Farbar guided the boar-lizard leisurely through the town streets as he talked about Shade tricks for people who could not manifest their Shade visibly. They were partly exercises to strengthen fine control over the sorcery that Ascharon called Shade and partly sorcerous sleight of hand.
Most of them were useless to a user of the Current, but there were one or two that could be modified to increase sensory awareness even if a person didn't manage to gain the half-meditative state where the Current could be used.
From Farbar's spiel, Defi got the idea that people who could not manifest their Shade visibly were seen as having weak sorcery.
He was grateful he didn't have to wrack his brains to explain his lack of colourful sparkles. Telling the people at the tailoring shops that he didn't want any specific color was vexing enough. It appeared that current fashion in the cities was to wear clothing in the colors of one's Shade.