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K10 Visual Aesthetics and Manifestations - K10 Wiki

K10 Visual Aesthetics and Manifestations

This document provides a canonical reference for artists and writers on the aesthetics of the K10 magic system and the sensory signs of its use. Its purpose is to ensure consistency in the depiction of magic, its pathways, and its effects. Manifestations are the 'special effects' of the system, grounding the conceptual rules in concrete details.

Part 1: Manifestations (In-World Sensory Effects)

These signs are not tied to a specific Sefirah but are common to the practice of magic itself.

Name: Mana-Scent
Pathway: Universal
Trigger: Active channeling of significant amounts of mana for any magical working.
Naked Eye: Not visible. It is a distinct scent.
Description: The air takes on the smell of ozone and petrichor (the scent of rain on dry earth), a signature sign that a powerful working has recently been performed in the area. Faint for simple manifestations, overpowering for major circulations.
Name: Aura
Pathway: Universal
Trigger: All living beings with a soul possess an aura, but it is only visible through special means.
Naked Eye: Invisible.
Magic-Vision: Appears as a shimmering field of light surrounding a person. Its color, texture, brightness, and form reveal information about the person's pathway attunements, emotional state, and degree of Corruption. (See Pathway-Specific Auras below).

Pathway-specific manifestations

S1 - Keter (the Crown)

Name: Pearlescent Sheen
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Keter.
Naked Eye: The mage's eyes have a subtle, pearlescent quality, like the inside of a seashell. It becomes more pronounced at higher tiers.
Magic-Vision: The eyes are not just sheened, but appear as windows into a soft, formless white light.
Name: Keter's Aura
Trigger: Attunement to Keter.
Magic-Vision: The aura is a colorless, formless shimmer, like heat haze off pavement. It has no sharp edges and seems to gently blend into the background. It has a 'quieting' effect on other auras it touches, dampening their vibrancy.

S2 - Chokmah (wisdom)

Name: Starlight Eyes
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Chokmah.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises contain flecks of silver or gold that seem to shift and drift, becoming a slow vortex of light at higher tiers.
Magic-Vision: The mage's entire aura flickers with tiny, unpredictable sparks of light. When they are actively using their Probability Sense, ghost-like after-images of their potential movements can be seen trailing them.
Name: Active Magic-Vision
Trigger: A Chokmah (or Hod) mage actively using Magic-Vision.
Naked Eye: The user's eyes may seem unfocused, looking 'through' things.
Magic-Vision: The user's own eyes glow with a soft, internal silver light, and faint silver specks can be seen drifting from the environment into their eyes, as if they are passively absorbing information.

S3 - Binah (understanding)

Name: Marble Skin
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Binah.
Naked Eye: The mage's skin becomes unnaturally smooth and cool to the touch. At higher tiers, it takes on the faint texture and pattern of polished stone or crystal.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is sharply defined, with hard, geometric edges. It does not blend or flicker. It appears as a stable, crystalline structure of pale grey or black light around them. Any Corruption appears as a literal crack in this structure.
Name: Rule Imposition
Trigger: Active use of Binah's "Impose Rule" ability.
Naked Eye: The air within the affected area seems to become visually 'sharper' and stiller. Sounds are slightly muffled.
Magic-Vision: A translucent, geometric 'cage' of light is visible, defining the boundaries of the rule. The lines of the cage are inscribed with faint, shifting glyphs that represent the imposed law.

S4 - Chesed (mercy)

Name: Golden Radiance
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Chesed.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises have a warm, golden glow. Their entire presence feels warm and comforting. At higher tiers, small, healthy plants may spontaneously sprout in their footsteps on fertile ground.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is a soft, radiant, golden light that seems to 'spill' outwards, gently influencing the space around them. It lacks the hard edges of a Binah aura. When healing, tendrils of this golden light can be seen flowing from the mage into the target's wound, 'knitting' the target's own aura back together.

S5 - Gevurah (severity)

Name: Ember Eyes
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Gevurah.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises contain a deep red, ember-like glow that seems to burn brighter with intense focus or anger. The air around them feels palpably dry and hot.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is a tightly-contained, crimson field of energy that seems to absorb light at its edges. It doesn't spill out like Chesed's, but exerts a powerful, crushing pressure on other auras. Corruption appears as black, oily patches that seem to 'drink' the light.
Name: Judgment's Brand
Trigger: Active use of Gevurah's higher-tier abilities (Trial by Fire, Final Verdict).
Naked Eye: The target of the working may briefly manifest a glowing red glyph on their body or an object, representing the judgment being passed.
Magic-Vision: The glyph is intensely bright and can be seen 'burning' away at the target's aura, severing connections or dissolving its structure according to the working's intent.

S6 - Tiferet (beauty)

Name: Harmonious Gaze
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Tiferet.
Naked Eye: The mage's features become more pleasingly symmetrical. In moments of perfect balance or self-sacrifice, a soft, golden light may be visible over their heart, even through clothing.
Magic-Vision: The aura is a perfectly spherical, harmonious field of solar-gold light that emits a low, calming 'hum'. It doesn't invade other auras, but encourages them to align and resolve their own dissonances. Corruption (Hollowing) appears as the golden light dimming, as if being consumed by a void at the center.
Name: Sacrificial Transference
Trigger: Active use of the ability.
Naked Eye: The physical wound or curse visibly fades from the target and manifests on the Tiferet mage's body. The golden light over their heart then flares as they begin to process and neutralize the harm.
Magic-Vision: The corrupting energy is drawn from the target's aura as a black, ugly thread. It is absorbed into the Tiferet mage's golden aura, which then swirls violently as the gold 'fights' the black until the corruption is dissolved into harmless light.

S7 - Netzach (victory)

Name: Coppery Eyes
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Netzach.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises have a distinct metallic copper or bronze sheen. When the mage is feeling a strong passion (rage, joy, determination), the eyes seem to glow from within.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is a chaotic, churning storm of vibrant color—greens, reds, and bronze are common. It's in constant, passionate motion. When using abilities like Will to Endure, tendrils of this coppery energy can be seen reinforcing the mage's own auric field, patching holes and strengthening its boundaries.
Name: Victory's Echo
Trigger: Use of a major Netzach ability, like Aura of Victory or Unstoppable Charge.
Naked Eye: For a moment after the effect, a faint, greenish-bronze afterimage of the mage can be seen. The air smells of sweat and fresh-turned earth.
Magic-Vision: The area is left saturated with the mage's emotional intent. A location where a Netzach mage felt great triumph will feel inspiring to others who pass through, while a place of great struggle will feel tense and exhausting.

S8 - Hod (splendor)

Name: Opalescent Gaze
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Hod.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises have a shimmering, opalescent quality, catching the light and showing shifting rainbows of color, like oil on water.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is a breathtakingly complex structure of interconnected, shifting geometric patterns and lines of light, like a divine circuit board. It's often hued in oranges and purples. Corruption appears as 'glitching' or 'static' in the pattern, where the geometry breaks down into nonsensical shapes.
Name: Glyphcraft
Trigger: Active use of Glyphcraft or the performance of a complex Hod working.
Naked Eye: The air around the mage's hands seems to shimmer as they gesture, tracing barely-visible lines of orange light.
Magic-Vision: The mage is visibly manipulating a complex holographic interface of glyphs and data streams, pulling them from the environment or their own mind and forming them into a stable magical construct. When using Formatted Magic-Vision, faint data-tags are visible floating next to magical objects and auras in their line of sight.

S9 - Yesod (foundation)

Name: Moonglimmer Gaze
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Yesod.
Naked Eye: The mage's eyes have a faint, silvery, moon-like luminescence in darkness. Their shadow often seems to move with a slight delay or distortion.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is a hypnotic, swirling miasma of violet and silver light. It has an obscuring quality, making it difficult to perceive auras behind it. Corruption (Hollowing) appears as the patterns becoming thin and transparent, revealing an emptiness within.
Name: Phantasmal Weave
Trigger: Active casting of a Yesod illusion.
Naked Eye: The illusion itself is the primary manifestation.
Magic-Vision: Threads of silver-violet energy can be seen extending from the mage's astral body to the phantasm. Fainter, more subtle threads often connect from the phantasm to the psyche of the target, subtly drawing on their subconscious fears and desires to make the illusion more convincing to them.

S10 - Malkuth (kingdom)

Name: Earthen Gaze
Trigger: Tier 1+ Attunement in Malkuth.
Naked Eye: The mage's irises take on the color and texture of a natural material, such as moss, granite, or rich earth. Their skin is often unusually tough or calloused.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is dense, heavy, and seems to cling to the ground. It is opaque and often contains particles of elemental energy (dust, embers, moisture). It smells of soil and stone.
Name: Elemental Wake
Trigger: Active use of Malkuth's elemental abilities.
Naked Eye: The elemental effect itself. The air around the mage may shimmer with dust, heat, or moisture depending on the element being controlled.
Magic-Vision: The mage's aura is seen extending into and merging with the physical world. When shaping stone, threads of their aura are visible within the rock itself, holding it in its new form. Fire they command is an extension of their aura, burning with the same colors.

Part 2: Aesthetic Guides for Artists

This section provides a canonical reference for the aesthetics of the K10 magic system.

Color and texture key

Each Sefirah has an associated color palette and a set of textures that define its visual identity. When depicting a Sefirah's magic, these should be the primary guides.

Sefirah	Primary Color	Secondary Colors	Texture / Material / Element
S1 Keter	Pure White	Silver, Pearlescent	Formless Light, Heat Haze, Still Air
S2 Chokmah	Silver	Gold, Deep Indigo	Starlight, Sparks, Lightning, Raw Data
S3 Binah	Black / Grey	Muted Colors	Polished Stone (Obsidian, Marble), Crystal, Still Water
S4 Chesed	Gold	Sky Blue, White	Warm Light, Flowing Water, Healthy Wood
S5 Gevurah	Crimson Red	Dark Iron, Ash Grey	Fire, Embers, Dry Heat, Forged Metal
S6 Tiferet	Solar Gold	Rose, Emerald Green	Sunlight, Perfect Symmetry, Living Gold
S7 Netzach	Bronze / Copper	Verdant Green, Earthy Brown	Unbridled Nature, Blood, Sweat, Muscle Fiber
S8 Hod	Orange / Purple	Opalescent Hues	Prismatic Light, Polished Brass, Circuitry, Holograms
S9 Yesod	Violet	Silver, Grey	Moonlight, Smoke, Mirrors, Astral Energy
S10 Malkuth	Earth Tones	All Colors (Muted)	Earth, Salt, Flesh, The Four Elements (in balance)

Glyph grammar

Magical glyphs are not arbitrary squiggles. They follow a design language based on the Pillars of the Tree of Life.

Pillar of Severity (Binah, Gevurah, Hod): Glyphs are geometric, angular, and complex. They are built from straight lines, sharp corners, and repeating, intricate patterns. Hod's glyphs are the most complex, often resembling circuit diagrams or fractals. Binah's are simpler, focusing on foundational shapes like squares and triangles. Gevurah's are sharp and weapon-like, resembling axe-heads or arrow-points.
Pillar of Mercy (Chokmah, Chesed, Netzach): Glyphs are organic, flowing, and dynamic. They are built from curves, spirals, and asymmetrical, nature-based patterns. Netzach's glyphs are the most chaotic and primal, resembling vines or lightning forks. Chesed's are gentle and rounded, like river currents or sprouting seeds. Chokmah's are unpredictable and abstract, like star charts or flashes of insight.
Pillar of Balance (Keter, Tiferet, Yesod, Malkuth): Glyphs are symmetrical, balanced, and symbolic. They are often built around a central point and feature mirrored elements. Tiferet's glyphs are the most famously symmetrical, often resembling suns, hearts, or lotuses. Keter's are the simplest: a single point or a perfect circle. Yesod's are shifting and layered, often involving lunar or wave-like motifs. Malkuth's glyphs are often quadrilaterals, representing a stable foundation and incorporating elements of all other glyph types.

Sample depictions

Aura: An aura should not be a simple, fuzzy bubble. It should reflect the texture of its dominant Sefirah. A Binah aura should have hard, crystalline edges. A Netzach aura should churn and swirl like a storm. A Hod aura should have visible, shifting geometric patterns within it.
Corruption: Corruption should be depicted as a violation of the Sefirah's nature.
Petrification: Cracks appearing in a Binah aura; Gevurah's crimson light becoming dull and flaking like rust.
Dissolution: Chesed's golden light becoming a cancerous, tumorous overflow; Netzach's aura spilling out uncontrollably and losing its color.
Hollowing: Tiferet's central sun-like glow dimming to a black hole; Yesod's illusions becoming transparent and glitchy.
Cooperative Ritual: When depicting a cooperative ritual like the Concord's "Mason's Rule," the energies of the involved Sefirot (S3, S5, S8) should be shown flowing from the individual specialists and combining into a single, complex external effect. This might look like black stone (S3) being carved by red-hot lines (S5) that resolve into a final, glowing orange geometric form (S8).