POSTER CONCEPTS
Style and Benchmark
A renaissance of magical realism in which we can recognize something of Hayao Miyazaki's childhood worlds, or a remix of Neil Gaiman's mythology. A complex alternate world reminiscent of Harry Potter. All gently dusted with darkness a la Stephen King. A world completely unique and unprecedented.
That’s just the way it is. Cult sci-fi and fantasy stories have a “mindf*ck” twist.
Beneath a powerful human story lies a deep idea, philosophy, and a breathtaking point.
Matrix, Interstelar, Tenet, Six sense. Memento, Dark.
SHORT SYNOPSYS
After being wounded at the front, the young doctor Nicolas Fisher loses his memory and falls into delusions in which reality merges with fantastical visions. When he unexpectedly inherits a mountain sanatorium, he has no idea that this very place is a gateway to another dimension - the realm of Nyx. Here wander the souls of comatose children, but also demonic fish that long to penetrate our world. Nicolas becomes the heir to the ancient office of "King Fisherman", whose job is to guard the gate. However, everything is complicated by his fatal love for the nun Faustina, who is in fact a dryad from Nyx. When the gate fails and demons invade the land, Nicolas sets off with a retinue of children and the oddball Zweinstein on a journey up the River of Time to stop the apocalypse. Little does he know that fate is cyclical - and he himself is just a younger version of the man who failed.
LOGLINE:
Nicolas Fisher, a wounded doctor, inherits a mountain sanatorium that stands on the threshold of another world. When the gateway to the demon dimension collapses, he must journey through the dream realm with the help of rusal women, comatose children and Albrecht Zweistein, only to discover that he is only part of an endless cycle.
series: 15+ x 45 min Movie: 90 min
THE SITUATION OF OUR WORLD
Albrecht Zweistein diverted the course of history and the world as we know it no longer exists. The political order of the world looks completely different. On one side are the technical Illuminati, eager for power and destructive weapons of all kinds... On the other side are the Freemasons. They are more humanistic and oriented towards magic and alchemy. (Alternative form of left/right)
This version of reality was created by Zweistein to prevent the atomic apocalypse that his discoveries would lead to in the future. However, the dark forces have only found another form, and the end of the world has only another face. The terrible, fishy, demonic murder of Leviathan of the Abyss of Nyx.
"ON THE EIGHTH DAY, GOD CREATED THE MISTY REALM OF NYX AND HID THERE EVERYTHING THAT WAS NOT FIT FOR ANOTHER PLACE. SO THAT BALANCE COULD REIGN IN THE UNIVERSE."
THE OTHER WORLD: NYX
The realm of Nyx is an elaborate universe, with its own mythology, history, topology and creatures. But above all, an unforgettable atmosphere and visuality. It's a world full of witches, ghosts and demons, lost souls and dreaming cursed poets in an opium haze.
At the centre of Nyx lies the Abyss and in it lurks the father of all demons: Leviathan (Allegory of Atomic Energy). Above the Abyss is the village where the souls of the children of our sanatorium dwell. Four rivers fall into the Abyss, and one of them is the River of Time, along which Zweistein traveled to change history. Nyx is connected to our world by the underground water of sacred springs, the dreams of children and poets, or the dark tunnels in forgotten graves.
THE RIVER OF TIME
River banks, islands and swamps are an amazing universe with strange laws. Its arms lead to every corner of the earth where people or their gods live. Whenever or wherever it is. In their depths lurk creatures like time leeches that can suck the time out of a man and thus rejuvenate him. In the swamps and deltas, a dangerous flesh-eating fog rises, eating away the faces of travelers. It can only be tricked by magical masks. Therefore, various shaman masks are an integral part of every Nyx traveler's armor.
SANATORIUM
The sanatorium is located in the mountains, in the healthy mountain air and healing springs. In the surrounding forests there are ruins from pre-Christian times. There were once shrines here, and priestesses guarded the gates and healed pilgrims with the help of this wondrous water. And it's not hard to guess why some of the prayers of the nuns here resemble nothing Christian.
VILLAGE ON THE CLIFF
Village on the cliff is the second epicentre of our story. It will play a role in the later stages. It's the shadow twin of the sanatorium where the souls of the "dreaming children" live.
As the River of Time flows past our village, anyone who reaches this point becomes a child and thus remains one. The river falls into the Abyss, where Leviathan lives. But even he has a child form, and few know that he sometimes visits the village in the form of Albinus. It's a dangerous place, but fascinating and beautiful.
CHARACTERS
HERO: NICOLAS FISHER
Our hero is a classic torn romantic, often teetering on the edge of madness. He suffered a brain injury in the war, has a damaged memory and is often unsure of what is reality and what is delusion. If all the crazy things he ingests aren't just hallucinations. Despite his constant doubts, he has taken on his inherited role as director of the sanatorium and guardian of the dimensional gateway located there. With his help, we discover the incredible secrets hidden in the sanatorium. He falls in love with the nun / dryad Faustina. Their relationship is the cause of many problems.
"The plains of Nyx are endless and the fog here has claws and teeth.
Those without masks may lose their face. And I don't mean that as a metaphor.
It will simply eat your face."
Mr. Wu. The
Alchemist from the Plains
Your job is to be the gatekeeper between the two worlds and to oversee what goes in and out. Then on Midsummer's Hunt, you will summon an animal from the other side and it will be a sacrifice of atonement. The hunter who hunts it will then get his bride from among the rusalka.
Peace will be sealed.
Directions From the Book of Intermingling
Albrecht Zweistein
He used to be Albert Einstein, but then he traveled upstream in the River of Time and saw the horrors of the nuclear apocalypse his discoveries led to. He decided to take action and turned the tide of history towards humanism, philosophy and magic. But fate is not so easily changed, and the threat has only changed its face. The new apocalypse took the form of a demonic invasion. And so the scientist became a fearless demon fighter: Albrecht Zweistein. Our sanatorium became the key to his research. It was here that he met Nicolas' father. And from there, he and his son will embark on a second expedition upstream in the River of Time.
Child Heroes: Sophie and Peter
Sophie is the daughter of a German armourer, a fearless amazon who has leapt through the moon's reflection on the surface of the lake. Her comatose body now lies in the care of the nurses at our sanatorium, but her soul goes on to adventure in Nyx.
Peter used to be a weirdo and an outsider with an overactive imagination. He followed his dream and one day, while playing hide-and-seek, he walked through a neolithic cave into Nyx. He won the hide-and-seek game, but he never returned home. They both reach the village on the cliff and later join Nicolas' expedition. Before that, they have several encounters in Nicolas' vivid dreams.
FAUSTINA
Some call them Rusalkas, Oreades or Dryades. Either way, they are handmaidens of Hekkata, the goddess of crossroads, the moon and magic. Hundreds of years ago, when there were still pagan temples, they passed through the water gates of Nyx. They became priestesses to help the people. They can bring stray souls from the Other Side. Today, they present themselves as nuns of the Convent of Saint Bernadette. Some of the nuns develop terrifying fish teeth, so they always wear veils. The love story of Faustina and Nicolas is slightly reminiscent of Rusalka or The Little Mermaid.
_015.jpeg)
BAD GUYS -THE ILUMINATI
The dark political force of Europe, the enemies of the Freemasons. They advocate a combination of technology and magic. They know the existence of parallel realities and are searching for the plans for the atomic bomb that Zweistein seemingly destroyed, along with our original version of reality.
BLACK HUNTSMAN
Oswald Weishaupten: Nemesis of Nicolas Fisher.
A hunter of magical creatures from other dimensions.He becomes the winner of the ritual hunt for the Beast and gains the right to the oread Faustina.
THE WORST ONES - HOODOO FISH DEMONS
Perhaps the most terrible demons magic has ever known. The mages of sunken Atlantis, unable to die in the depths of the ocean, have turned into demon fish. They grant the most depraved wishes of those who summoned them. In return, they ask only one thing. To borrow the body of the operator so they can live physically in our world. Temporarily at first, and eventually they will make their host a mere vessel. But now they threaten to invade our world through the Nyx Gate and conquer all of humanity.
SYNOPSIS
8 episodes
EPISODE 1: Awakening in the Mist
On a battlefield strewn with corpses, the wounded Nicolas Fisher awakens. His gas mask is shattered, his memory fragmented, his mind drifting between reality and hallucination. The surroundings resemble World War I, yet strange insignia on the flags hint at an alternate reality—mystical, symbol-laden. In a military hospital, Nicolas meets the poet Apollinaire, who helps him decipher a curious journal found at his side. The journal brims with alchemical symbols, equations, and map fragments. He also falls in love with a red-haired nurse whose face will later echo in another realm—beginning a surreal, tender wartime love story. Soon a message arrives from the mountains: he may be the son of the enigmatic sanatorium’s director. Meanwhile, two children vanish from the world—Peter and Sophie. Peter disappears during a birthday game of hide‑and‑seek when he stumbles into a Paleolithic cave. Sophie, the wealthy armorer’s daughter and a gifted spiritist, vanishes beneath a lake’s surface—only to emerge lifeless. All three briefly converge in a dreamlike realm under a luminous moon. None knows if they are dead, alive, or dreaming. The gates between worlds begin to swing open. We witness Nicolas’s inner conflicts—his daydreaming and sensory glitches born of poison from an unknown substance. He is interrogated by inquisitors.
EPISODE 2: Sanatorium Secrets
Nicolas arrives at a mountain sanatorium, where he is to assume the role of heir and new director. He is introduced to the Mother Superior and the uneasy atmosphere of the place, where time flows oddly: children sleep for months, and nurses vanish into the woods at night. In the garden, scientists and thinkers from both sides of the war wander—as though the place exists outside history. Springs, ponds, and ruins connect to another world, and the water used in treatment has a strange origin (from another world). In his sleepless visions, Nicolas repeatedly sees Peter and Sophie and increasingly experiences scenes from the realm of Nyx. Faustyna, a mysterious sister with the beauty of a water nymph, simultaneously draws and unsettles him. At night, he observes a sisterhood’s sabbath by the lake, their prayers addressed to Hecate. A new patient arrives—Sophie in a coma. Nicolas recognizes her from his dreams. Meanwhile, dark forces rise: the Illuminati’s headquarters, the Grand Master, and the black woodsman Adam Weishaupt, plotting an intervention in the balance between worlds.
EPISODE 3: Awakening the Fisher King
Nicolas grows close to the eccentric scientist Albrecht Zweistein, who reveals the secrets of parallel worlds and the blending of science with magic. Together, they descend into the family crypt, discovering the remains of ancient Fishers, mystical masks, and artifacts—including gas bombs used for interdimensional travel. Nicolas learns that his father is being kept sedated by the sisters and that his own consciousness holds the key to unlocking the past. Meanwhile in Nyx, Peter and Sophie encounter other children—dreamers whose souls wander while their bodies lie unconscious. Faustyna remains beyond Nicolas’s reach—she is a rusalka, guardian of the boundaries between worlds. “Soare” approaches: a mysterious ritual at the Black Woodsman’s hotel, in which Nicolas is to be initiated as the new Fisher King and the balance between orders affirmed. He wavers between love, madness, and destiny. From the depths of the lake, Leviathan watches—and its eye heralds destruction. Nicolas’s first confrontation with Adam Weishaupt follows.
EPISODE 4: Worldfall—Journey Against Time
Mystical orders—the Illuminati, the Rosicrucians, and the Theosophists—gather in the village beneath the sanatorium for the annual Soare. A masked procession, the Ritual of Nine Keys, and the hunt for a sacred fox from another world unfold: ceremonies that have held worlds in balance for centuries. Conflict erupts. Adam Weishaupt wins the hunt and is awarded Faustyna. In a fit of jealousy, Nicolas challenges the Woodsman to a duel. At the decisive moment, Old Fisher—an older version of Nicolas—intervenes and opens a Gate. Demons from Nyx pour into our world. The curtain falls. Nicolas, Faustyna, and Zweistein step through the open Gate into Nyx, seeking to follow the River of Time backward and return to this moment to prevent catastrophe. The Woodsman gives chase. They traverse the misty realm of Nyx, the Plains of Forgetting, and swamps, encountering their first demons and creatures. The party nears the Cliff Village—the mirror of the sanatorium—where, perhaps, lies the key to breaking the cycle. In the Abyss beneath the village lies Leviathan, a world-shattering force.
EPISODE 5: The Scattering of the Fellowship
Just as they near the village, a carnivorous Mist descends—along with monsters that trail it. Zweistein disappears and is captured by a dark witch, forced to choose whether he will become her dinner or her apprentice. Faustyna is abducted by Adam Weishaupt, aided by fish demons drawn to the evil within his soul. Nicolas is eventually rescued from an unexpected quarter. Apollinaire, Peter, and Sophie emerge from the gloom to free him. Apollinaire, it turns out, has died in our world—his soul stranded in this dusky realm. The episode closes as the Cliff Village becomes visible. Weishaupt and his captive Faustyna descend into the Abyss.
EPISODE 6: The Cliff Village
Nicolas and his companions arrive at the Cliff Village—an echo of the sanatorium. He is awestruck by this place on the precipice, where four Rivers of Nyx—including the River of Time—cascade downward. But without Zweistein, the only one who has traversed the River, Nicolas has little hope. He still must rescue Faustyna. The village children send him into the marshes to find their seer: “The Blind Boy Who Counts the Stars.” After numerous trials, Nicolas reaches the seer, who gives clear counsel: first rescue Zweistein, then find Faustyna, and only once the fellowship is whole should they embark on a journey down the river. Nicolas returns to the village and sets out with the two children for the witches’ forest, where Zweistein is held. He bids farewell to Apollinaire, who continues along the Path of the Dead into the unknown.
EPISODE 7: In the Fox Mountains
The group—Nicolas, Peter, and Sophie—ventures once again across the Nyx plains, struggling through obstacles until they reach the Fox Mountains. Here they seek an ally: the Fox King, Budulínek (Kolobok). He agrees on one condition: Peter and Sophie must stay in the fox den as hostages, and Nicolas must win a challenge or ransom them—otherwise they will become fox spirits. Despite Nicolas’s protests, the children consent. Accompanied by foxes in human form, Nicolas and Budulínek journey to rescue Zweistein from the witches’ forest, encountering houses on chicken legs. They ride one such hut through the ominous forest. Using fox cunning and magic, they free Zweistein, but he is wounded by the witch Yagga and near death. Budulínek insists they seek out Master Wu—a powerful, ancient Nyx alchemist—who revives Zweistein. Wu also helps Nicolas and company escape by providing safe passage with fox allies who had intended to keep Peter and Sophie captive. It is Peter’s talent for concealment—and moving through shadows—that enables their escape. The fellowship reunites once more at the Cliff Village, though the angered foxes are in pursuit.
EPISODE 8: The River of Time
During Zweistein’s apprenticeship under the witch, he has learned some black magic and carries a darker air. The group locates Faustyna, held by Adam Weishaupt in a cave on the Abyss’s slopes. With the aid of a sizeable contingent of village children, they rescue Faustyna, but Adam flees again. Worse still, he has freed the bindings that hold Leviathan at the bottom of the Abyss. Leviathan—the progenitor of demonic fish—is poised to pass through the partially open Gate into our world and consume it (the Gate is located in the Bermuda Triangle). All seems more dire than ever. Their only hope: undo everything before Soare unfolds. The fellowship sails down the River of Time, pursued by the fox tribe, Adam Weishaupt, terrifying monsters, and the gods of the River itself. In the final confrontation with Adam, Nicolas almost succumbs to the belief that he is insane and still lying in a hospital bed. (1st episode) Then Nicolas’s mad father appears and kills Adam, delivering a cryptic message: “You are not mad. Everything moves in a circle. You must break it.”
Nicolas awakens where it all began—his gas mask cracked. As he removes it, he is much older, resembling his father. He scans the corpses surrounding him—and they all bear his face, though of varying ages. (Hook for the next season.) Peter returns home and Sofia wakes up in the Sanatorium.
