Raistlin’s test / vision

“I had been selected by Par-Salian, the head of my order, to take the Test,” Raistlin continued.
“The Test!” Tanis repeated, stunned. “But you were too young. What, twenty? The Test is given only to mages who have studied years and years—”
“You can imagine my pride,” Raistlin said coldly, irritated at the interruption—“My brother and I traveled to the secret place, the fabled Towers of High Sorcery. And there I passed the Test.” The mage’s voice sank. “And there I nearly died!”
…
“When I awoke,” the mage said, “my skin had turned this color—a mark of my suffering. My body and my health are irretrievably shattered. And my eyes! I see through hourglass pupils and therefore I see time, as it affects all things. Even as I look at you now, Tanis,” the mage whispered, “I see you dying, slowly, by inches. And so I see every living thing.”

Excerpt From Dragons of Autumn Twilight, pg 50
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman