> But whenever I've done power perception with a bard, it simply says harmonious. No colors.

There's a reason for that. Note the eighth word:

"You reach out with your senses and hear blazing streams of harmonious Elemental mana coursing through the area."

>ok then, does anyone remember what color our bolts were with the energy bolt spell before 3.0?

I'm not sure that would have changed. The aural perception of mana predates 3.0 by quite some time.

That said, I don't recall a specific color (though for some reason I am thinking yellow?) of the bolt, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say its similar or the same to Warrior Mages since both guilds are elemental users.

~Evike

FWIW,

Warrior Mage lightning is lurid green unless we choose to manipulate it.

Some quoted information:

"*Mana is invisible and cannot normally be detected*; different kinds of magic users are trained to "see" it differently depending on their respective disciplines. Once trained in the perception of one type of mana, a mage is blind to all other frequencies (though manipulation, albeit blindly, is still possible; see Magical theory). Spell energy as a product of other types of mana can still be detected, however."

*Unique to Bards, they perceive Elemental mana aurally rather than visually, with the tempo and complexity of the music increasing with mana levels. *

Based on that, I don't think a bard would perceive mana at all as a color.




--

In memory of Lisa/Martee. Passed 6/17/2013. A friend. A sister.

A more technical answer (but not the one I think the original question wanted, but hey you guys are discussing it) is basically this: Mana is whatever color the perceiver has been trained to perceive. Guild colors are merely the result of like-minded, like-trained people seeing things the same way.

And that's a quote you can thank Armifer for.

~Evike