- "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand before me as candidates... but this is neither a competition or a battle for supremacy—not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither."
- —Master Eraqus to Terra and Aqua
The Mark of Mastery exam (マスター承認試験 Masutā Shōnin Shiken, lit. "Master Qualification Exam") is an event which serves as a test for those strong of heart that have been chosen by the Keyblade to become Keyblade Masters. Apprentices of Keyblade Masters who pass the test have two choices:
- The Keyblade Master may take on its own apprentices, and reshape its world to one more of its liking as Master Eraqus did.
- The Keyblade Master may go out on its own journey as Master Xehanort chose to do. Should one choose to embark on its own journey, many different paths open up to it.
Story
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
After an intense evening of training, Terra and Aqua arrive before Master Eraqus, with their friend Ventus eagerly watching. Master Eraqus announces that his old colleague Master Xehanort has come to help judge their skills, then warns Terra and Aqua of the strong heart and will required to pass the test, and that their fate will be decided through the exam. As soon as his apprentices are ready, Master Eraqus proceeds to summon several Balls of Light for them to battle, but although Master Xehanort covertly infuses the orbs with darkness, forcing Ventus to help defeat them as well, Eraqus allows the test to proceed.
Once the orbs have been destroyed, the second stage of the Mark of Mastery exam begins. Terra and Aqua engage themselves in a fierce battle, and as Terra begins to lose the battle, his inner darkness begins to emerge, but he quickly dismisses it. When the battle has ended, Master Eraqus acknowledges Terra's great strength, but chooses only Aqua to become a Keyblade Master due to Terra's reliance on his darkness. Master Eraqus states that he expects Terra to try harder the next time; he then tells Aqua he will later inform her of her new duties as a Keyblade Master, leaving behind a confused Terra, who soon leaves to get his head together.
Also, throughout the game, Mickey Mouse takes his own Mark of Mastery exam under his master, Yen Sid, by journeying through different worlds via his Star Shard and aiding Ventus and Aqua in their battles against Master Xehanort, Vanitas and the Unversed. At the end of the game, following the disappearance of Terra, Aqua and Ven and the appearance of Xehanort, he returns his Keyblade and Star Shard to Yen Sid, believing he has failed, but Yen Sid hands the Keyblade back to Mickey to tell him that he has in fact passed and become a Keyblade Master.
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Yen Sid orders Mickey to bring Sora and Riku to him to undertake the Mark of Mastery in response to the coming return of Master Xehanort.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
As their Mark of Mastery exam, Yen Sid assigns Sora and Riku to travel the World of Sleep and awaken seven worlds which remained submerged in sleep following Ansem's defeat, but a mysterious young man in a black coat and with ties to Master Xehanort appears to hinder their progress. Initially, Sora and Riku hesitate to take the exam, Sora believing that he is unbeatable as he is, and Riku for his past experiences with the darkness, very similar to Master Xehanort himself.