Held in his left hand was his gem, deep red in color, about the size of a kiwi, and in the other the gold he had traned just a moment before. Both of his masters were just a step away, prepared to assist or protect him if something went amiss. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to center himself, but when he opened his mouth to sing the spell nothing came out. When his eyes snapped open both of his masters had stepped forward in concern, clearly seeing the panic visible on his features. It was Jonghyun who spoke first. “Does something feel wrong, Minho?”

            He swallowed thickly, chewing on his bottom lip as his gaze lowered along with his hands. “I don't have a voice like you both, Masters. What if I create a turtle with the metal instead of a staff topper?”

            “You have a beautiful voice Minho.” Jinki curled his fingers around his wrist softly, lifting it until the gem was at eye level. “If it makes you feel better I first made a bird with my metal.”

            Minho groaned. “Than I am sure to fail.”

            Jonghyun glared at Jinki, before taking over. “You are years younger than either I or Jinki was when we made our staffs. You've had double the teaching. If we weren't completely sure you were ready for this next step, we wouldn't have taken you on your search.”

            “Are you really sure I can complete the spell?” His eyes darted between the two Masters, but then they both were smiling, nodding gently and he relaxed. “Alright. I think I'm ready to try again.”  

            Jinki was whispering something into Jonghyun's ear, but Minho couldn't hear him as he focused on his center, his magic swirling around him. Then, he sang. Soft and warm, following the melody he had to say the sacred words. He felt it, just as Jinki had told him he would. The shape of a Sorcerer’s staff toper was unique to the individual, just like the location to their gem. Jinki’s twisted in a spiral in the front of his deep blue gem on both sides, his metal was silver in color. The wood of his staff was painted black and when it was against the ground the point of his staff was just at his shoulder. Jonghyun’s was made of gold. His gem was iridescent, a diamond. The metal was domed around the gem, intricately woven to make tiny hexagons. The wood was a cherry oak and went to his shoulder.

            Minho softly ended the spell when he felt the click as Jonghyun explained it to be. He heard his masters’ soft laughter and then Jinki’s voice. “Open your eyes, Minho. It’s beautiful.”

            He exhaled roughly before opening his eyes. The gold kept the gem in place on either end, narrow lines of metal connected the two ends, curved in soft waves as the gold formed a sort of cage around the garnet. “Whoa. I did it!”

            “No turtles in sight.”

            “Oh, stop teasing him Jinki.” Jonghyun chided lightly, elbowing his side softly. “He did very well.”

            “I know this,” Jinki scrunched his nose, turning away from them both to grab the light colored wooden staff that had been placed against the wall. As tradition called, Jinki and Jonghyun had made it for him. A protection rune was carved into the base, a bit of their magic intertwined in the staff. He took the topper from Minho carefully and slid the metal onto the staff. He curled both hands over where the two pieces overlapped smiling when Jonghyun’s curled around his. Minho watched with amazed eyes as usual as his two masters began to sing. Their voices melded together. Even as different as their voices were, they harmonized in a way that Minho had always believed they were made for each other. Once the spell was done the staff was handed over. “Try it out, Young One.”

            His palms felt warm as he took the staff from Jinki. He thought of the spell for a protection ward and sure enough one formed around him. He grinned from ear to ear. Jonghyun grasped his shoulder firmly, shaking it a little as he proudly said, “Congratulations on reaching the next part of your Apprenticeship Minho.”