"Very bad man. Is nikulturny, no honour. Is killer and thief, run everything illegal in Kislev. Has many fingers in many things. All must pay his "taxes" or suffer. Fires, beatings. Killed his own brother, they say."
- —Pavel Korovic, Kislevite Liaison to the Imperial Ambassador[1a]
In the city of Kislev, Vassily Chekatilo sits at the heart of the criminal underworld. A bear of a man, with broad shoulders and slab muscled, Chekatilo's gut is running to flab, but his physical presence is undeniable,[1a] despite being over forty years of age.[1b]
He also has an assassin bodyguard named Rejak, a spindly, flint-eyed man whose face is heavily scarred.[1b]
Spoilers for Ursun's Teeth[]
In an effort to leave Kislev for greater opportunities in Marienburg, Chekatilo planned on a deal with the Imperial Ambassador Kaspar von Velten to have him escorted safely there. To his dismay, Chekatilo would see his brothel assailed by a swarm of man-eating rats, narrowly escaping death as the creatures tore into everything living and dead they could reach.[2a] It would later be revealed that the rats all bore a brand in the shape of a triangle.[2b]