Shera and the 40 Thieves

The evil magician Malice appeared without warning and within days had blighted the land and corrupted its people. In search of more power, he located Shera, a half-genie whose abilities were pure and untapped, and dispatched his Forty Thieves to abduct her so he could absorb her power through a ritual. Shera's son Sarzha is the only person in the affected territory who remains uncorrupted by the blight — protected by a ring his mother gave him that keeps death at bay. Armed only with that ring, Sarzha marches alone into Malice's fortress to reach Shera before the ritual is completed. If it completes, Malice rules forever. Time is not available in the usual sense.