When a mage conjures ice and fire, what is happening exactly? Is it arcane energy formed into ice and fire, therefore fundamentally different from elemental power? Are they forcefully taking power from the elemental planes, as they do not have a pact like shaman do? Is the power taken directly from subjugated elementals?
I’ve seen school’s of thought on each possibility, but am unsure where the official lore stands on the subject.
I go by the belief that arcane fire and ice are mana molded to emulate those elements, as opposed to being the power of living representations of those elements. There really isn’t much direct concrete evidence to support my claim, hence my wording at the beginning. I think one of the comics might have something that may support it but I’m not entirely sure. As the arcane arts are typically depicted as a more structured and logical study, essentially its own kind of science, I think this view makes the most sense.
There is also the definitive schools of arcane magic to consider. The offensive spells which define the in-game specs come from the school of Conjuration, which primarily entails the use of arcane energy to, well, conjure and create things.
This is a tad tangential but there is also some precedent for arcane being able to be used to subjugate elemental spirits, likely via Enchantment. There is a book, The Sixth Element: Additional Methods of Arcane Augmentation and Manipulation, containing lore that Jaina used to subjugate enough water elementals to threaten to drown Orgrimmar with. I believe arcane subjugation was at one point part of the lore for water elemental companions prior to WoW, but again I can’t easily site anything to support that.
Addendum: The rune writing exhibited in Nar’thalas Academy may also add credence to arcane elemental spell-work being distinct from shamanic calls.