Grunburg quickly grows as one of the primary centers of military might in all of Jera. While Alexander focuses on trade and agricultural achievement, Grunburg has long prided itself in the abilities of its fighting men. This stems from the close proximity to the mountains to the north, where in the past, hordes of the Broken Arm League have poured out of the hills, seiging the city. The outposts and lookout stations have seasoned those that now hold leadership positions in the Grunburg Legion, Grunburg's army.

Where magitech has its roots in Grunburg University, the city was the first to see the advantages of the newfound magic and its military applications. Perhaps the destruction of the alchemy lab by some of the more adventurous magipunks was a clear indicator of the destructive force of the new magic. Proper harnessing has led to practical, though sometimes risky devices based upon the research of the 'punks. Upon graduation, many of the 'punks are recruited by the several factions of the magipunks, many to the Mountains of Doubt, where the 'punks can work on research that still is considered bordering on the illegal, some of it even dealing with necromancy, for which the law requires death as the only acceptable punishment.

The central core of the Grunburg military is the Cloud Brigade. This branch of the army concerns itself with flying ships and defending Grunburg from air attack. There are now five cloud cities constructed solely for the purpose of the air defense of Grunburg. The largest, now the center of operations for the Cloud Brigade, dubbed Hawksee, houses most of the top brass of the Brigade. Hawksee has many levels beneath the surface of the floating land mass as well as the fortress that crowds it surface. Archemages still shape the flying fortress, adding docks to its tall height for airships of every type. Before an airship may approach Grunburg airspace, it must dock at one of the four outlying fortresses for a customs check. At first this was purely a defense consideration, but of late, the Grunburg Council passed legislation that requires the payment of import fees on all merchandise coming into the city. The monies go to pay for the air defense of Grunburg and for the toll stations. In return, Grunburg guarantees safe passage and no meddling from pirates within a hundred miles of it, which it does its best to follow through on. Piracy near Grunburg, Geyon, or Alexander has yet to occur with any frequency, mostly due to the strength of their respective air navies.

Where the defense of Grunburg from airships intiated the development of airships with military applications, many in the Grunburg council have anything but passive defense in mind. Havrend Selicia, council member for the second commercial district of the city, leads a movement to continue to build sky fortresses and ships with the intent of conquering the Broken Arm League once and for all. The Broken Arm League has moved slowly in the development of airpower. What data that they have managed to aquire through their spy networks consists only of simple instructions on the flight and operation of lighter-than-air craft. The eastern nation has so many dissentions within their ranks as to make any full-scale efforts in this area unlikely in the near future.

Besides the main five fortresses, the air defense is mostly in the form of skyships, often piloted by promising young 'punks straight out of the university. They show a zest for learning and breaking the norms that make them ideal to keep up with the rapidly changing area of magic-induced flight. Almost monthly a new improvement is invented to make the airships lighter, faster, and more aggressive. Recently Grunburg has added the use of explosive catapult and ballista ammunition. Handling the incindiaries takes extreme caution, and several mishaps have caused the demise of some of the earliest ships to use them. Safer methods of packing the devises have made them more ractical, but they must still be handled with care to avoid mishap.

The steep increase in air and spelljamming power was sure to attract the attention of the Gif, and indeed it did. The Gif are well known in the ranks of the spelljammer for their military sense and love of a fight. There is still much prejudice towards the creatures, but those that fought against allowing them to enlist in the Cloud Brigade soon found their objections dissolved when they witnessed their skill in smokepowder and their effectiveness when fighting aboard an airship. The only problem occured when the ship designers realized that they would have to build the decks a bit sturdier to allow for the weight of the new crewmen. Giff can weigh up to 300 pounds, most of this accounted for by muscle mass. Giff are fierce in a fight and can take three times as much damage as a human from wounds before going down. In short, a sailor feels happy to have them on his side.

A hundred strong, the true wildcard of the Grunburg sky navy, the mostly 'punk "Griffons" are the newest addition to Grunburgs's sky power. Riding their improved lithel birch hoverboards, equipped with a sail and limited airjamming capabilities, these hotshots of the navy tear up the skies, harrowing any without defense against fast-moving, manuverable craft in the air. Wearing only fire resistant, loose-fitting leather armor, the dashing youth capture the hearts of many a young lady. In the short months since the inception of the elite force, they have earned a reputation for recklessness and insubordination, but also of effectiveness. In secret missions against Broken Arm League encampments, they have proven their worth in guerilla-type warfare from the air. Grunburg wizards currently work on enchantments to make the hoverboards and their riders invisible, or nearly so. The surprise value of the attacks has proven invaluable, as well as the ability to spy on enemy movement from a safe height which nullifies the threat of arrow or crossbow fire from enemies below. Also in the works is to outfit each of the griffons with a ring of featherfall and a ring endowing its user with immunity to normal missles. Grunburg expects great things from this force in the future, whose numbers grow almost daily.

The promise of a 'board and the chance to learn from the best riders lure many of the magic-talented youth of Grunburg. Acceptance into the force also comes with training without cost at the Grunburg Academy of Arcane Arts, the most prestigious private school of wizards in all of Asterland. Upon graduation from this institution, one can feel assured of a life of comfort and a consistantly fat paycheck as well as the skills necessary to stand against some of the more seasoned wizards anywhere and come off victorious.