Earth Magic

Rock of Ages
Earth magic is one of the more adaptable schools of magic and has a wide variety of use in the real world. Most think of Earth magi as throwing rocks or creating walls, but there exists more mundane uses as well when it comes to architecture or stability. Whether it is building a trench, fortification for outposts or protecting the user in combat, few hold the raw ability to adapt to the situation at hand.

Applications
First and foremost are the more traditional methods of manipulating the earth. The substances able to be effected by this magic vary greatly - dirt, stone, sand and even some natural metals can be manipulated, although the metal manipulation is only for the highest mastery of the element. These can be used to create walls, temporary weapons or armor and sharp rocks to destroy ones enemy. If one is creative they can be used as temporary casts to set limbs.

There was more clever uses, however. In the right environment an earth magi can create a localized landslide while keeping the dirt under them still, allowing them to 'slide' across the terrain in order for a speed boost. One does not expect a user of this magic to be fast traditionally, but adept users are capable of more than the baseline idea.

One of the greatest applications lie in the creation of structures. During wartime they can create trenches quickly or raise walls to fortify defensive positions. They can be used to stabilize the tectonic plates in an area to prevent future earthquakes, although this can easily backfire if the Magi involved are inexperienced, and it requires many of them at once. With the help of others it can also be used to destabilize an area, causing an earthquake to damage an area.

Of course, this can extend to cities. Amazing architecture can be created in record time with a group of focused magic users, which is especially useful for a nation looking to expand. It's not unusual to see Earth Magi scouting parties on the borders of known land looking to terraform areas that have potential resources for future colonization.

It is possible for users of earthen magic to achieve temporary flight by standing on a rock surface and floating themselves upwards, although it is generally not recommended due to it being difficult to concentrate on while doing other things.

It is also possible for a user to put out a 'sense' so to speak to sense vibrations among their influence of control. This is not a passive ability however and requires the user to constantly be in the premanipulation stages of the magic in which they are mentally controlling the amount of earth they will move. This generally isn't used unless the user is on high alert, as it can waste a good bit of mana over time even if it is fairly low cost. This is why sometimes it seems like these users have eyes in the back of their head.

Availability
Earth magic is a fairly common school due to its versatility and ease of use. It doesn't require extensive knowledge to be able to be effective, although some knowledge can help with the more subtle tasks like preventing earthquakes. In non combat scenarios their architects are highly valued and some even are used to map out caves with their sixth sense or search for precious ore.

One weakness of the art is that unlike most elemental magic, they have trouble generating large amounts of their element. Typically this is not much of an issue due to there being earth almost everywhere, but they may feel naked at sea where they can only produce smaller wonders. To add onto this, users of the element in different climates tend to develop different styles - those who stay near sand, for example, tend to use more obscuring sand 'mist' or to try to suffocate opponents instead of actively attacking them directly.