The Dragon landed on the mountain peak, crushing the granite with its weight. It was hunting.
From a cave emerged another dragon—a female, slender and shimmering with emerald scales. She cooed, lowering her head in submission.
The Dragon paused. It had not expected company.
The emerald dragon crept closer, eyes gleaming with a strange, hungry intelligence. Maya Masquerade.
It was the Rakshasa, the man-eater of India, wearing a face of desire to hide its intent. It planned to get close enough to rip out the Dragon's throat with its hidden tiger claws. Backwards-Paw Deception.
The Sniff Test
The Dragon leaned in. It sniffed.
It expected the scent of sulfur, ash, and musk.
Instead, it smelled rotting meat, curry, and lies.
The Rakshasa grinned, its jaw unhinging to reveal poison fangs. It leaped.
The Truth of Fire
The Dragon didn't bite. It didn't scratch. It simply opened its mouth and exhaled.
Worldforging Breath.
A torrent of napalm-like fire engulfed the "female dragon."
Illusion is fragile. Fire is real.
The emerald scales melted away instantly, revealing the tiger-headed demon beneath. The Rakshasa screamed as the flames stripped the flesh from its bones. Its magic could fool the eyes, but it could not fool the laws of combustion.
The Dragon sustained the breath for a full minute, until nothing remained of the trickster but a scorched black mark on the mountain.
The Dragon snorted, clearing its nostrils of the bad smell, and took flight again.