Hasting

Hasting is a small though notable town nestled next to the coast and Staghorn River's estuary, sharing a border with St. Julian. Most of its citizens are either dockworkers supporting ship expeditions, fishers, or livestock breeders--some of them are technically pastoralists, keeping the animals moving so they don't freeze. A considerable amount of the country's independent crop growth happens in Hasting, focusing on hardy plants like potatoes, carrots, wheat and oats in order to withstand the cold. Despite this, the town is widely abandoned by government and society for being a token example of poverty and Satanic depravity. Hasting was originally a Norwegian-majority settlement, created shortly after the country's founding when Denives declared Norwegians to have dual citizenship. Over time, though, Norwegian Denivians, despite their history of founding the country and the majority of them being white, became more frequently discriminated against for having carried additional folklore with them to Denives that some believe to be witchcraft. This contributes to the small town's unique and derided culture.

Additionally, [Hasting once played a major role in rebelling against the Church's growing role in government], earning them a reputation of being devil worshippers, turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy--gamblers, prostitutes and drunkards gather where the rejects go. Because of this, being associated with Hasting is a death sentence to the reputation. There is a common superstition that God is so displeased with Hasting that He no longer watches over the land or its people. Doctors, already struggling to be regarded with respect, considering medicine itself is treated by the especially devout as being anti-god, do not set up hospitals there because even if they tried, few are willing to fund such a project. Also, healthcare in Denives is for-profit, and Hasting residents are too destitute to afford it. This makes Hasting medically abandoned and causes it to bear the brunt of epidemics, such as cholera, and, more recently, kefja's necrosis. The history of Hasting's mistreatment generally being by the hand of Catholic elites causes the majority of the population to be atheistic or of generally non-Catholic belief. It also has the highest rates of people following reconstructionism, instead of Papalism or Monarchism, of any town in the country.

Because of several of these factors, instead of modern medicine, the town has relied on folk healing for generations. Finn Beckham uniquely blends both folk cures and modern medicine in his work.