1.) Go to your C: Drive.
2.) Open Program Files folder
3.) Look for "Stardock Games" folder and open it.
4.) Open the "Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition" folder
5.) In there you should find something simply titled "GalCiv2" and its icon will be the Drengin race logo. Double click on that and it will launch the standard Dread Lords game.
Hope this helps.
EDIT: Also, if you want to play Dark Avatar as a standalone, just open the "DarkAvatar" folder and double-click "GC2DarkAvatar." If anything, you'll get to see the cool intro movie.