It begins

[Stantas]

Stantas loved the Dark Forest. It was the only place on earth that he felt that he could be truly himself. No one ever came around, because the legacy that he had created in taking up his residence there and killing all that came near frightened them all. No one would bother him here, and he had created for himself a good, quiet life.
But that had been before the Shadow Alliance.
They had come together, knowing his power, fearing him if they came alone. More than a dozen sorcerers bound him with their magic, forcing him to do what they told him to do. It had taken him more than a year to break from that curse, but he had been so scarred that he had been weaker than before and was still bound to their will. He had been so hurt in his ordeal that he would never leave the Shadow Alliance again, however much he wanted to. But his powers had returned to him. He was as, if not more, powerful than he had been before, and he was ready to take control of the Alliance.
He knew that the fickle soldiers would easily adapt to the new leader. He also knew that he was more powerful than all the sorcerers that led the Alliance. They had only subjected the men to their will with displays. They were not nearly as powerful as they claimed. Stantas knew this. He knew that if they all were together he could not defeat them. But he had a Plan. It was flawless, and he knew that he would have control of the Shadow Alliance within a few days.
The first step was sitting before him, in the form of the Second in Command, a warrior with mage-like powers. It was a man, and he had foolishly ventured too close to Stantas' domain, believing him to be gone. Stantas had captured the fool easily, and he was now lying on the floor before him, bound by bonds of fire, burning him, and yet not searing his flesh.
Stantas did not say a word as he examined the man's features carefully, taking note of every small detail. His assumption of the man's form would have to be flawless.
Once he was sure that he had memorized everything, he closed his eyes and endured the brief moment of sharp pain that covered his entire body. After a few seconds, it disappeared, and when Stantas opened his eyes, he was indiscernible from the second in command, save for his clothing, which he would never change. He took one last look at the man, and with a flick of his hand, the man burst into flame and died. Stantas turned and did not look back as the dying screams of the man that had once been one of his masters echoed throughout the forest.
It had begun.

[Stantas]

Stantas continued to walk forward, in the shape of the dead man. The dying light of the evening was shrouded yet further by the trees around him. He felt no fear, for he knew that his plan was perfect. Any Shadow Alliance soldier or officer that found him would not be powerful enough to pierce his disguise: he had been working on his shape shifting for years, waiting exactly for this moment, or so it seemed.
The first step of his plan had been easy. It was now that it became complicated. He had to find each and every magician that had been controlling him and destroy them utterly, individually. One was done, he still had eleven that he had to kill. He did not know where they were, and it was at this moment that he realized with a start that he should have interogated his prisoner before killing him. But it was no matter. He would find them anyway.
He was now out of the trees, on the outskirts of the forest. His intuition told him that the second in command had not come alone, and had brought at least one other sorcerer with him, for protection. The fool. He obviously did not realize that it would make no difference, for he was dead, and soon his protector would be also, if Stantas' intuition proved correct.
And it was. There, less than a mile away across the plane, Stantas' sharp, elven eyes caught site of a campsite, with a lone figure standing beside it. Senses sharpened in anticipation, he began to walk towards it.

[Stantas]

When he came closer, he was able to make out the details on the figure's face, and he realized that it was the most powerful woman in the Shadow Alliance. He did not know her name, nor did it matter to him. He knew that it would not take long for him to finish her.
When she caught site of him, she walked over. Despite her power, she could not pierce his disguise, and she said "Good. You are finally back: you took an extremely long time. Let us pack up now, we are expected to return to the main body of the army soon. I just recieved news from one of our comrades that they have moved, and are now camping on the northern edge of the Blood Sea."
Stantas nodded, and made as if to begin packing. The moment the woman turned her back on him, he made is first move. The campfire was still flickering, so Stantas easy manipulated it into a large tongue of flame and sent it spiraling towards her. She made an attempt to stop it a the last second, but it grazed her hip and nearly severed her leg completely. She cried out in pain, looking at Stantas in surprise. A moment later, realization dawned on her face, and it was at that moment that Stantas revealed himself for a second and dealt the killing blow, so that he would be the last thing that she saw on this earth.
Surveying the land around him, he felt a small sense of elation. He had now killed the two most powerful of his former masters. Ten more awaited their fates, and he knew exactly where they were. He would only be a matter of time before he was at the head of the powerful armies of the Shadow Alliance.

OOC: I will make a few more posts in this thread before moving to the Blood Sea.

[Stantas]

Stantas surveyed the now-ruined campsite around him before breaking off at a run to the east. It would take him a few days to get to the Blood Sea, providing there were no interuptions on the way. He half hoped that there would be, and that he would meet some of the sorcerers he was searching for. This would make his job much easier.
He was quite sure that the remaining mages were weak enough for him to take multiple of them at one time, but he was not entirely sure, as when his connection with them was broken, so also was his perception of their powers. It could easily be that they were more powerful now then they had been, and if this was the case, then Stantas would have to tread carefully.
The sun was setting at his back as he continued to run, untiring. His sharp eyes could not see anything more than the rolling plains for miles around him in every direction. This was simultaneously a good sign and a bad one. Not even an beast was in site: this was a bad site. The plains were usually teaming with wildlife, for Stantas saw no reason to disturb the peace of nature for any other reason than his own hunger. But now, there was not an animal in site. It could have been due to the presence of the two sorcerers he had just killed, but something in Stantas' head told him that this was not the case. There was something afoot in the area, but what it was, Stantas did not know. He continued to run, wary of what was happening around him, ready for a sudden attack.

[Stantas]

Stantas' certainty that he was going to be attacked proved true within the hour. In a sudden flash of light, three magi appeared around him, two of which had been his masters at one point; the other he did not know. Somehow, they had known of his plan, or something of it, and were here to stop it. They did not even question who he was, or how he had escaped their grasp. They simply began to attack.
Bursts of fire, lightning, and other forms of magic appeared all around, causing the sky to darken. Stantas leaped impossibly high into the air to avoid the blasts, firing his own at his attackers as he did so. Three magi at one time was a somewhat difficult task, even for Stantas, and this newcomer seemed quite powerful to Stantas. He landed nimbly on the ground and felt inside his cloak for his sword, preparing to fight by hand if magic would not do the trick.
The first of the magi fell without much difficulty: Stantas sent an extremely powerful ball of fire towards him, and he was unable to stop it. He flew up into the several hundred feet, and if the fire had not killed him, his bone-crunching impact on the ground several seconds later certainly did.
Two more remained, and Stantas' job was now somewhat easier. He now targeted the magi he did not know, who had been firing constant streams of lightning in his direction. Defensive magic was a branch that Stantas knew quite well, and he was also extremely fast, so none had yet touched him, but it was still an extreme annoyance. Deflecting a quick burst of fire, his hand began to glow brightly: one with a red flame, the other blue. With two quick motions, he hurled both glowing balls at the man. In mid flight they combined and when they were within a meter of the magi they exploded violently, throwing tongues of flame in every direction, killing both remaining magi instantly, as they had been completely and totally surprised by magic that they had never before experienced.
Stantas was panting from the effort of the magic he had just used, because it was an extremely obscure branch that few in the world had ever reached into, the danger was extraordinary. Stantas had only used it once before, and that had been to break free from the bonds that had held him. He hoped fervently that he would not have to use it again on the remaining eight (or now, it seemed, more) former master that he had yet to kill.
Turning back slowly towards the direction he had been running, he quickly regained his strength and breath and continued on his way.