Hansel and Gretel (Canon Tale)

Hansel and Gretel is a popular Germanic folk tale recorded by the Brother's Grimm in 1812. It tells the tale of two children who nearly fall victim to a cannibalistic witch but outsmart her in the end. It was turned into an Opera by Englebert Humperdink and a variety or short animated features as well as a popular summer blockbuster adaptation. 
For Once Upon a Nightmare, to give this story the dark twist necessary to make it fit with the rest of the source material, it was decided that the cannibalistic nature of the witch would carry over into the children as well. By consuming the flesh of witches, the children are able to manifest magical powers of their own which in turn allow them to hunt and kill witches. A vicious circle from which there appears to be no escape.
== Canon Tale ==
Hansel and Gretel were once innocent children, a brother and sister who lost their way and were almost murdered by an evil witch in a confectionery cabin in the Yarrow. Now…it is they who have become the murderers. After the death of the first witch, the brother and sister discovered that by consuming the flesh of a witch, they imbued themselves with her magical abilities for a period of time. Masquerading as witch hunters, the pair continued to hunt wielders of magic, cannibalizing their flesh, and rationalizing the murders by assuring themselves that they were only killing wicked witches who would no doubt cause harm to others.
But the blight and subsequent Walking Starvation have caused great changes in the world. The wicked are taking control, innocent people are dying, and witches are becoming much harder to find. Now, more than ever, the brother and sister need magic to make themselves useful, to safeguard their lives, but their supply of witch flesh is running low and they both fear what might become of them if they truly run out, or if the secret of their success is ever realized by the good people of Caerleon or the wicked ones they’ve targeted for so long… 
== Characters ==
* Hansel - The elder brother and the one who is more easily pulled into the witch's schemes.
* Gretel - The younger sister who is able to outsmart and kill the witch who attempted to kidnap and eat them.
* The Witch - A relative of the first witch they killed and one of the last few remaining witches with power following the onset of the Blight and the hunts carried out by Hansel and Gretel.
== Plotlines ==
Hansel and Gretel is a Canon Tale ripe for exploration and interpretation. The aspects of its plot line have yet to be hashed out and many of its characters are available to those who wish to make this tale their own.
== Related Stories ==
* The Pantheon - The Green Man will hunt Hansel and Gretel the moment they start killing peaceful witches.