The dark forest grew silent as a hushed stranger moved silently past. The shadows themselves seemed to move with him as he glided through the woods and soon he stood on the edge of a moonlit clearing. Darkness crept slowly inward with every step of this cowled menace. Standing alone in the clearing, he waits with no movement and minutes pass until all silence is broken by his bellowing laughter. A minute later a small hunched figure steps into the clearing.
"Is it finished Marcus," asked the man of the newcomer.
"No, my lord," came the whimpering answer. "We were ambushed, and I was only spared to deliver the message." He cowered as if expecting lightning to strike at his reply, but the tall figure just stood there and then he laughed again.
"Of course," he laughed, "I am sure that you were, especially since only a few men knew what was happening tonight, but now I know exactly who to deal with. No more shall those who oppose me survive once the problem has been dealt with." The man laughed even louder.
Marcus flinched at the laughter and took a step to leave, hoping that this meant that all was well for him. Then, as he turned his back the laughter stopped. He began to run and he heard a peel of thunder and saw a flash of light. The other man silently made his way to where Marcus now lay dead, struck by a sudden bolt of lightning. He looks at the charred body on the ground and then begins to walk away, "No body will stand in my way now. All who oppose me and any that have been shown their mercy shall die." As the stranger glides away, the darkness recedes with him, the forest is lit with moonlight once again, and one more innocent soul is lost forever.
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