Winx Club - Eternal Spark

Chapter 6: The cursed planet

Hoggar was a tiny planet in the far reaches of the Magic Realm, so far from the rest of the world that nobody had ever stepped foot on it. That is, until three young witches made it their home several centuries ago. These three young witches were none other than the Ancestral Witches, the ancestors of all witches. The three ambitious sisters had stumbled upon Hoggar while desperately seeking a secluded place to practice black magic. Back then it was a beautiful, green planet where the sun always shone.

That didn't last long.

Over the decades, as the witches' power grew - and with it their destructive madness - the planet started changing with them. Its sun vanished and was replaced by black clouds, darkening the sky and making it always night. Nature withered and animals turned into misshapen creatures hungry for fresh meat. The flower-filled fields and lush woods were soon replaced by black rocks, cut like daggers ready to pierce through any unwelcome visitor.

The mere presence of these witches had turned Hoggar into a planet ruled by black magic and darkness. Thus, for centuries, Hoggar had served as a haven for the Ancestral Witches and their followers to plot their crimes, until one day the authorities finally discovered their hideout, forcing them to flee the area and find a new place to live. After the witches had left, the authorities spent a total of ten minutes investigating the place before declaring that there was nothing to see and nothing to gain from the cursed planet, and that it should be left to die. Over time the planet simply fell into oblivion, people preferring to ignore its existence, so much so that only few people were aware of its existence.

... When she first learnt all of this through her research, Tecna found the whole thing strange. The ancestral witches had lived there for decades, also she couldn't understand why nobody had gone there to investigate further. It was only when Stella's teleportation spell stopped a few meters above the ground of Hoggar, as she landed on the cold, wet ground just inches from a black stone spike that could have punctured her, that Tecna realized that she too would have given anything to get out of here as quickly as possible and forget all about this place. Not only had she hurt her back badly in the fall, but more importantly, there was a disgusting negative energy in the air that swept over her, making her head spin.

The girls stared at each other, the same uneasy expression on their faces. It had only been thirty seconds since they had crashed on this planet, and they were already feeling sick. After checking that no one was seriously injured, they struggled to get to their feet, moaning in pain. Stella managed to stand for only a few seconds before she collapsed, panting and looking as white as a sheet. Bloom rushed towards her, frantic with worry.

"Stella!" She shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Stella gave her a painful smile as she slightly lifted her head to look her in the eyes.

"I'm all right," she reassured her, placing a weak hand on hers. "I underestimated the amount of energy it took to get here, I'm just a bit dizzy, ha ha..."

'Underestimated' was an understatement. She had made it through the teleportation in extremis, before she eventually ran out of energy in the middle of the Hoggar skies. It was because of this that they had hit the ground so hard, for she had thought herself more powerful than she really was. Now their backs hurt, she had no strength left and was on the verge of passing out.

Flora rushed over to Stella. She pulled a bottle filled with a greenish liquid out of her pocket and held it up to her.

"Drink this and you'll feel better," she said soothingly.

Stella took the phial and opened it, before looking at the green liquid with suspicion, second-guessing herself. The disgusting look of it paired with the smell of wet grass were enough to convince her not to drink it.