Magic is a discipline, not a science.

Though years of practice anyone willing enough can use magic. This is a truth, but it lies about the usefulness of magic. Though the determination is rarely there for a person to so willingly learn a self-taught method (as there is no academy capable of telling you how to cast, for every person does it differently) it is a powerful tool.

When it is discussed as a science, it is generally given schools and classes and forms, which just confuses the purity of the magic.

Most people who do practice magic though will tell you that there is Eight School of magic, also refered to as Elements.

Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Mind, Time, Space and Life.

These Elements roughly characterize what is percieved to make up all things. Most know what the four basic elements do (Fire, Water, Earth and Air) but not all know what Mind (manipulation of the mental energy), Time (manipulation of the flux of time), Space (manipulation of space) and Life (manipulation of life energy, and death energy). The basic elements do not require as much focus and energy to perform, but advanced magics when improperly used can be incredibly dangerous and require a lot of energy and focus.

With those, most Mancers find themselves set, all Magics are capable of doing most tasks. These are called Spells and come in four commonly accepted forms.

Attack, Shield, Enhancement and Utility.

Every magic can do everything that any other can do, with the exception of method as well as Enhancement and Utility. Only certain magics can do certain things. You can only enhance yourself with fire, if you know the skill of Fire Mancy.

This is often one of the reasons for Mancers to learn multiple schools of Magic. The other is that some elements are naturally strong against others, an important part of Battle Mancy (the act of fighting magic against magic). When confronted with Water, Fire will always falture. When confronted by Fire, Air will always be consumed. It is simple.

Fire absorbs Air, Air erodes Earth, Earth consumes Water, Water douses Fire.

This only applies to the basic elements, the other elements are always only counterable by their own form of magic. Only Life can beat Life, Only Time can beat Time.

This is where ritual comes important, in the act of casting powerful magic, every Mancer has their own individual rituals that enhances magic. Some may utter prayer, others may spill their own blood to add potency. It is an individual action, and it is a learned response to the need to channel magic that can otherwise consume the individual.

Casting magic is dangerous, if someone tries to cast magic more potent than they can normally do, it consumes their body and soul in the process. This is why Mancy is a discipline, not a science.