Now freed, Melkor returns to spreading lies and division among the elves and between the elves and the Valar—his favorite method of weakening his enemies. The Noldor, proud and cunning, are an easy target for Melkor. He hates them, but he’s also jealous of their prosperity and of Fëanor’s skill. Here, again, the narrator alludes to the trouble Fëanor causes—he is inadvertently influenced by Melkor, but not his accomplice.