of you."

As Finwe's house was in the middle of the city of Tirion and this commotion was at the front door, a great deal of people heard Feanor's threat. Once again, Fingolfin refused to answer, and left in silence.

The Valar had thus far adopted a hands-off policy as they didn't wish to interfere with the free will of the Elves, but at this point they decided that enough was enough. Manwe summoned all who'd been involved in the incident, and upon realizing that Melkor was at the center of the issue, he straightaway sent Tulkas to beat him up. But Feanor had still broken the law by threatening his brother, so Manwe said, "Feanor, I want you to head out for a few years (a very brief time to an Elf) and think about your actions. Then, I want you to come back and we'll declare the matter finished, as long as your brother reconciles with you."

And Fingolfin said, "I will forgive him." But Feanor, saying nothing, turned and left.

Feanor's seven sons went into exile with him and built a house a little ways north of Valinor. They took the Silmarils with them, much to the disappointment of everyone, as they really liked the shiny gems. Finwe, deciding he hadn't made it clear enough that Feanor was his favorite son, also went into exile with him.

Melkor, realizing that he'd been found out, decided it was time to leave before Tulkas beat him up. Melkor fled Valinor and made a quick stop at Feanor's new home, hoping to cement the Elf's trust in him. "Well, it looks like I was right about your brother wanting to usurp you, eh? And now he's gotten you banished. Such injustice!" he said, leaning against Feanor's door. "Well, just remember that while the rest of the Valar have been sitting in pride, I've actually been helping you and giving you advice, so know that you have a friend in me if you're still planning on fleeing the country."

Feanor's pride was still wounded from his banishment, and he looked at Melkor, wondering if he should trust him to help with his flight. And Melkor, seeing that Feanor was on the brink of making a decision, gave one final push. "Well, do keep my offer in mind, Feanor. Oh, and if I were you, I'd head out soon. The Valar seemed pretty upset about you taking the Silmarils, and I wouldn't deem your treasures safe as long as they're in this country."

But Melkor had pushed too hard, and Feanor saw through his fair words and realized that Melkor just wanted the Silmarils for himself. "Get out of my house, jailbird!" he shouted. And with that, he slammed the door in the face of the strongest person on Arda.

Melkor, realizing that he didn't have much time before Tulkas found him, decided that he'd have to get his revenge later. Angry and ashamed, he fled.