One day, Bub, Babi, and Ber sat at the breakfast table having dinner…
“There nothing in life like six-week rotted holehog,” Bub said. Drool streamed from one corner of his mouth. His clublike fingers clenched the torso of an animal best described as part boar and part walrus, accessorized with four pairs of enormous tusks and extra whiskers.
Bub smiled at Ber, his toddler in training. “You want take bite, Ber? Holehog yummy.”
Ber wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “No no! No hog.”
“What...
Hello, Dear Readers.
This is the first entry in the new Simple CuRes series, a spiritual offshoot of The CuRe All Letters with Cultural Restorationism (CuRe) at its heart. These pieces will be short and lighthearted. This initial one, especially, is meant to offer readers a quick sample.
To that end, the author would like to jump in and introduce you to three cave trolls: Bub, Babi, and Ber.
Bub, Babi, and Ber are trolls that live in a cave. Obviously. More importantly, they are a family.
...
Thank you to all Instagram and Facebook followers, mailing list subscribers, and supporters! We just hit 300 on Instagram and it is appreciated.
Reflections
2025 was an eventful and lesson-filled inaugural year for Finch Fries.
Light’s Shadow, my debut novel and first in the Raiders of Light series, released in early December 2024. I had written it feverishly while “newbing” through newborn care. A time when sleepless nights and the blessing of paternity leave prompted me to—at long last—...
Note: Whispers of the Elenmír is a partial manuscript and the main spiritual precursor to the Raiders of Light series and Light's Shadow. Edited, of course. We hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1 | An Old Friend and a Promise
The man called Cal Linz blinked his tired eyes and set aside the old book he had been reading. His search for guidance had finally ended. He had stood at this crossroads far too long, and having a decision forced on him by now obvious truths had humbled him. Unsatisfied, those...
Originally Written: Sep 23, 2007
Edited: Sep 21, 2025
Morning’s gentle breath nudged the damp, sleeping grass awake and stirred faint ripples in a small duck pond. Oblivious to the wind, a black Bentley pulled up in front of the old café on Jefferson Street. For a moment it lingered in stillness, then the driver’s side door opened, and a grey-haired man emerged. Closing the door, his back fixed in a rigid upright position, he stiffly moved toward the little cabin-like building before him. Each...
Originally Written: Sep 2007
Edited: Sep 11 2025
Kyle Patton sat stalk still, his internal barometer feeling the intense pressure building in the interrogation chamber. A grin spread across the face of one of his two captors as a bead of sweat crawled down his brow, his senses screaming at him to wipe it away. As he reached to end the miserable tickling sensation, he found himself drawn to a pair of blue eyes. A fatal mistake. Menacing, penetrating, cerulean spheres of judgment bored into his...
Originally Written: Sep 9, 2007
Edited: Sep 11, 2025
Time had won. The book came to rest on the cobbled path—a life spent in it, on it. He sat silently a short distance away. Watching, listening to the screams of protest and painful wails it made. He exhaled puffs of steam in the cold air. Grey, vacant eyes shielded by wire rimmed spectacles let go a sigh and the pressure faded. Reflected colors and memory slid down his wrinkled and careworn visage. Her eyes had pleaded, cried, begged; he was...
Robert Finch
Nov 30, 2003
Mrs. Johnson
Period 5
And the third part begins with the son of Algarsyf and Theodora, widowed emperor and deceased empress of Tartary, who is on a quest to discover the meaning of a vision his father saw in the magic mirror.
Dismounting from his horse, Dendala methodically gathered the clothes and other things he would need during his stay. When he finally had everything, he reached up to his steed's ear and turned a small pin. Slowly, the horse faded until it had...
Robert Finch, Michael Spillner
May 18, 2003
Mrs. Springer
Period 1
Note: This play is meant to be ridiculous but delivered deadpan / over the top serious.
James Scott: Central figure of the play; an average guy who is very self-conscious and lives a mundane life.
Kevin Chrysmore: Friend of James; a carefree, though at times sarcastic and cynical, man who has been James' friend since they were very young.
Laura Chrysmore: Wife of Kevin; a kind and caring childhood friend of James and Kevin.
...
Robert Finch
Apr 20, 2003
Mrs. Springer
Period 1
Note: This story is connected to the world described in “Last of the Legends.”
Tales of war often end in glory, but for one man, peace became utterly untouchable. All of us have walked this path, but not as he walked it...
The thing he had given every ounce of his soul to attain had brought no feeling of satisfaction when he finally held it in his grasp. Enemies had fallen before him, and the one he wanted to destroy a thousand times over had...
Robert Finch
Aug 27, 2002
Mrs. Lee
Period 3
Growing up in a community where sports were held in high regard, I always found myself involved in one activity or another. Every year, most days, my friends and I would go out at recess or on weekends and play touch football. At times, it became more than recreation and a small fight would break out from a disagreement during a game. Sometimes, days would pass before those people would speak to each other again. For the most part, though, we got...
Robert Finch
Apr 11, 2002
Honors English 3rd hour
A long, long time ago there was a kingdom, and the king of this kingdom held a contest which all men in his kingdom far and wide could participate in. This contest attracted the attention of a young farmer who dreamt of someday leaving his village and making a name for himself. He heard a traveler talking about it and his mind was set, so the next day he set off from his humble shanty with a gleam in his eye and a bounce in his step towards the...
Last of the Legends manuscript
Written Ca. 2000-2001
Note: Edited mainly for syntax and flow of ideas. The manuscript was 99% as-is, excepting my terrible grammar back then. There were also some oddities when I pasted this text in from Word, so please bear with on that point.
Prologue | The Lion
Once, long ago, a boy wished to seek the answers to his questions. He “wished to know the truth,” and unfortunately, he found that which he sought.
"Why in the world did I have to be blessed with...
Robert Finch
9/19/01
Holtslander
Hon-Eng. 9 Prd.#4
John Williamson cursed as he made his way through the thick forest. "Those miserable, lying, knaves." They had abandoned him when he needed them the most. "Friends indeed!" Machete in hand, he slashed wildly at anything that was in his way.
"Why did I ever come to this wretched place?" He had crossed over the bridge a few miles back. According to the natives, the cave was due north of it. He had asked them how far, but none of them would...
Robert Finch
9/19/01
Holtslander P.4
Story- Vivid Verbs
He stood there in complete solitude. The cave was bleak and extremely dank. It smelled of mold, rotting corpses, and blood. His flashlight flickered and the light darted about as he trembled. From deep within the cave, he could detect groans and cries of pain. Shrill screams echoed and resounded through the interwoven passages. The thick, frigid, suffocating confines of the cave seemed to close in on him and squeeze the breath from his...
Robert Finch
Written Ca. 1999
Note: This story borrows names from Lunar: Silver Star Story, which was released on the PlayStation in 1999.
The Game
“Hey, Gramps. How's it going, you feeling better?”
“No, I might as well just give up and die. Could you hand me my pills, Lance?”
“You're still taking that stuff, huh? You know it doesn't help. They’ve been saying that for the past 20 years.” Lance walks over to the cupboard. “But I guess there's no arguing with you. You've always been stubborn....