Follow it! The dragon raged. Eradicate it! But there are limits to all things, even the power of a dragon's will. With no knowledge of the demon's current location, and no training in the subtleties of magic, it had no way of actually finding the vanished demon in order to pursue it.
An intense surge of frustration washed over the dragon at finding its will opposed and thwarted by something so simple and inconsequential as reality. It began to draw power unto itself from the world around, sending the magic outwards in all directions as a crude but effective locator spell. It would find the enemy, and then pursue and engage it again!
"Ryan!" From somewhere outside of itself, a figure of the world spoke a familiar name. The dragon ignored it; meaningless sounds from a lesser being.
"Ryan, stop. We're safe now, the village is safe." Frustration turned to irritation and confusion as the words continued, and spoke something that was not. The village could not be safe with the abomination alive and free. Nothing in the world would be safe. How could these words speak something that is not?
From the dragon's othermind a concept presented itself: deception. Speaking words that are not in order to alter the will of another. An act of malice, an act of harm. Whoso speaks such words is my enemy. The dragon raised one hand, pointing it towards the new enemy, the being holding a sword, but attacking with words. Let my enemy die.
No. A fierce surge of emotion from the othermind washed over the dragon, attempted to impose its own will on the act. Not an enemy, a friend. Karl. The dragon's hand began to lower slightly, impelled by the surprisingly strong will of the othermind.
Deception. The act of an enemy! the dragon raged.
Misunderstanding, the othermind rebutted. A lack of knowledge. A smaller perspective.
The concept troubled the dragon. To speak that which was not, by thinking, seeing, believing that which was not? Confusion filled its mind. To deceive without intent? To be deceived by the world? To deceive oneself, even? How could such things be? The othermind thinks in fearsome circles, shadows and loops.
While the dragon was distracted, puzzling over these disturbing thoughts, the othermind rallied its will, and one clear thought overrode all others, its strength of will flowing over the dragon and almost drowning it.
I am Ryan.
The youth fell to his knees, gasping in pain as his scales, wings and claws receded. The scales especially; they left behind rough, irritated skin that felt like it had been rubbed raw. Karl was saying something-he couldn't quite make it out-but Sasha pointed towards him and he felt soothing energies caress him, the healing magic settling into his skin and easing the irritation.
As his human nature reasserted itself, he felt the dragon receding to its own domain in the back of his consciousness, lurking there, waiting for the opportunity to exert its fearsome will upon him again.
He placed his hands on his knees, slowly pushing himself up to a standing position. "It's all right," he said to his comrades, who were staring at him. "It's me, I'm... back now."
"That's good to hear," said Karl, sounding relieved. "We'll need you. We've got quite a mess to clean up."