Ginkgo Spirit

The Ginkgo Spirit (or the Ginkgo's Spirit in some instances) is a character exclusively featured within the Winx Club Comic Series, debuting in Issue 120: The Enchanted Forest. She is the personified spirit of an old ginkgo tree that can be found in the middle of Gardenia Park and was unintentionally awoken by Flora's magic.

Appearance
The Ginkgo Spirit takes the form of a young woman with fair skin and golden eyes. Her hair is spring green in color with many yellow bulbs entangled in it as flows down to her buttocks.

For clothes, the Ginkgo Spirit wears a sleeveless dress made entirely of ginkgo leaves, tights that match the color of her hair and dark-green knee-high boots made of either hardened ginkgo leaves or bark.

Personality
Due to being brought into the world so suddenly without knowing how or why, the Ginkgo Spirit was initially fearful, confused, and alone. She could not recognize her surroundings or where her sisters could have been, which only escalated her fearful nature. To make matter worse, the Ginkgo Spirit's powerful ancient magic appeared to have ran out of her control when she went seeking help and this further compounded on top of her distress. This also made the Ginkgo Spirit emotionally vulnerable and quick to anger as, when Flora tells her of her true origins, the Spirit is quick to deny her claims on the fact that she was born less than a day ago. Almost like a child, the Spirit immediately claims to hate the Winx for being "liars" and attacks them while fleeing if they get too close.

None of this makes the Ginkgo Spirit inherently malicious though, due to her emotional vulnerability and feelings of isolation and loneliness. This can make her quite naive as the Trix were able to deceive and exploit her for her power because they said what she wanted to hear: that they were her missing sisters. She eventually sees the error of her ways when Flora takes the brunt of an ice blast to shield one of the Spirit's tree sisters and, towards the end up the issue, the Ginkgo Spirit is shown being much happier and open with others. Thanks to the Winx's plan, the Spirit is able to awaken her sisters, meaning that she will no longer have to feel alone.

#120: The Enchanted Forest
The Ginkgo Spirit makes her debut in Issue 120 as a regular ginkgo tree at first, but after touching it, some of Flora's magic flowed through the tree and, by sunset, the spirit of the ginkgo tree took the form of a mysterious young woman, lost and confused.

At night, the Winx spring into action when they witness an odd thunderstorm occurring in the middle of Gardenia and, upon reaching the source of the storms, they find the Ginkgo Spirit walking through the streets begging to know why everyone is afraid of her as a powerful storm surrounding her ravages the city. Realizing how powerful the Spirit is, Bloom and Flora try talking with her in an attempt at calming her down. Unfortunately, their plan backfires as the Ginkgo Spirit flies into a blind rage after being told of her true origins, which she cannot believe. After getting a direct hit on Bloom with a lightning bolt, the Ginkgo Spirit leaps to the top of a building and hops from treetop to treetop until the Winx lose sight of her.

In another part of the city, the Ginkgo Spirit sits atop a tree in the middle of a square questioning why she is here and where her sisters are. In that moment, the Spirit is approached by the Trix claiming to be her missing sisters and coerce her into abusing the humans under pretenses that they are worthless beings who do nothing but mistreat trees. A short while later, the Winx fly to another part of the city, where the Ginkgo Spirit is seen with the Trix, who are abusing the local humans. Darcy tries to get her to join in on the fun but she is interrupted by Bloom, who swoops down and reaches out to the Ginkgo Spirit in an attempt to convince her that the Trix are not who they claim to be. Once the Trix and Winx engage in a fight, the Ginkgo Spirit joins in, aiming vines at Bloom that end up being blocked by Stella's Total Eclipse. She is then immobilized by an Endless Echo from Musa and later chases after the Winx when they show signs of fleeing. During the chase, the Ginkgo Spirit hears the voice of a tree telling her the same thing Bloom tried to convince her of a moment ago. As she takes the voice in, Icy fires an icy blast at the Winx, which they dodge, but unintentionally lead the blast to the tallest tree in the area. Flora goes out of her way to shield the tree, which touches the Ginkgo Spirit's heart and causes her to turn on the Trix, causing them to flee her wrath. With the Trix gone, the Ginkgo Spirit apologizes for her actions and thanks them for leading her to the voice of her sisters. She then laments over how each of her sisters are trapped within the bark of their trees and wishes that she could do something to help them. Bloom tells her that they will be able to free them soon enough and, just a few days later, the Ginkgo Spirit appears on stage with the Winx during their ballet performance, The Enchanted Forest.

During the performance, the Ginkgo Spirit releases some of her magic as Bloom explains that the love of the people helps to strengthen their magic and thanks to that love, the Ginkgo Spirit's sisters can awaken! To celebrate how the Ginkgo Spirit is no longer alone, Stella proposes that they throw a party underneath the branches of her tree.

Magical Abilities
As the spirit of an ancient tree given a human form, the Ginkgo Spirit is very powerful. As stated by Flora, the Ginkgo Spirit possesses ancient magic and she showcases it in a variety of ways which include instinctively surrounding herself in a storm made of raging winds and lightning bolts, shooting and redirecting said lightning and conjuring up a bundle of vines that she can use to attack people like she does with Bloom. She can also shoot out powerful blasts of magical energy which can be seen when she drives the Trix off. The Ginkgo Spirit is also capable of jumping great heights at high speeds. She does this numerous times throughout Issue 120, like when she leaps to the top of a building to run away from the Winx or when she leaps from treetop to treetop to give chase alongside the Trix. The Ginkgo Spirit also possesses the ability to communicate and hear others telepathically, and this is how she communicates with her sisters as they are still trapped within their own trees. By the end of Issue 120, the Spirit's magic is amplified and spread across the city of Gardenia, which allows for her sisters to be awakened and escape their tree bodies.

Uses of Magic

 * Storm Creation: The Ginkgo Spirit passively creates a devastating storm comprised of galish winds and erratic lightning bolts that surround her, almost like a shield.
 * Lightning Blasts: where she shoots blasts of lightning either out of her palms or redirected from an existing storm.
 * Vine Creation/Blasts: The Ginkgo Spirit shoots out vines from the palms of her hands and has them rapidly extend into their make contact.
 * Energy Blasts: She releases a large wave of energy from her fingertips.
 * Telepathy: The Ginkgo Spirit can communicate with her trapped sisters through her mind.
 * Enhanced Agility: She can leap great heights at great speeds, even allowing her to keep up with the Winx while they are in mid-flight.
 * Reawakening: After the Winx's Enchanted Forest performance, the Ginkgo Spirit's magic is strengthened and amplified by the admiration she receives from the people of Gardenia. Taking the form of fireflies, the Spirit's magic flies across the city, giving her sisters the magic necessary for them to awaken and leave their tree bodies.

Trivia

 * The Ginkgo Spirit is very similar to Princess Astrid.
 * Both possess powerful magic which the Trix sought after: the Ice of Asgard and the Spirit's ancient magic.
 * Both were deceived by the Trix into allying with them at their most emotionally vulnerable moment. For Astrid, she was rescued by Icy and was convinced that she could reunite with her beloved with her help, whereas the Trix made the Ginkgo Spirit believe that they were her sisters.
 * Both later ally themselves with the Winx after being shown the Trix's true colors and get what they were aiming for in the end; Astrid reunites with her beloved and the Spirit reawakens her sisters.
 * The Ginkgo Spirit most likely draws inspiration from nymphs of Greek Mythology, as nymphs are regarded as minor deities associated with different aspects of nature ranging from streams and wells to trees.
 * More specifically, she may be based on a dryad: a nymph or spirit heavily associated with trees. Their lives are connected to the tree they are bound to and, thus, they will punish anyone who tries to harm their tree but, if their lives are cut short due to a mortal, then the gods will carry out divine punishment in their stead.