Due to the circumstances of their creation Drakkan are known for their innate mastery of the elemental magic, specifically of the four "natural"
elements as they call them - fire, water, air and earth. Light and darkness, in Drakkan tradition named "ethereal" elements, and no Drakkan are known to posses the innate mastery of these schools.

Prominent elemental lineages of today haven't always existed among
the Drakkan and only emerged following their migration across the continent where particular magical affinities made settling of certain territories easier and more comfortable: affinity for water magic being the key for establishing flourishing settlements on the eastern archipelago, for example.

But before this the majority of ancient Drakkan were more akin to
the continental Drakkan of today - rarely having strongly-developed elemental adaptations or elemental specialization also called elemental affinity. With the rise of the elemental lineages in remote areas of what is now Drakkan Empire came the Drakkan as we known them today - differing between regions in dominating elements and, therefore, presence of strong elemental adaptations.

Elemental affinities in Drakkan appear to be "genetic", for the lack of better term, considering their manner of reproduction, but while parentage would be a good indicator of the child's element it is far less certain when it comes to the magnitude of the talent.

Most of Drakkan tend to have either one strongly developed elemental
affinity or a pair of less pronounced ones, depending on their area of origin. Nowadays, for example, Drakkan from the Fang Mountains tend to most often have strong fire affinities, while continental Drakkan are usually in possession of a pair of weaker affinities. Multi-affinity or wild card affinity, where one would be in possession of all four types of them is exceedingly rare outside of Erre, even more so for advanced affinities.
Complete lack of affinity for magic is as well rare, even more so a complete absence of magic talent.

First thing that would need to be discussed are degrees of elemental
affinities. They are typically separated by three categories: minor, advanced and exalted. Minor affinities are most common ones outside of dedicated magic lineages, but are still nothing to scoff at - even with basic training these Drakkan would be able to confidently work with magic of their element and while it is rare to see career mages with minor affinities many of the less "magical" spheres of Drakkan life make generous use of the abilities these Drakkan hold, including spells up to the journeyman level.

Advanced affinities are most common among dedicated magic lineages
and sometimes spark among the everyday folk. Most of the career mages and students of the arcane would be of the advanced magical affinities and with the right training and regiment these magic users would be able to access many if not all spells of their element, including the expert level. It is very often that Drakkan of advanced affinities would be studying at the Royal Academy of High Arts or one of it's faculties outside of the Spire to master their talents.

Exalted affinity is an exceedingly rare gift outside of the Erre Drakkan and is something all elemental lineages and big drakkan clans and families hope to see in their hatchlings. Magical affinities of this magnitude, while very sought after in the field of magical research, among the Golden Legion or in other spheres are also very dangerous for the users, should they not be properly trained. If trained, however, most of these magic users would be able to easily work with expert level spells and even create their own unique masterworks, that would typically be inaccessible to magic users of lesser skill in ordinary circumstances.

Typically it is seen as having lower affinity for magical element won't make or break an aspiring magician. While yes, strong affinity does provide a headstart and an easier access to more sophisticated kinds of spells magic studies still require an academic mindset, diligence and a lot of work and even natural barrier someone with minor affinity or lack thereof will face when trying to work powerful spell can be overcome with right equipment or an outside help. In the same vein, magical skill of someone with advanced or even exalted affinity must be properly trained and honed to don't be a danger to them and learning to be delicate when weaving spells is not at all easier then learning how to conserve and master limited resource.

Most of Drakkan tend to have either one strongly developed elemental affinity or a pair of less pronounced one, depending on their area of origin. Multi-affinity or wild card affinity, where one would be in possession of all four types of them is exceedingly rare outside of Erre, even more so for advanced affinities. Complete lack of affinity for magic is as well rare, even more so a complete absence of magic talent.

While strongly pronounced magic affinities are beneficial for Drakkan who wish to devote their time and potentially life to studying a particular facet of magic or working in magic-heavy field it has notable downside to it: vulnerability to elemental opposites. Four basic elements Drakkan employ: fire, water, air and earth form two pairs of elemental opposites, thus being fire with water and air with earth.

For Drakkan with minor affinities the concept of opposites won't be hugely important as at most they would find working with the opposite element less intuitive and more draining - as exercising an untrained muscle.

For those with advanced affinities, however, it is a distinctly more
important topic, as for them an attempt to channel the opposite element can result in exhaustion, spellburn (term used to describe quick depletion of magician's reserves during spellcasting, can range from unpleasant to
distinctly painful), injuries, magic getting out of control, but would only
rarely end up in permanent injuries of death. This would be something the ones with exalted affinities need to concern themselves with, barring Erre Drakkan able to ignore the affinity limitation.

Elemental opposites is also a reason why developed fire-water or earth-air affinity would be rare: while Drakkan hailing from mixed lineages of this kind exist it is atypical for their magic to develop both of these affinities simultaneously - it is more often happens that one would take focus instead with the other being a minor affinity at best. This is, however, not impossible for both to be strongly developed and magic specialist with this particular talent are sought-after in the magic circles.

While it can be said, that most of everyday magic Drakkan employ would typical come from the manipulation of raw, non-elemental magic: telekinesis, establishing mental connections with draigh or each other, tapping into the power of the world-heart for rejuvenation there are still plenty of fields where even minor elemental affinities are widely used and that don't have to do with the life of dedicated magic study. One obvious case is, naturally, those who serve in the Golden Legion, that makes good use of any kind of skills, magic or not, recruits would possess.
 

For those not inclined to military career many other avenues are open: builders, architects, farmers and anyone working with land would greatly benefit from either using or hiring someone with earth magic. Notable sphere of water magic is dedicated to treating and healing  - in a different way compared to light magic, but no less potent - but even outside of it sailors, divers and anyone who has to deal with bodies of water for long would benefit from it. Those with an affinity for air magic often work with those depending on the whims of weather to lessen their struggles, while anyone with skill and equipment good-enough to allow them flight would easily find a job as messenger, explorer or scout. Fire magic is a key component to many schools of smithing employed by Drakkan, but is also invaluable for anyone venturing into the Frozen Wilds. Other users of fire magic find themselves drawn to work as artists or performers, often alongside their air magic colleagues.