Schools of Elemental Magic

[...]The clouds quickly marched against them, invading the clear blue sky above and turning it darker and darker, until it seemed like the cold night had arrived early. The wind hit them almost immediately and with staggering severity. Only because Captain Keen had barked at the crew to man the stations when she did, could they prevent the ship from toppling over and capsizing right away.
The men were furling in the main sail now and the magus had made his way to the bow. Constantine lifted his hands and spoke powerful old words against the raging winds, none of which Keen could hear all the way over here, and the whipping gales actually calmed for the moment, lessening the ship’s rocking. He had been a good get, as they say… They might actually make it out of here unscathed. Might. The storm front was massive, and it would take quite a while to weather it. [...]

— From The Animancer, vol. 1: Facing the Storm

Of all kinds of magic on Aqualon, elemental is the most commonly practiced and the most easy to attain. Before the planet was formed during the Reshaping of the World, when the world still consisted of nine asteroid worlds, men already sought to attain the power of the Ur-Shamans, the first Keepers. Few would succeed until after the Titanic Wars when the Nine Realms were forged during the rise of the God Kings.
The most powerful of the Swartalben learned to manipulate earth and fire, the Jöten water and wind, and the Vannier water and lightning. The Albenmannen and Aesier turned to more arcane forms of magic whereas the Midgardians preferred to treat magic with caution, only allowing venerated shamans to practice the art.
When the planet was formed, much of the old arts was lost and elemental magic had to be discovered anew by all but the Angel Saxons, descendants of the Albenmannen.

Elemental magic is easiest to attain because five ur-souls corresponding to one element each linger throughout the world, lubricating the connection between mages and the Great Clockwork when used. To connect to these incredibly powerful souls, a certain "attunement" is required, and, generally, this prevents mages from manipulating more than one element at a time.
Few have the aptitude to change their attunement at will, and the process usually takes months, if not years, of introspection and meditation. Though students of the Magus Academy of Ka Hale Akamai on Ainan are capable of changing aptitude between water and wind, and sometimes also lightning magic more freely, succeeding after merely several weeks of intense meditation, only masters of the Monastery of Five Paths have attained the incredible ability to change their attunement within the span of one day, having access to all five elements (see also: Graduation Feddey).

Schools of Water Magic

Schools of Fire Magic

Schools of Lightning Magic

Schools of Earth Magic

Schools of Wind Magic