Macbeth Act IV

IV.

Macbeth sought the three Velda who had predicted his victories so long before. The search was long, but he finally was led to a fourth-ring alley, where he met the creatures again. As he approached the alley, brilliant lights of various colors flashed and chanting in strange tongues emanated from between the buildings. The voices hushed as he neared and the flashes ceased. Macbeth thought he heard, “Something wicked this way comes,” but knew that only he approached.

He walked into the alley behind them and they all turned. He demanded, “Answer all I ask!” He need not ask anything, they said; they knew what he wished to know.

The first, and closest of the three Velda, tossed some strange powder into the small fire before them, and he transformed into a man. Why was the face of that man familiar? It struck him. Macduff!—clad in vintage European armor, and armed with his trusty antique sword. The false Macduff announced, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff!” and the form quickly shrank back to the the odd Veldan form.

The second Velda, too, needed no query from the master. It tossed the same powder into the growing fire. It mutated into a bloody, new-born child with a still-attached and crimson umbilical cord. Having no voice, the Velda-infant sent the thoughts to Macbeth's mind, “Be bloody, bold and resolute! Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” This prophecy contradicted the first. Why should Macbeth fear the previous king's servant Macduff if he has to fear no man born of a woman?

The final Velda, unsurprisingly, soon threw his own powder to the crackling flame. It changed from the bizarre Veldan shape to a young man, holding a bleeding moon. “Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until the dual moons bleed.”

All three prophecies answered questions for which Macbeth sought answers: and they all came with pleasing answers. He knew now to protect himself from Macduff, even though he was invincible to all but those not born by a mother. He also knew that the moons would never bleed, and therefore had nothing to fear, ever. However, being paranoid as he was, he was compelled to ensure his own safety.

In his small home built near the government's minor office in the bottom ring of Olympus, Jamien Macduff wept. Minutes before, a messenger had come bearing terrible news: his wife and son had been murdered in the top ring.

After calming himself and regaining his composure, Macduff met with his close friend and assistant Malcolm and discussed the tragedy and possible repercussions. Malcolm consoled his friend, and offered help. Suddenly, Macduff proposed an attack on upper rings of Olympus. Malcolm immediately agreed, knowing his friend's virtues and capacity to lead. The duo elected to go speak to Edward, de facto ruler of the lower rings, and seek permission to organize an army: an army to purge the evil that ruled upper rings, and to restore the Olympus's peace.