Ashpan Lieutenant

I have often heard mercenaries call the Ashpan Lieutenant the Inquisitor’s right hand. They are mistaken.

A right hand acts only when the mind commands it. The Ashpan Lieutenant is expected to think for himself, to command when the Inquisitor is absent, and, if the worst should happen, to ensure the mission survives even if its master does not.

That is precisely why the Inquisitor never tells him everything.

No member of the Order, regardless of rank or devotion, is entrusted with the full truth. Every investigation is divided into sealed fragments. The Lieutenant knows troop movements, supply caches, rendezvous points, trusted informants, and the disposition of the mercenaries, but other parts remain hidden even from him. Certain relics, suspects, and discoveries are known only to the Inquisitor. Should one man fall to a sniper’s bullet, torture, or corruption, the expedition suffers—but the mission endures.

The Ashpan Lieutenant bears this burden without complaint. While the Inquisitor searches for hidden heresy, the Lieutenant commands the living. He keeps the retinue moving, settles disputes between priests and hired swords, assigns watches, secures provisions, and ensures every order is carried out exactly as intended. The mercenaries answer to him alone, for the Inquisitor refuses to waste time arguing with men who fight for coin.

Unlike many commanders, the Lieutenant is expected to lead from the front. He is the first through a breached doorway, the first into a burning chapel, and often the last to leave when the ashes are gathered. His armor bears the same soot as the common guards, and the smell of kerosene clings to him as stubbornly as his own shadow. Veterans say that if the Inquisitor is the flame, then the Lieutenant is the hand that carries it into the darkness.

Despite years of service, complete trust is a privilege he will never receive. The Inquisitor watches everyone, including the man who has marched beside him the longest. More than one Lieutenant has awakened to discover his orders changed because the Inquisitor dreamed of betrayal. Others have been quietly relieved of command after showing the smallest signs of doubt or unexplained curiosity. In the Order, suspicion is not an insult. It is discipline.

I once asked the Lieutenant whether it troubled him that the Inquisitor withheld the truth.

He only smiled.

“If he trusted me completely,” he said, “he would no longer be fit to wear the Seal.”

Since then, I have come to understand that the Ashpan Lieutenant is not the Inquisitor’s successor.

He is the proof that no servant of the Church, however loyal, is ever considered beyond temptation.

The mission survives because no single man is allowed to carry all of it.

🎨 A dream for painters and grimdark collectors

One model – “Ashpan Lieutenant”, designed by Wargames Crew

This set include:

• Left hand – Mace, Sword Shield.
• Right hand – Auto pistol, Auto Shotgun, SMG.

Total size is 45mm

Base size is 32mm

Get STL here