A/N: So here's the plan for now; the chapters will follow the separate paths of Karis, Matthew, and Tyrell for a while.

I know this may get slightly complicated, but I'll try to keep things clear and easy to understand.

Without further ado,

Tally ho!

Karis Chapter 1: Awakening

The darkness swirled all around Karis, engulfing her senses and threatening to overtake her mind. As she slowly crawled out of the shadows, crimson began to mix with black, becoming a view that sickened her to her core. With the sensation of sickness came pain, an incredible, sharp pain striking her mind. The pain was terrible, but she used it as a hold which she used to mentally pull herself back to consciousness and away from the void that she had somehow just escaped.

Karis heard voices hovering around her. They were unfamiliar, hurried, and frantic. Karis didn't know what was happening, but it sounded like people were in pain. Despite being in pain herself, she found she wanted to reach out and help them. People she didn't know or may ever know, but she still felt compassion for them. Before she could regain control over her body, she felt hands grabbing her and lifting her up and onto something. Still, they were gentle, and did nothing to cause her more harm.

Regardless of the intentions or actions of the people around her, she could feel her own life force slipping and fading away, trickling towards the great beyond. She once again left consciousness and drifted towards a bright light. The light which she drifted towards felt warm and comforting, a polar opposite to the darkness she had felt not so long before.

Suddenly, she stopped moving towards the light. She was confused, and began to wonder why she could not touch the light despite reaching for it.

"Be still, my child. I am here," called a voice from beyond the light. It was the voice of a woman, comforting in presence. "I have seen your heart and I have seen your future and your past. You will not die here. You still have a job to do."

Before Karis could reply, she was whisked back to reality, her mind reconnecting with body. Karis' eyes snapped open, her mind still reeling from what she had just experienced. She looked around, taking in her new surroundings. She was floating vertically in a glass tube filled with a clear, blue-ish green liquid that had the consistency of mud. She had a mask that pumped air to her mouth and nose, and several pads were stuck to her chest and head.

As she checked herself over, she noticed she was only wearing her undergarments, and they were stained by blood. "Damn, what happened to me," she thought to herself. She looked outside of her tube and noticed she was in a small metallic room with a control panel right in front of her and a door right behind it. The room was empty, and she didn't particularly care to stay in this tube much longer.

Summoning her psynergy, she opted for a wind gust, not wanting to electrify herself with a lightning bolt. The wind pounded against the glass tubing, shattering it and sending its contents spilling out onto the floor. Using the control panel to hoist herself up, she managed to walk over to the door and open it, peering into the hallway beyond. There were two men wearing white coats with purple stripes on the shoulders down the hallway, but otherwise it was vacant.

Karis slipped out while they were looking the other way and began to move in the opposite direction. She had made it about fifty feet before they turned around and began to move towards her. Karis tried to turn and run, but her legs were slow to respond, and she stumbled. Running wasn't an option, an even though she didn't know if the meant harm or not, she wasn't about to take chances. Her legs might not be in top shape, but her psynergy worked just fine.

She loosed a barrage of lightning bolts and wind at the pair, sending them flying to the opposite end of the hallway. Assured they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, she turned and began to walk down the hallway, using the wall as a support. She found an open doorway and peeked inside. There was a few of the white jackets the men had been wearing on a coat hanger, so she put one on and continued down the hall. After a few turns, she found herself standing in front of a pair of large double doors, ornately decorated with purple and gold patterns.

"Let's see what's behind door number one, shall we," she thought, hoping it wasn't more guards. Heaving one of the doors forward, Karis entered a large room with lavish furnishings and tall, thick columns supporting a ceiling that was covered in murals and paintings. There were several smaller doors around the edge of the circular room, and she quietly moved to the nearest one on her right.

Karis stuck her head inside and found the room to be full of clothing. Rows upon rows of blouses, dresses, shirts, pants and even some suits of armor were displayed in this one room. She checked to make sure no one was inside, and immediately began combing through the array. She needed to find something inconspicuous yet flexible and comfortable, which was easier said than done. There were a few options, but she decided on a plain green shirt and a pair of pants. She placed the coat in one of the corners of the room and headed back out into the larger room.

Several thoughts ran through her mind, and she began to head around to some of the other rooms. As she checked room after room, she wondered if there was anyone that actually lived here, and if they did, where they were.

After finding all of the other rooms empty, she moved to the final set of doors and paused. Karis could hear a voice from behind the doors. She could tell it was a little girl, and apparently no one else was in the room. Karis peeked inside and indeed found a little girl, but she was playing with Karis' Djinn, who perked up when they noticed Karis looking in. All at once the Djinn rushed towards her, chirping happily to see her again, knocking Karis to the ground as they did so.

The little girl slowly followed, not sure if Karis was friendly or not. After pushing her Djinn off of her, Karis turned to the girl and said, "Um, hi. I'm Karis. What's your name?"

Startled, the little girl took a step back and mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Can you say that again?"

"I'm, uh, my name is Ivy."

Karis smiled and stood up, causing Ivy to take another step back.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. See, these Djinn are my friends, and they know that I won't so anything to hurt you." The Djinn chirped in approval, which made Ivy relax a little. Pleased, Karis decided to start asking questions. "Do you have Djinn too? And where are we anyway?"

Ivy shook her head and said, "No, I'm not old enough, and you don't know?"

Karis shook her head.

Smiling now, Ivy spread her arms wide and reliped, "We're in the palace of Iberia, capital of Anemos!"

Karis nearly fainted.

A/N: Well, that was a surprise, no?

Not much to say in this A/N, but I would like some feedback; would it be better to do the chapters like this, following Karis, Tyrell or Matthew one at a time, or just make breaks in the same updates and switch between them?

Again, reviews please!

Now, review responses;

Jetzul; Thanks, I hope this chapter was entertaining. I'm not going to make romance a main part of this story, but I would be more than happy to make some references and innuendoes.

JamesK716; This chapter is a little longer, and hopefully better in quality. I plan on having one OC that's more powerful, but there is a good reason behind that. (which will be revealed later)

So, nothing else to do now but say Auf Wiedersehen!