The Aethelgardian Sky-Guard

The Aethelgardian Sky-Guard represents a highly specialized militaristic order, primarily dedicated to the long-term defense of the celestial legacy established by Aethelgard. Unlike the fragmented remnants of the Aerilon Ascendancy, this group is a proactive force, integrating ancient sky-magic with contemporary dwarven discipline. Their structure functions less as a conventional military and more as a monastic aerie, devoted to maintaining the energetic stability of the air currents above the high peaks. This vigilance, they assert, is the only thing preventing an accelerated decline following the disaster of the Great Sundering. Their core mission involves rigorous patrol routes above the Iron-Grip Mountains, leveraging modified, smaller Aether-Gliders that are distinct from the cumbersome airships of the Cobalt Corsairs. Their customs revolve around periodic solar attunement rituals, where they link their specialized, Aetherium-woven armor to the faint harmonic pulses of the Sunstone of Aethelgard. They view the aggressive Skyclaw Griffons as targets of necessary deterrence, operating exclusively along the critical Skystrider Paths. Their deepest concern is preventing interference by dark entities seeking to hasten the inevitable Great Unmaking. They house their sensitive knowledge within the secluded Sky-Aerie of the Guardian and conduct their training near the rugged Iron-Glimmer Peaks, a history often obscured in Elder Borin's Chronicles. Their discipline is rooted in the belief that the defense of the sky is the ultimate defense of the earth.