CHAPTER 143: TRAVELING TO SVALBARD

When Louis Turner voiced his concerns to Brian, the American advised him to speak directly to Earl Walter Langford. "If you’re serious, let the Earl know. Eleanor must’ve planned something already," Brian said confidently.

Louis did as advised. Walter, unsure how to respond, contacted Teresa for guidance. Teresa, in turn, consulted Juliette Blanc. After a brief discussion, Teresa called Louis back and gave him precise instructions: go to London and meet with the chairman of the opposition party to formally request a transfer.

To Louis’s astonishment, not only was he welcomed at the party headquarters, but the chairman himself organized a small welcoming ceremony. The photos from that event made their way into local news outlets, quietly spreading the event of his joining to the opposition party in political section.

Shortly afterward, Louis was invited to meet the opposition leader of the parliament, Baron Anthony Hayward Chapman. After a brief but decisive meeting, the Baron personally assured Louis that he would receive the party nomination for the Birmingham constituency in the upcoming national election.

The entire process was seamless... almost surreal. No resistance, no controversy, just quiet doors opening one after another.

Back in Birmingham, Louis shared his whirlwind experience with Brian immediately.

Brian simply grinned. "This is the opportunity I told you about back then. Remember?"

Louis thought back to that day... the day when a panicked Brian couldn’t leave the kingdom and had come face-to-face with a mysterious man in black. So much had changed since then. He looked at Brian with a sense of gratitude and respect.

Suddenly, without warning, Louis embraced him and said, "Thank you... for everything."

Brian laughed, patting him on the back. "Just don’t forget who pointed you to the rising tide."

***

On Brontes Island, Erevan Brontes Lychos... the King of Werewolves, sat in silence, staring at his computer screen with a deep frown. A feeling of dejection weighed heavily on his chest. For the past few days, he had resisted the urge, but today, the longing had become unbearable. He wanted to see his daughter’s photo... anything recent, even the faintest sign of her in the world.

Although he had a single portrait of her gifted by Sarika, he had memorized every detail on that canvas: the curve of her smile, the shade of her eyes, the glint of intelligence and elegance that defined her. But it wasn’t enough. Hoping to find something new, he searched her name on the internet.

To his utter dismay, the results were barren... no photos, no mentions, no online records. It was as if someone had scrubbed her entire digital footprint clean.

"How protective can the Raynor Clan be?" he muttered bitterly. "They must love her dearly to go to such lengths."

Ironically, his assumptions were nearly spot on... but with one key error. It wasn’t the Raynor Clan who had done this. Eleanor herself had removed all trace of her identity from public records. She didn’t want reminders of her tragic past, especially not ones that could resurface in the public eye. The past she carried was too heavy, too personal, and too painful.

Still curious, Erevan called his secretary and requested detailed profiles of the Young Masters and Young Misses from the Ten Great Clans. If he requested the files as a whole, no one would suspect that he was solely interested in one particular person. It was a clever ruse, a way to avoid raising eyebrows.

"This way," he thought, "no one will guess my true motive. Eleanor will be left out of suspicion."

A few minutes later, his secretary entered and handed him a neatly bound file. After the man exited, Erevan immediately opened the report and flipped to Eleanor’s profile.

To his surprise, her file was unlike the others. It lacked the rich background information present in the rest. There was no mention of her human parents or her early life. The report began only from the day of her turning. It stated that Eleanor had been involved in an accident while pregnant. Ethan Raynor, a close friend, had turned her into a werewolf to save both her and the child. Strangely, during the transformation, she awakened the Elizabeth bloodline which was an incredibly rare occurrence and the Raynor Clan had recognized her lineage almost immediately.

Among werewolves, it was a powerful omen. An awakened bloodline during pregnancy was considered a divine blessing for the child. Moreover, the Elizabeth bloodline had nearly vanished. Aside from Fiona Elizabeth Raynor, there were no active members. With Eleanor’s awakening, the Raynors were gifted another successor. A potential heir. A beacon for the clan’s future.

Eleanor had stayed in the Raynor Clan’s pocket dimension for six months after giving birth, receiving rigorous training under several elders. Her bond with Ethan Raynor was unclear...neither romantic nor platonic, but the child called Ethan "father."

Later, Fiona brought her into the surface world, and together they traveled across continents. Over the next two years, they trained, explored, and laid the groundwork for Eleanor’s future. She later moved to the United States and ventured into the tech sector. Within a short span, she became one of the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs, establishing a global empire.

Now, she was considered the wealthiest individual under thirty across both the human and supernatural worlds.

The file Included a few rare photographs. Erevan smiled as he examined them, cherishing the new images of his daughter. He stared at each one with longing, tracing the lines of her face with his eyes.

Eventually, he moved on to read the profiles of the other nine heirs. They were talented in their own right, each with detailed records of their upbringing, training, and achievements. Yet none captured his attention like Eleanor.

Then, an idea sparked in his mind.

Without hesitation, he picked up his phone and dialed Sarika Somavati Harivamsa.

"I’ve found a way to send Eleanor to the Yggdrasil trial," he said the moment she answered.

Sarika paused. "You’re serious?"

"Yes. I just realized that five of the Ten Great Clans have Young Masters who haven’t undergone the trial yet. With the current imbalance in the supernatural world, it’s time we act. Merfolk have resumed sea raids like in the age of piracy. In the last two years, they’ve clashed with vampires multiple times. Werehyenas, who once never left Africa, are now showing up in Europe and Asia. Even some Naga clans have migrated from the Indian Ocean, setting up shop in East Asia... territory we once dominated."

He paused, then continued, "To face this hostile era, we need stronger leaders. According to the inter-species agreement, we are allotted 100 slots for the Yggdrasil Trial every five years. We haven’t used any in the past three years. I propose we use them now to strengthen the next generation."

"You plan to force the five Young Masters into the trial?" Sarika asked.

"Yes," Erevan replied. "If I request ten candidates from each Great Clan and simply include the Young Masters among them, no one will suspect favoritism. And this way... I can finally see Eleanor again."

Sarika considered this. "But won’t it appear unfair to the lower clans?"

Erevan paused. "What do you suggest?"

"We haven’t held any competitions in years," Sarika said. "Each Great Clan can hold a trial. The top five from each clan will automatically qualify. That’s 50 slots. Add in the five Young Masters, and we have 55 filled. Then, we can organize a grand inter-clan competition where the sixth to tenth-place finishers from each Great Clan face off against representatives from the minor clans. From there, we select the remaining 45. The King can reward the top ten champions personally. It’ll boost your popularity among the youth, and no one will see it as biased."

Erevan smiled. "I like your thinking. Let’s go with that. One more thing, can I personally attend the Raynor Clan’s competition to award the champion?"

"Only if you attend all the other clan events too," Sarika warned. "If you visit just one, people will question your motives. Invite the other council members and visit them all. That way, no suspicion will fall on Eleanor."

"Understood," Erevan said. "I’ll also speak to Yggdrasil and the dragons first. I don’t want any unpredictable reactions that could embarrass us."

"Smart choice," Sarika replied.

The call ended, and Erevan immediately summoned his secretary. "Arrange my travel to Litke Deep within an hour. I need to meet with Yggdrasil."

The secretary moved fast. By the time Erevan finished bathing and dressing, everything was ready.

A helicopter took him from Brontes Island to Santorini International Airport, where his private jet awaited.

As he boarded, his thoughts wandered. The flight was set for Longyearbyen Airport in Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It was one of the northernmost inhabited places on Earth, an icy realm of glaciers, polar bears, and boundless wilderness.

Svalbard was a frozen paradise: majestic mountains rising from the white ground, endless blue ice drifting in the sea, and sweeping tundra that bloomed with colors in the summer, only to disappear under snow in the endless Arctic winter. The seasons shaped its beauty... sunlit tundras, frozen fjords, and the magical auroras that danced in the night skies.

Longyearbyen, the main settlement, had the only airport on the archipelago. As the jet soared through the skies toward the top of the world, Erevan sat silently, gazing out of the window.

His thoughts were no longer with politics or trials. He was planning how to meet the daughter he never raised. How to see her without arousing suspicion. And how, perhaps, to make up for lost time... before it was too late.