The Vanishing Act

The Vanishing Act is a short story released for Archazia's Island. It was published on the Official Collector's Guide: Sets 5-8 on February 1, 2026.

The story follows a Bruno glimmer as he tries to escape capture by Jafar's Illusion glimmers.

Story

"If you cooperate, we will spare the rats," the Sultan told a captive Bruno glimmer kneeling before him. "You have my word," he added and spread his sandy hands magnanimously; as he did, several grains of sand dropped from his sleeves onto the Magic Carpet he was sitting on. The carpet dropped a few of its own grains, revealing both to be Illusions.

Jafar's Illusions looked convincing from a distance but up close, the whole thing fell apart. Even in the dim light of this reception hall, you could see how the sand shifted and swirled just under the surface, trailing wisps as the Illusions moved. And they all sounded like Jafar. Not the voice, but the way they spoke. It was oily grit and malice all the way down. Luckily, Bruno was something of an expert in sand.

Bruno gazed up at the Sultan, then turned to look at Abu beside him. The elephant Illusion was clutching a pair of rats in his dusty trunk while they squeaked in protest. Bruno took a slow breath. He did not like that. And neither did the third rat who was hiding under his poncho. "Like I said before, visions aren't always that easy," Bruno said. He twisted around to glare at the Palace Guard Illusion behind him. "And I can't do it with my hands tied, I need space. It's a whole thing."

What he needed was a plan that didn't hand valuable information to this villainous glimmer. Jafar wanted Bruno to predict future threats to his reign, and he wanted a tablet to prove it. Bruno couldn't guarantee his visions would produce a tablet, so he really hoped it wouldn't work this time. Could he just make a run for it? He glanced around at all the Illusions, including the flying carpet. It didn't take a fortune teller to call that ending.

The Sultan gestured at the guard to release Bruno's hands. While he rubbed his wrists, Bruno surveyed the room. Definitely big enough now that Jafar had vanished all Archazia's nice stuff. Plenty of sand. There was also rope coiled on the ground near Abu which could come in handy for an escape. He felt the third rat prodding him under his poncho.

"Could you tell the big guy to ease up on my friends?" Bruno asked the Sultan. The Illusion nodded and Abu loosened his grip on the rats, their squeaks softened. Okay, now Bruno could think. There was no way out of attempting a vision, so he went about drawing the circle of sand and pulling pinches of leaves from his pockets. As he prepared the ritual, the first flickers of an idea ignited, and he whispered it under his breath to the third rat. If his furry friend could get to the elephant and distract it...

"Are you quite finished?" the sandy Illusion of the Sultan called from his perch on the false Magic Carpet.

"The future can't be ... ah, never mind. Yeah, I'm finished." The Bruno glimmer plopped down in the middle of the circle, tossed a handful of salt over his shoulder, then lit the match. "You might want to stand back."

Slowly at first, then faster, sand began swirling in a dome around Bruno. He lost sight of the waiting Illusions as the walls of the dome gained mass. Streams of green light threaded in and out of the sand until sketchy images took shape. Bruno felt the rat climb up on his shoulder to better witness the spectacle of fate in action.

"Hold tight, little buddy," Bruno said. His eyes glowed green as he watched the vision but to his surprise, it wasn't of an attack on Jafar, but of Bruno's own escape. Equally important, the rat saw it, too.

The ritual wound down and, to Bruno's dread, a vision tablet dropped into his hands. Things were about to get messy. Bruno turned to the rat and yelled, "Now!"

The rat took off at once for the coil of rope near Abu and began winding it around the illusionary elephant's legs. Meanwhile, the other Illusions only looked confused for moment before the Palace Guard made a break for Bruno. Having seen it all play out just seconds before, Bruno stepped aside easily, stuck one foot out, and tripped the guard. The Illusion smashed against the ground in a sandy burst.

"Carpet, go!" the Sultan yelled, pointing at Bruno. The pair zoomed forward, completely ignoring Abu's plight as he wobbled on increasingly tangled legs.

Bruno hefted the emerald tablet as the Sultan charged at him. "If you really want a prediction," he said as he steeled himself, "then it's all yours." Bruno hurled the tablet at the Sultan and Carpet, it shattered on impact and both Illusions exploded into clouds of sand. He turned just in time to see Abu go down while the rats raced for the safety of his pockets. The palace was crawling with more Illusions, so if they were going to run, it was now or never.

"Great work guys," Bruno said, jogging for the entrance. "Let's never do that again!"

Characters

• Bruno Madrigal - Single‐Minded
• Sultan Illusion
• Abu Illusion
• Palace Guard Illusion
• Magic Carpet Illusion
• Jafar (mentioned)
• Archazia (mentioned)