I silently make my way through the once familiar hallways of the castle. It is clear that no one has been here for a very long time; decades, possibly even centuries. Every corner is filled with thick cobwebs, and every surface is coated with a generous layer of dust. Even the security measures have eroded beyond the point of functionality. I probably don't need to move as cautiously or quietly, but why take the chance?

I enter a section of the castle where the wall had partially collapsed in, exposing the room to the outside air. A chilling breeze flows through the room. I shiver, despite the warm clothes I had put on, and rub my arms in an attempt to keep warm. I feel the rough texture of my scars across my arms, a permanent reminder for what had put me in this predicament.

Back then, I was the King's court wizard, and I was damn good at it. Any and every issue that was magical in nature across the kingdom came through me. Despite my relative youth compared to most other court wizards out there, I was still considered the best by a fair margin. Nothing was outside my power to resolve. That is, until the king fell ill.

At first, the physicians thought it was a mundane disease. For a while, I was not allowed in the king's quarters under the fear of it being contagious. By the time I was allowed in, the King had withered into a mere husk of his former self. With some clever investigation, I was able to determine that the non-magical symptoms were being caused by some unknown magical disease. Despite my best efforts, I could not identify the origin or nature of this disease. It resisted even my most powerful attempts at healing magics. In desperation, I turned to the great tomes in my personal library, searching for any information regarding this wasting disease.

As more and more attempts failed, I could feel the judgement of the rest of the court. Even before this, most of them could not keep up with my intellect. Words like "arrogant" and "megalomaniac" were thrown around. Not that I cared much for their opinions. But now, I could feel them gloating. The great court wizard finally met his match. As if any of them could do better. Their king lay dying on his bed, but it was my downfall that they were obsessed with. As a last ditch effort, I turned to the one field of magic that I usually avoided: Temporal Magic. The manipulation of time was an incredibly dangerous thing. Even for one as skilled as I, it was easy for something to go awry. Even if everything went right, there were creatures out there beyond the material world that did not appreciate mortals fiddling with time.

None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered to me was silencing the judgement of those around me. I would not be bested by this mysterious disease. All I needed to do was wind time back far enough to restore the King's body to before he contracted this disease. Hopefully then I will be able to cure it before it fully takes a hold on him. I set up the various runes and safeguards needed for such an intense ritual. Due to my thorough investigation, the King had been ill for almost three years by this point. Quite a long time to rewind. I took a deep breath, and started the spell.

Immediately, it was obvious that my attempts were working. Color started returning to the King's skin, and his sunken features slowly restored themselves. Just as I was about to celebrate, the spell started to falter. Something was interfering with the stabilizing magics. A moment too late to stop it, I realized I had once again underestimated this magical disease. It was alive, and it would not let go of the King. The spell collapsed in on itself, filling the room with a blinding light. I felt the sear of unfiltered mana burning my skin and the sensation of being thrown like a rag-doll.

It was some time before my senses came back, and longer still before I was able to piece together where I was. Or more accurately, when I was. It seems the force of the spell collapsing shunted me some distance forward in time. From scraps of tomes and scrolls, I was able to create a timeline of what occurred in my absence. Without a King to rule, the kingdom fell into infighting, leaving us vulnerable to our neighbors attacks. We spent some time under the rule of various other kingdoms before a curse slowly started spreading through the land. Crops stopped growing. Cattle stopped reproducing. Children were being born sick and dying young. The land was abandoned, left to rot for the rest of time.

I keep moving through the abandoned halls. I couldn't explain why I had made my way back here. Something in my gut drew me in. Possibly seeking answers or closure. Maybe it was just morbid curiosity. As I entered the throne room, the sight before me answered all those questions. Propped up on the once grand throne, was the body of the king. Dried and withered almost beyond recognition. A sign had been hung on the wall behind the throne. Written in the language of one of the neighboring kingdoms, it read: "Here is your king. May he rule forever." I do not know how long I sat in stunned silence, but I do know what broke me out of it.

"I was starting to wonder if you would ever return" came the weak, trembling voice. The body of the king moved almost imperceptibly, but it was unmistakably him who spoke. "My liege," I say, bowing deeply "I apologize for failing you." A noise emanated from the body, like a scratchy moan. It took me a moment to realize he was laughing. "You did not fail me. If anything, your failure was a blessing. It turns out I had been cursed to be killed by my firstborn child." It didn't take long for me to put the rest of it together. The queen had been barren. The throne was set to be passed down to the King's nephew. Without a child to fill the prophecy, no one would be able to kill him. He continued "You've come back, but I no longer need you. I will rule over my kingdom forever." And so I left him. My one failure as a wizard. I left him to rule over his Kingdom of Rot for the rest of time.

Long may he reign...