When you decorate and chose an element and ask for training from that chosen element, let them actually teach you something instead of a buy screen with the same old spells everywhere else.
For example, when you make that choice the tell you something like you need to prove your worth. You have a fight with them if you win, you learn a skill you can't buy anywhere else. It seems like that would make your choice of element also more meaningful, instead of just an extra spell vendor and a cool background.
