Dark Guardian

The Dark Guardian was the Guardian of Tir Na Nog. It was created by the Wizards of the Black Circle for the sole purpose of guarding the formerly imprisoned Earth Fairies.

Overview
As explained by Roxy, the Dark Guardian's purpose is to prevent anyone from finding and freeing the Earth Fairies who had been imprisoned within the island, sealed in their own kingdom.

It uses visions and dreams to lure its victims or to catch them off guard. Once it has captured them, it traps them in a dungeon and puts them in a deep sleep.

It can also appear in dreams and even affect it.

Appearance
It appears as a moving elongated, tall, cylinder, somewhat like a sea anemone and is bumpy throughout its body. It is a deep, dark purple but is slightly translucent which can be seen when the Winx were inside it. The top part is tentacle-like but flows like hair when wind is present. At its base, a cloudy mist covers it and moves along with it. When it is stationary, the base appears to fold inward.

When wanting to appeal to its victims it can change its color to appear more human- and life-like. But it can also color its other selves in darker shades matching its normal appearance.

Abilities
As a creation of the Wizards of the Black Circle it is imbued by their power. Its main ability is producing astral drops that takes on any shape or form; be it a mermaid or even a plant. These astral drops appear to be able to work independently. Because it uses visions and dreams to lure people it can be assumed that it can read or sense people's deepest desires. As such, it can appear in dreams or intercept and affect telepathic communications. Such as taking Morgana away to prevent Roxy from getting too much help.

It is also very resilient to magic and strong; able to ram through Flora's Winter Roses. Destroying only its astral drops does not eradicate it completely but it does require time to recover after that.

With mermaids, it can generate hypnotic sounds.

Pre-Series
Its duty began the moment the Wizards had finished capturing all the Earth Fairies and imprisoned them in Tir Na Nog. The Dark Guardian followed its creators' orders and would roam the Isle of Tir Na Nog, capture and imprison for all eternity those who dared to try and free the Earth Fairies.

Season 4
In "The Enchanted Island" it first appears in Roxy's dream, taking Morgana away to prevent Roxy from uncovering the Earth Fairies' prison. It then waits for Roxy, towering over her tent. When she steps out it breaks through Aisha's Morphix Barrier and captures her. It moves on to its next target, first by appearing as a harmless vine that spirals down next to Flora. When she least expects it, it snatches her from Bloom and Musa.

Its next victim is Aisha and it lures her into the ocean by posing as three mermaids, reminding Aisha of her home planet. After she is captured, it moves on to Stella where it entices her as a handsome, muscular man in the bushes. When Tecna catches up to Stella, it reveals itself to be a Centaur and then captures them both in its true form.

Finally, it moves onto the remaining two: Musa and Bloom. It easily mystifies Bloom as a unicorn. But its presence alerts Musa who tells Bloom that it is not real. The Dark Guardian then captures its last victims. It then takes its kidnapped victims into a dungeon but returns when it realizes they had escaped. It splits itself into four astral drops: the visions the Winx saw before they were captured.

While the others deal with it, Roxy and Bloom head for a room that has a panel carved out like the White Circle, indicating a keyhole and the appropriate one must be found for Roxy's to activate and release the fairies. Noticing this, it returns again and avoids the other five fairies as Roxy and Bloom fly towards the correct room. It almost got into the room but was then eradicated when Roxy unlocks the panel, thereby freeing the Earth Fairies.

Trivia

 * The Dark Guardian is based on a creature from Celtic mythology called the Kelpie. According to Scottish folklore, the Kelpie is a spirit living in water bodies whose real appearance is that of a large dark horse. The Kelpie can transform into a beautiful human to lure people into the water, where it reverts back into its original monstrous form and attacks the people and devours them.