Ivan Tsarevich & the Grey Wolf

The aging Tsar Ivan marks his 150th birthday and decides to retire from his heavy duties. He entrusts the realm to his close companion Gray Wolf and leaves his wife’s restlessness behind as they prepare for a journey. The three—Ivan, Gray Wolf, and the curious Vasilisa—board a magical journey that feels more like a dream than a departure.

Ivan, Gray Wolf, Vasilisa, and the Scholar Cat rise above the kingdom on a flying carpet, turning the farewell into a voyage through dream-borne skies. Each landscape below slides by with a sense of wonder as the companions exchange wary smiles and hopeful plans. The journey hints at both escape and the beginning of a test that will redefine the realm.

At the edge of a field they abandon a seemingly ordinary scarecrow, only to witness a strange crimson jam spring to life from the soil. The jam exerts an uncanny, persuasive pull on the people who drink it, bending their will toward the dreamlike order Pal Palych intends. The moment marks the first seed of the kingdom’s new power—and its hidden danger.

In foreign ports, leaders from distant lands show keen interest in the mysterious jam and finance new ventures. A global summit is arranged, promising progress as long as the jam’s glow continues to flow. The alliance seems on the cusp of turning dream into reality.

The return to the capital reveals a city transformed by speed and spectacle, where towers rise and streets bend to the jam’s will. What seems like progress, however, comes with an undercurrent of control and dependence. The realm tastes the thrill of invention while unsettling hints of tyranny linger.

Pal Palych enters as a charming guide, winning Vasilisa’s affection with ease while Gray Wolf remains doubtful. He quickly begins to reveal his true power through whispers and subtle manipulations. A trap at the chimney exposes his danger, showing that his affable mask hides a dark plan.

Pal uses dark magic to seize Иван’s body, leaving the Tsar’s soul trapped inside Vasilisa’s toy monkey. Gray Wolf fights to warn Иван, but a treacherous trapdoor cuts him off before the message can reach its target. The palace falls under Pal’s spell as the occult ritual tightens its grip on the realm.

A brave prisoner helps Иван glimpse the truth as the Tsar rallies the remaining loyalists. They seek Nightingale-Bandit, who unveils secrets encoded in tattoos on his friend Kesha, revealing Pal’s monstrous origin. The tale explains that Pal is a scarecrow conjured by a demonic ritual and powered by a citywide jam-fueled illusion.

The story encoded in tattoos explains Pal’s past: a scarecrow born from ritual, intoxicated by power, and sustaining a citywide trance through jam. Villagers once scattered Pal’s pieces in a swamp to resist, and Иван later reassembled him to end the threat. The sense that reality is hollow begins to crystallize.

With the truth exposed, the Tsar reveals that the skyline and grand avenues were merely hallucinations created by the jam. An antidote exists, a gleaming thread of hope that can sever the spell and restore genuine life to the land. The stage is set for a final confrontation between illusion and truth.

During the climactic summit, the Tsar and Gray Wolf disguise themselves as world leaders while Nightingale-Bandit and Kesha link the jam fountain to the antidote. Ivan is separated from his allies, and Pal’s underground lair is uncovered as a scarecrow army stirs beneath him. The world’s faith in the dream begins to crack.

Ivan reclaims his body after Vasilisa shatters the staff that houses Pal’s form, ending the scarecrow army’s power. Pal dies and the soul is returned to Ivan’s body, breaking the dream’s hold on the kingdom. The illusion dissolves as the realm embraces truth and continuity rather than spectacle.

In the wake of victory, the alliance forged on the journey endures as the realm rebuilds with wisdom and restraint. The jam’s power is contained and the antidote proves effective, laying a groundwork for a future guided by real life. The people learn to value substance over illusion.

The kingdom emerges with a new sense of purpose, balancing innovation with vigilance. The trio—Ivan, Gray Wolf, and Vasilisa—look toward a future where leadership is earned and truth remains central. The memory of Pal’s manipulation serves as a warning and a catalyst for lasting reform.