Ivor felt like he had been reborn. His senses, which had always been sharper than those around him, now felt different in a way he could not immediately describe. Before, it had been like observing the world through water, clear enough to function, but never perfectly still. Now there was no distortion.
He stood without moving, yet the forest revealed itself to him.
The first thing he noticed was sound.
At first, it was only the wind moving through the leaves above, but beneath it he heard multiple footsteps.They were distant, but distinct. He could hear the uneven pressure of their movement, the slight shift in rhythm as they moved across roots and loose soil. He could even tell which ones carried urgency and which ones moved with control. The sounds did not blend together. Each one existed separately, clear and identifiable.
His breathing remained steady as the information entered his mind without effort.
Then his vision sharpened.
