Title: Firekind
Series: Chronicles of the Realm, Book 2
Author: Joe McCormack
Genre: Fantasy / Science Fiction
Pages: 325
Edition: First Edition
Printing: First Print
First Year Published: 2025
Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8-9908219-1-0

After the Arch-Demon had been freed, its return to reclaim what had been lost in our world would set Jacob, Mac and allies in the Realm on an inevitable collision course with the military and an unmasking of reality none could have fathomed.

Along the way they would discover a mighty remnant of Giants scattered in Telluric Hollows and gifted with the Aethereal Kinesis-Forge, an ancient device carved by the hand of the Tart'aas and refashioned to use Earth's power against the Arch-Demon's foe...the Serpqhtaq.

Only after the military struck a bargain with the rogue artificial intelligence known as Janus would they also discover it had been created in league with the Serpqhtaq and that it possessed a single weakness. The Iapetus Mesh. But, as if by the hand of fate, they would have to ally with the AI to face both alien races - each exploiting humanity for their own ends.

Humanity would be consumed by fire.

Wrought from the 1980's with the rise of technology and tempered by his life's journey through time to the present, Joe has forged an action-packed tale, not only of the stuff of fantasy, but also of science fiction and our modern era not so far into the future. Here, crossing into a parallel dimension to converse with dragons no longer relies on occult ritual, magic or the limitations of ancient energetic meridians and a spiritual connection of the mind. Instead, it only relies on the technological mastery and orchestration of a sentient artificial intelligence focused on moving crude matter, mind and body, across that dark bridge between dimensions.

Claim this book as your own and allow Joe to take you on an imaginative, thought-provoking adventure full of dragons, giants, elves and even the might of the modern military as two dimensions, once unknown to each other, become inseparable in their fight to endure among the ocean of stars and competition in our universe.

The next morning Jacob was the first to wake, followed by Chief Zorin and Lionak whom had slept downstairs, awakened to some loud banging sounds from the basement.

"You okay down here?" Chief Zorin asked as he descended the aged wooden staircase into the basement, accessible through a section of cut floor planks in the study.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Jacob replied, rolling up a dust laden blue plastic tarp that had been thrown over the solar power systems years ago.

After setting down the tarp he pointed at the two yellow and black colored containers, each three feet in length and width by two feet in height, and said, "Those are the two we will need."

Jacob grabbed the edge of one and pulled on it with little effort toward the staircase, "There are wheels underneath but we're going to need to turn them on their side to get them into the study."

"Simple enough." Chief Zorin said as he reached the container and shifted it effortlessly on its side.

"Yeah. Like that." Jacob said with surprise. He had forgotten that Chief Zorin, even in human form, still had the strength of a Silver Dragon.

Grasping the container by its sides closest to the cement floor, Jacob said, "Grab the other side there and we'll carry this thing upstairs."

Chief Zorin did so and they carried the container up into the study and set it down on its wheels followed shortly thereafter by the other container. Once it was on its wheels, Jacob placed the bound floor planks back over the entryway and, using a key, turned the flush latches back to their closed positions to prevent the section of flooring from shifting around.

Spotting Bev and Regan as they neared the study, Jacob sarcastically said, "You missed all the fun. We could have used your help with those containers."

Bev rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Whatever. I knew if I combed my hair long enough you'd finish the hard stuff."

Regan grinned at the response but did not say anything, instead making a mental note to use that tactic sometime in the future.

"Hard stuff?" Mac puffed, lumbering down the stairs, "What about hard stuff?"

Jacob shook his head and said lowly, "Yeah, you too, sunshine."

Jacob got up and went to the dining room where everyone had congregated, Chief Zorin following a few minutes later after he had flipped through a few more pages of the geography book he had been reading.

"We ready to go, honey, or did you want to play around some more in the basement?" Bev smiled at Jacob.

Jacob wagged his finger at Bev, but then smiled back, "We should go."

"All of us?" Lionak asked, "I would like to see the store that you speak of that has more…laptops."

Jacob shrugged, pulling out his keys, "I don't see why not. Anyone else down for a little trip?"

"Yes." Chief Zorin responded, also curious about the store.

"And you?"

"No, I'll hang here and catch up on some news." Mac said, in truth preferring to stay in case he experienced another painful headache. He turned toward Regan and said, "Don't stay on my part. If you want to go, then go."

Regan looked at Mac, "I'll stay, too. We'll watch the news together. Besides, I can catch up on your wonderous stores with Bev when we go shopping again."

Jacob jiggled the keys in his hand for a moment, looking at everyone and then strode to the door saying, "Alright. Let's get this show on the road."

Mac strolled into the living room and plopped down onto the couch and grabbed the remote, turning on the large screen.

A few minutes later Regan entered the room, gave Mac one of the cups full of ice-cold tea and then settled down next to him on the couch.

"We got some quiet time, just you and I." Mac said to Regan with a wink.

Then Spewge jumped onto the couch next to Regan, settling down to lean against her. Regan chuckled and lifted her arm around the large dog and petted him.

 
 

Jacob exited the Bronco and walked toward the store with Bev, eagerly followed by Chief Zorin and Lionak. But just before they entered, he stopped to look at the two and said, "Just stick with me while we are in there, okay?"

They nodded and he turned and entered the store with them. Almost immediately he was approached by a greeter who said, "Welcome! If you have any questions or need help finding something, please let us know."

Jacob nodded weakly as he got a shopping cart while Bev smiled back and said, "Thank you. We will."

"Look at how colorful this place is." Chief Zorin said, scanning around while following Jacob.

"Its like a treasure horde in here." Lionak remarked, looking at all the items of varying size laid out on rows and rows of long shelves and merchandise hooks, "I would like to know how all of these things work."

"No time for that." Jacob whispered heavily as he made his way to the computer segment of the large store.

Once there he steered the cart between two long counter-top fashioned tables with a wide range of laptops sitting on top of them, and boxes of laptops beneath the counter-tops. Each table measured twenty-five feet in length.

"Look at all these laptops!" Lionak exclaimed with outstretched arms, temporarily causing the background noise in the store to quiet down.

Within a flash, an employee appeared next to Lionak before Jacob could, and mentally noted the peculiar dress of the individual before asking, "Yes. How can I help you today?"

Lionak looked at the smiling employee of average build and said, "I want these laptops." Then he pointed towards them.

Having left the cart between the tables, Jacob made it to the employee and jumped into the conversation, looking to avert some inevitable misunderstanding, "Hi there. We are actually looking to buy some of your laptops. You have any recommendations?"

The employee's eyes lit up at the suggestion of multiple purchases and he motioned for Jacob to follow him as he walked over to the tables, "I would be happy to help you!"

While Bev and Lionak lingered around Jacob while he talked with the employee and moved between laptops, Chief Zorin drifted into the newly added robotics section of the store, not far away, attracted to a articulated robotic arm bolted to a mount, reaching out and grasping a box and placing it at the other end of the display and then resetting to pick up the box and placing it at the other end as part of an endless loop.

There he strolled past the arm, not controlled by any known magic he was aware of and saw a three foot tall bipedal, human-shaped white-colored robot, doing much the same thing…taking a small cube in one five-finger articulated hand to move it toward the center of the robot where it reached over with its other hand to take the cube and then rotate the arm and wrist to place the cube at the other end of the display, in an endless loop. Behind the robot rested a collection of boxed versions of the model on display. While its form was shaped like a human, he could plainly see the robot's joints where the composite protection plating bolted around cabling and its skeleton structure did not cover.

For over a minute he stared at the mechanical being in amazement before he took a step back to read other parts of the display. Above it read, 'Butler 1' while, below the display's counter-top it read, 'The first truly affordable butler for your home! Today only $4,599!' and a collection of bullet points stated, 'Can clean and vacuum floors using what you already have, Can prepare and cook food, Can clean and iron clothes, Can take out trash up to 25 lbs*, Can conversate and play many board games'.

"Hello. I am Butler 1." the robot said in a soothing voice as it looked up at Chief Zorin while flawlessly moving the cube without continuing to look down at its moving hands, "How can I serve you today?"

Chief Zorin looked at the long, narrow, blue-illuminated strip that went from one side of the robot's head to the other in the approximate area where a human's eyes would be, but could not think of anything to say in response. Instead, he moved past the robot and the robot tilted its head back toward its hands.

"Unreal." Chief Zorin finally whispered to himself as he moved around to another aisle with the display of a robotic dog, similar in mechanical features to that of the Butler 1 robot, but with a covering of short dark fur and a standing height of one foot and six inches. Fully articulated, it periodically walked forward just like a real dog and even sat and rested on all four limbs like a real dog.

Through infrared sensors, having detected Chief Zorin's presence, it got up and turned toward him, its slim multi-jointed tail wagging behind it. Then it tilted its head slightly and sat down, its tail still wagging as it repositioned its short, floppy ears toward him. While the robot dog, like Butler 1, did not have a mouth, it shared the same blue horizontal strip used for one-hundred and seventy-degree vision and depth perception. Additionally, it was designed to be a lead-in product for both kids and adults toward the Butler 1 and other robots with greater capabilities. The banner above the display read, 'Vigilant 1' while below read, 'The #1 dog for your home! Today only $1599!' with a collection of bullet points reading, 'Can go with you anywhere - fully autonomous no internet needed, Can patrol and protect your home, Can be at your side, Can conversate in dog or even human talk'.

"Hey Zorin," Bev said quietly after finding him in the store, "What are you doing over here?"

Sensing Bev's approach and female voice, the robot dog stood up and moved to face her with its tail wagging, occasionally tilting its head up.

"You see these things?" Chief Zorin said, still in awe of the mechanical genius of the robots, "They move so perfectly. So realistic."

"Actually no. I heard this was a brand-new addition to the stores but haven't had the time to see it for myself." Bev replied, looking down at the robot dog.

Out of curiosity, Bev reached down to touch the robot dog's head and, when she did so, it moved its head to feel more of Bev's hand upon its fur sensors and shifted its wagging tail a bit. The fur covering its body was, in fact, comprised of millions of short hair-like strands, the center of each crafted with a piezo-electric nano-scale hollow shaft that generated a micro-current when bent. That micro-current served not only as feedback for the robot dog, it served to provide a subtle stimulus for the bio-electric field of lifeforms it came into contact with. With all of the hairs connected to a Dermis Core, the robot dog's AI system utilized the signals from the fur to better sense the environment and react to it such as angling the body against a gust of wind, sensing water droplets and heat sources…even the direction and speed of objects that may impact it. In this case, the characteristics of physical contact allowed the robot dog to estimate the height and weight of Bev as well as her position independent of its other specialized sensors. It also deduced that Bev's light touch and hand movement was non-threatening with applied pressure greatest at her fingertips suggesting a curious and apprehensive demeanor.

Bev giggled a bit and admitted, "It does seem sort of real, doesn't it? The hair feels so real."

"Indeed." Chief Zorin confessed with an uneasy grin.

"We should get back." Bev said as she withdrew her hand from the robot dog and stood up.

"I would like to have this mechanical dog." Chief Zorin said to her. He wanted to unlock its mysteries and he knew Lionak would want to do the same.

"I don't know, Zorin." Bev sighed, "We didn't come here to buy these new robots."

"Just the one?"

Bev shifted her weight from one leg to the other a few times as she thought about it. "Just one."

Chief Zorin smiled almost in a childish fashion, had he been human, and grabbed one of the boxes of Vigilant 1. Then he followed her back to the computer segment of the store.

"That is a great choice, sir." the employee said, "And, that model has a ten percent off sale."

"So," he continued, looking between Jacob and Lionak, "How many did you want today?"

"Seventeen." Jacob said without hesitation, though he winced at the thought of the cost.

"Did you say seventeen, sir?"

Lionak frowned at him, "He did."

The employee smiled triumphally, imagining the commission he would receive and being tagged as the employee of the month, and said, "Let me see if we have that many in stock. Please wait just a second!"

While he fast walked over to a store phone nearby, Jacob glanced over at Bev and Chief Zorin bearing a cheesy grin, holding the box of a robot dog.

"Bev? What are we doing here?"

"Just one, dear." Bev said as she raised an eyebrow, ready for pushback, "For him and Lionak to familiarize themselves with the technology seeing as you all will be spending god knows how long going through volumes of data about that AI."

Jacob shrugged, admitting, "Well you have a point there. Unfortunately, I can't argue with that."

The employee returned with a huge grin and said, "We have all seventeen, sir! We have twenty so if you would like to add three more to your order, we'll take an extra ten percent off the other three."

'Brother. Not upselling. Not today.' Jacob thought to himself as he slowly shook his head.

"No. Seventeen is fine." Jacob said sternly, "But I will also need a few power strips for them, daisy-chainable usb hubs to plug them in to, and usb cable for each."

"No problem! We have that right over here, sir." the employee said, motioning for Jacob to follow him to the next aisle where he pointed to some usb hubs.

Jacob maneuvered the cart around and grabbed two of them and then counted out seventeen six-feet long usb cables and dumped them in the cart.

"Our power strips are right over here." he said, walking ten feet deeper in the same aisle.

Jacob pushed the cart forward and collected several metal cased strips, carefully placing them in the cart as to not damage the usb hubs.

"Great!" the employee said joyfully, "I'll get your laptops sent to the front of the store and I'll meet you there."

"Sounds good." Jacob responded, turning his cart around and heading to the front of the store to a checkout register, followed by the others.

By the time Jacob got to the front, he noticed an unusual number of employees mulling around and talking amongst themselves, occasionally looking in his direction as if they were on an Australian safari catching a glimpse of the fabled Tasmanian tiger. The one he had been talking to walked past them and aided the checkout process, keen to ensure he was credited for the sale.

A few minutes later a flatbed cart, pushed by a different employee, rolled up with the seventeen laptops.

"Here we are sir!" he said, "We'll help you get these loaded." [...]

Total Numbered and Autographed Jigsaw Puzzles: 35
Approximate Size L x W (inches): 14 x 11

Since the second book in the series brings everything together, it seemed appropriate to utilize a jigsaw puzzle as the limited edition release. Not available for retail sale are a total of 35 numbered and personally autographed jigsaw puzzles! Each puzzle box has a uniquely numbered authenticity seal that is paired with the stamped sequence number (up to 35) and recorded by us; a touch we hope collectors will love! Please see a non-autographed example here.

While the photograph of the jigsaw puzzle shows it assembled, each recipient will receive an unassembled jigsaw puzzle.

Stay Tuned!
While a numbered and personally autographed jigsaw puzzle can be given away at book signing and other events, there is no process currently in place to give them away in cyberspace (over the internet). Please stay tuned for updates in that regard, as that is something which is under consideration.

Out To Lunch

Apparently the data Wizard went to lunch so the events data is not currently available. Please check back later!