"Talent and eccentricity are old friends you know."

- Archmage Drule of the Old Elven Kingdom

"Innovation is born from the minds of those who had the audacity to think differently and use that different kind of thought."

- Unknown

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People were seldom in the port docks. A heavyweight blanketed their air stifling all in its encompassing embrace. The cargo of a certain ship was being carted off to various stores and caravans for military supply. However, a few exceptions went to the auction. The auction of this city is a rather peculiar place. Items that rich eccentrics and collectors were its rite of passage. From artifacts from ancient ruins to creatures of mysterious origin, nothing save the most outlawed of items was denied place, unless of course, it was quite literally useless trash. 

Five out the seven creatures were the items being sent to that auction, commonly called the Ignotis Locis by the people. The skeleton was one of those five.

On wooden carts, the creatures rattled upon the magically paved streets through various back alleys and places better left untouched. The auction itself was a gray zone, no one knew the owner, save the fact the founder was connected to the old Elvish kingdoms founder and said elf had ownership passed down the line as inheritance. 

Upon arriving and placing the creatures inside the backstage of the auction, several elves began casting magic. One by one the creatures fell asleep. After confirming the intended effect was achieved on each beast, a single elf would enter the cage, placing a collar upon the sleeping beast.

Four of the five went smoothly, and that was the fact that the skeleton simply stared at the elves attempts to put an undead creature to sleep. Any mage worth their mana would know it'd be an attempt in folly. 

After realizing their own idiocracy, they opened the cage with weapons drawn, and magic ready to subdue the skeleton if necessary. However, the skeleton, being what it was, gave no resistance nor really thought about anything. The thoughts in its mind had been of the various faces it had seen. There stood no particular reason for why the skeleton started to memorize faces, nor would there be any sort of gain from it. In its mind, the skeleton was trying to make a face, its own face. Though it should be said the skeleton had no idea of what it was attempting, nor would it for a long time. It took the various features it had seen and sort of threw it like paint cans onto a blank canvas. A mouth where its ears, for example, was one of the eerie creations its barely sentient mind produced. If someone were able to look into the 'brain' of the skeleton, it would be like a toddler attempting to match shaped blocks with the correct hole, mashing wrong combinations together like bad relationships. 

The skeleton did not pay any heed to what the elves were doing. It did not pay attention when they came back and forth carrying objects and creatures beyond the curtain. It did not pay attention to the shouting and voices it heard muffled by the thick fabric. No, the skeleton simply played around with the canvas in its mind, easily content as it always is.

Inside of the main auction floor was a certain elf. He wore a black mask and sat upon in one of the prestigious balcony seating areas to himself. In one hand he swirled fine drink in an ornate glass, as he watched rather disinterested at the days lackluster showing. In his other hand, he began playing with a tiny ball of flame, manipulating it like a toy around his palm. He remained as such, keeping just barely aware of the auction in case an item of any desire of his appeared. Eventually one did.

The auctioneer of many years went silent, unsure how to bring up the next item. Never before in his one hundred and thirty-two years as the auctioneer had such an item appeared. He looked off stage, eyeing the item and very much noticing the black orbs in its sockets eyeing him back.

He coughed once before casting his voice enhancement magic to increase the amplitude of his voice. "Fair customers, today we have a...peculiar item next. In all my years here this is the first time such an auction has appeared." The words alone were enough to catch the interest of every single elf in the room. "Thus I feel it better for you to see rather than I say." He motioned for the product to be brought forward, and it was. As a pure white skeleton.

Uproar went into the crowd. Elves being magically inclined naturally could immediately tell it bore no aura of death. As well as something even one without magic could deduce. It was not an elf. Bids were flown from every corner in the room. Ten thousand queiles, one hundred thousand, a million. It was total chaos, it was truly as the auctioneer had said. Never before had such an item appeared.

However, the room soon became silent from a single bid. "Five hundred million queiles." the voice was neither loud or soft. It had no really force behind it, yet it was enough for everyone to freeze. The amount in question was enough to build the entire structure of the old kingdom from the ground up. Everyone knew there was only one person in the land with that sort of coin and the willingness to toss it around like candy. No one could give you his name, but his presence was akin to a god for the elves.

The silence was broken by the auctioneer who simply said sold in broken elvish from surprise. Immediately the masked man left the small room he watched from, knowing he would find nothing else of interest here.

However, it must be stated that the reasons this elf bought the skeleton were not for the eccentrics of the prospect, but because he alone in that room and likely of all elves could sense something amiss with that skeleton. This elf could sense the mark upon the skeleton's shoulder, and his curiosity demanded the knowledge be gained.