Ancestral Witches

The Ancestral Witches (alternatively known as the Ancestresses or the Three Ancient Witches) are a trio of three witches of antiquity. They are the absolute creatures of Evil. They completely destroyed Domino while attempting to acquire the Dragon Flame.

They cursed the Sirenix power that Daphne had acquired, causing it to turn against her during the attack on Domino after she saved Bloom, turning her into a bodiless spirit. In the French novel adaptation of the movie, their names are stated to be Belladona, Lysslis and Tharma, and their birthplace is said to be the Realm of Obsidian. The witches are the creator of Valtor and the cause of all the trouble.

Background
Valtor mentioned them as being the "Mothers of all witches" in the third season. It is unknown what is the exact meaning of this title since the Trix are the only witches known to have claimed descent from them, but it may mean that they are the first witches, as Arcadia is the first fairy. The Trix have claimed to be descendants of the  Ancestresses however the only one the Ancestresses mentioned as being related to them is Valtor, whom they called their "son" when they forced him to assume his original, demon form but this term may be used to mean that they used their power and energy to form him.

All the other witches to have mentioned the Ancestresses in the series, usually called them as "their (the Trix's) ancestors". It is possible that the Ancestresses were in fact the first beings to have started using witchcraft and were the very first witches (which could explain their name, the Ancestral Witches), and initiators of witchcraft, therefore making them the mothers of witchcraft.

A proof of this was when Bloom goes to Domino in the first season, her crown tells her that the Ancestral Witches were the first creatures of Evil (Darkar cannot be said to be a creature of Evil as, even if he was born at the beginning of Time, it was stated in the series that he is Evil personified).

This makes them in a sense the mothers of all witches, since they thus become the ones who first began using the magic which all witches use. As stated by the series, usually the person decides which way to choose, that of fairy magic or that of witchcraft (the case of Mirta, in the Rai version). By choosing to become witches they adopt the magic possibly begun by the Ancestresses.

Season 1
The Ancestral Witches are first mentioned as the Dark Forces which attacked and destroyed Domino when Faragonda tells the story of the Great Dragon to Bloom. They however make their first physical appearance in the series in the Bloom's Dark Secret, where they appear in the false vision created by the Trix to terrorize Bloom. It is in this episode that Bloom calls them the Primeval Witches, while Brandon (Prince Sky) names them as The Three Evil Ancestors.



Before "stealing" her powers in The Dragon's Flame, the Trix told Bloom that they were the descendants of the Ancestral Witches, and understood the importance of the most powerful source of power of the Universe, the Dragon Flame, on Domino and went to take control of it. But Daphne, Bloom's sister, sent Bloom to Earth and prevented the Dragon's Flame from falling into the hands of the Ancestresses who killed Daphne in revenge for spoiling everything. The Trix said that they had picked up where their ancestors had left off, and that while their ancestors were old and worn out, they were younger and stronger and could therefore carry on the Ancestresses' mission.

Faragonda and Griffin also mention that they took part, along with Saladin in defeating these ancient witches.

Winx Club: Revenge of the Trix
They were mentioned by Faragonda to Bloom that tells about her past.

Season 2
They are again mentioned by Faragonda in the second season of the French Version as being under the orders of Darkar when they attacked Domino.

Season 3
In the third season it is revealed that they were the ones who created Valtor after they found a piece of the Dragon Flame which had mixed with the Darkness, and brought him up as their own son. Later, when he was old enough, they sent him to conquer all the realms in the Magical Dimension in their name.

Faragonda tells Bloom that her father, Oritel, and her mother, Marion, had formed the Company of Light in order to fight the Ancestresses, and that both her parents had disappeared on the day of the final battle between the Company of Light and the witches, as also stated by Hagen in the first movie, The Secret of the Lost Kingdom.

Later in the season, when Valtor claims to have absorbed Marion and Oritel in his body, Faragonda tries to contact them, she says to Bloom that part of the essence of the three witches is still present in the Crypt of Cloud tower, and that they can be contacted from there.

Towards the season finale, they try to use Valtor as a medium to get their revenge for having been imprisoned in Obsidian (then mentioned as limbo) because they were themselves unable to influence the outer world, while still having influence on Valtor since he was their son.

They told him that it was his punishment for having wasted his powers in his thirst for revenge, that the Dragon Flame was claiming him, and that he had to return to it, much to his protests, as he claimed that they were the ones who created him from the Flame and that he would remain Valtor for ever.

They then turned him into his original demon-like form in such a way that he would never be able to return to his man-like appearance and ordered him to cross the Inter-dimensional Portal of Andros to destroy the Magic Dimension. However, they are not successful as Bloom finds and defeats Valtor just before he goes on to obey his mothers' orders.

Before being defeated for good, he tries to convince Bloom to join forces with him against the Ancestresses as a means of regaining her parents and that Oritel and Marion disappeared because of them, to which Bloom does not heed, knowing that he is in fact lying.

When Bloom knew that her parents were alive she asked the three ancestresses witches where they were. But they did not tell her and just disappear also they live in Cloud tower's heart where Bloom found them in a secret cave. They were all the cost of trouble of season 3 due to the fact that they are Valtor's creators. Bloom hates them.

The Secret of the Lost Kingdom
In the first movie, the Ancestresses act as the main villains.

They are shown as being the prisoners of the Obsidian Circle, where they continually have to bear the presence of Oritel's sword. After Bloom talks with Daphne in her dream, her hope lights up again, causing the piece of the Dragon Flame in the sword also to ignite up.

The heat of the Flame becomes so unbearable to them that they send their servant, Mandragora, to find out where the Dragon Flame is. They transfered their power to her. Mandragora then finds out, and informs the witches that Bloom is alive. The witches apparently thought that the Bloom was dead since they did not see Daphne sending Bloom to Earth in the flashbacks of the first season, and were unable to force Daphne to reveal anything about her sister (which is why they ended by killing her).

Valtor may also have lied that he had killed Marion and Oritel's little daughter in an attempt to weaken them by devastating them, as no reason has been given why they used and exhausted all their remaining forces to defeat Valtor and seal him in the Omega Dimension during the last battle with the Company of Light when they thought that their daughters were dead.

When the Winx finally enter the Realm of Obsidian, Bloom sees the scene when the Company of Light almost defeated the Ancestresses, and how one of them grabbed Oritel, and how Marion entered Oritel's sword, before they disappeared in the Obsidian Circle.

The witches tell the Winx how they enjoyed torturing the inhabitants of Domino who were also imprisoned in the Obsidian Dimension, and try to convince Bloom to destroy Oritel's sword. They almost succeeded after they showed Bloom a vision of Mandragora at Gardenia, ready to kill her adoptive parents, Mike and Vanessa, at least till the point where Mike was shown playing with a small Fairy cat.

Bloom then told the witches that Mike is allergic to cats, and that their plan had failed, before starting to attack them, almost exhausting her magic powers, the darkness of the Realm of Obsidian absorbing her energy. At that moment, Daphne came to Bloom's help but, even together, both their powers were weakened by the Darkness around them, and the witches became more powerful when Mandragora arrived to help her mistresses.

In the climax of the movie, the witches possessed Mandragora and tried to kill Bloom and Daphne, had it not been for Sky who, now being the new king of Eraklyon, used Oritel's sword to pierce Mandragora's body (plus the witches' spirits) as Bloom used all of her Dragon Flame's power to destroy the evil beings. The witches were defeated, Mandragora was killed, and the Realm of Obsidian itself was destroyed, freeing all the inhabitants of Domino, the Specialists, and the Winx.

However, at the end of the movie, the witches were shown together with the Trix, their heirs, meaning that the ancestors and descendants have now allied against the Winx.

Magical Adventure
They do not appear at all in the fourth season, but they act as the main villains again, together with the Trix, in the second movie.

They send the Trix to steal a magical compass which indicates its user where what it wishes the most lies and, using it, they find the Tree of Life at the Pixie Village. Using a powerful spell, the Trix cause the Tree's evil part (it is made up of two halves, one with Positive energy flowing in it, and the other having Negative energy in it) to take over the whole of it, causing all the Positive energy in the Universe to disappear, and leaving only Negative energy.

Later, when the Ancestresses discover that there still remained a leaf representing Positive energy in the Tree, preventing them from obtaining the Ultimate Power they were seeking, they send the Trix on Eraklyon to take something from Erendor.

It is later revealed by Sky that when his father was young, he had allied with the Company of Light to fight against the three Ancient Witches, but they threatened him of destroying his kingdom if ever he helped Oritel. Erendor ended by betraying Oritel and made a deal with the witches in which he engaged himself not to help Domino,in exchange of which the witches gave him a magical hourglass which would protect his kingdom from evil.

Later, when he regretted his actions, he went to Havram, a city on Eraklyon which has been haunted by wandering Shadows and where nothing, including technology, works properly like in the rest of the Universe after the Ancestral Witch destroyed it in oder to threaten him. He ended by breaking the hourglass, which instead caused a sapling of the Tree of Life containing energy from the Positive part of Tree of Life to grow on it.

Under the orders of the Ancestresses, the Trix attack Erendor in trying to find out where is the gift the Ancestresses gave him. Despite Oritel's efforts to help his friend when he goes to Eraklyon, the witches capture Erendor and fly away.

Meanwhile the three ancient witches try to harm the Winx by causing the clouds to attack the flying boat they are using to go to Havram. The Winx manage however to arrive to the haunted city, but find the Trix, with Icy using Erendor as hostage, and the Ancestresses there and have to battle them without any magic, being powerless, but they receive aid from Oritel.

Bloom and Sky, who were separated from the rest of the group, manage to find the magical sapling which can restore the balance of the Magic Dimension, but they are attacked by Icy, under Belladona's orders, who ends up by hitting the sapling when she was trying to attack Bloom, causing one of the Ancestresses to get angry.

All the Good Magic was in that sapling after the witches made the Tree's Negative part take over the whole of it, and it was released when Icy destroyed the sapling while trying to attack Bloom, restoring the Positive magic powers in the immediate area.

Bloom and Sky meet with the rest of the group and, able to use their Believix powers again, the Winx fight the Trix, who prove to be too weak to face them.

The Ancestral Witches decide to take over the bodies of the Trix (partly as a punishment for having restored the Positive energy of the Magic Dimension and hence ruined their plan), who attempt to flee, in vain. Having become extremely powerful, the Ancestress-possessed Trix become too strong for the combined forces of the Winx, the Specialists, Oritel and Erendor, and Bloom herself is difficultly able to face the possessed Icy and, in an attempt to protect her from another attack of Icy, Erendor is severely wounded. However, Oritel manages to temporarily distract the witches by attacking them and, using a Believix convergence, the Winx summon the essence of the Dragon Flame, which extracts the Ancestresses from the Trix and destroys them once and for all, ironically, since they end up by being destroyed by the power which they had once sought the most.

Season 5
In Season 5, when Bloom asked Daphne to tell her where the Book of Sirenix is, Daphne told Bloom that using Sirenix would be dangerous for her and that she must not look for it. Daphne revealed that, when the Ancestral Witches attacked Domino, she had acquired Sirenix and was ready to fight them, but the Ancestral Witches had previously placed an evil spell on Sirenix which, when used by Daphne, caused it to turn against herself and turned her into a spirit without a body.

They are mentioned again by Oritel in Test of Courage, when he tells the Trix that they are nothing compared to their ancestors when they disrupt the Domino Ceremony.

Appearance
Judging from their appearances throughout the series, they are described as very old women (centuries old perhaps) with greying hair and masks around they yellow glowing eyes. They appear barefooted as well, wearing black or grey dresses and capes and bear reasemblance to the Trix.


 * Belladona being the ancestress of Icy, bares some similarities to her heir. Her grey hair is held up in 5 separate crownlike extensions possibly denoting her status as the leader of the trio. She wears a long grey dress with a black cloak (or as seen in an astral projection of herself in the third season, it's greyish blue while her cape is dark blue or it could be that because her powers are similar to Icy's her energy aura makes her appear this way). She also sports a mask around her yellow-glowing eyes.She also uses a dark Dragon Power in the movie Winx Club: Magical Adventure.


 * Tharma being the ancestress of Stormy, she wears a long grey dress with a black cape though in her astral projection in Season 3, her dress appears maroon much like Stormy's witch uniform. Her hair is also frizzy, resembling a storm cloud much like Stormy's. She also sports a mask around her yellow-glowing eyes.


 * Liliss being the ancestress of Darcy, bears few similarities to her heir. She has flowing grey hair as well as wears a long grey dress with a black cape. In her astral projected form in Season 3 her dress and cape appear a faded purple colour. She also sports a mask around her yellow-glowing eyes.

Trivia

 * The Ancestral Witches were probably inspired by the Wicked Fairy Godmother, also known by the name of Carabossa a figure in fairy tales. She is the witch who puts a curse on the princess and makes her fall into her hundred-year sleep in the original Sleeping Beauty tale. She is depicted as an old, ugly and bad humpbacked woman.


 * In the flashbacks of Magical Adventure when Sky tells Bloom about the deal his father made with the witches, the Ancestral Witches appear like spirits even then. It is unknown why they appear like that as they still had their bodies at this time, and the Witches themselves told Bloom in The Secret of the Lost Kingdom that their bodies had perished during their captivity in Obsidian after the destruction of Domino.
 * Another difference is that in the Animated Series and in the first movie the Witches' spirits have a blue/purple colour while in the Second Movie they have a reddish colour.
 * The Ancestresses never treated the Trix as their descendants in the Second Film, but rather as servers and the Trix also behaved as if the Ancestresses were their mistresses and even called them as such, possibly out of respect.
 * They are most likely not appearing in the next film, as they are destroyed in Magical Adventure.
 * The Ancestral Witches are linked to each villain from Season 1 to the first movie and are directly or indirectly the source of the problem in each of them, except in Season 2, where their master is the main villain - Lord Darkar.
 * Ironically, had the witches not destroyed Domino, Earth and the Earth Fairies would not have been saved from the Wizards of the Black Circle, as Bloom would not have been sent to Earth, and the Wizards would not have attacked her in the fourth season, causing Faragonda to send the Winx to Earth to save the Earth Fairies.
 * It is also interesting to note that the witches destroyed Domino more or less at the same time that the Wizards were capturing, with the exception of Roxy, the last Earth Fairies, including Morgana, and that both Marion's and Morgana's respective kingdoms were both destroyed and both queens were imprisoned into another realm at about the same time.