Eehi The Surf Raider: Eehi Meets the Queen

Chapter One

        I met the queen once. It was before the wars began, before the wall of destiny had been dreamed into being. I came across her at the edge of the crystal sea and escorted her where she asked to go. My daily scavenger run had taken me close to the border between the Crystal Sea and the grasslands that day. I was looking for anything that might be of use to my vessel or small little clan. One never knows what might wash up that can be of use to a Gelfling. This way of life is what has given my clan their name. I hail from the Surf Raiders, we are the western sect of the Dousan Gelflings who inhabit the Crystal Sea.

        My clan can take anything we find and turn it into something productive for our way of life. Each Gelfling belonging to the Surf Raiders is taught from a young age how to search and utilize everything from crystal shards to the remains of creatures that inhabit these lands. We have been called junk collectors by many of the other Dousan who do not see the benefits of the things we find, but it is no matter to us. I am happy to be a Surf Raider, and happy to be able to provide for my clan.

        Though, life amid the Crystal Sea is harsh. The triple suns shine down upon its shimmering surface with no shade, and no mercy. It is not a life for the feeble or lazy Gelfling. No, Dousan, we are a strong Gelfling, a smart and adaptive Gelfling. It is true we do not move as fast as other Gelflings, but that is because movement exerts energy; energy consumes moisture.

        Moisture, oh sweet, moisture, it is what we live for. I live for it more than most Gelfling. I am the bringer of water for the Surf Raiders. It is my job to travel to the Great Well of Thra and fetch the water that supplies my clan with their needed moisture. The well is our source for water, hidden just at the edge of the Crystal Sea where the sea meets the craggy rocks that begin the ascent into Claw Mountain. There is a small river, I am told to the east, but I have sailed farther than most in my clan and I can assure you that there is no purer water than that from the well.

        It is a deep well, untouched by the outside world, and that is why I have named it so. Though, I am sure, no other Gelfling has been to it or even knows how to find it, the name which I have given to it is most fitting. Even my clansmen have begun to call it The Great Well of Thra because they boast that the water is so cool and clean. Some have even begun to believe that it has healing properties. It was, to me, until the day I met the queen, my greatest accomplishment.

        I cannot give you the directions to this well as you are not Dousan Gelfling, but I assure you it is not an easy task to complete. And just how did I find this great well? Well, that is another story entirely and would give away its location, so I am afraid it is one I may never tell. Suffice it to say that in my younger Gelfling days I was rather over adventurous.

        It takes me a day's sailing to reach it and another to access it. It is not a job I complete often for it exerts much energy and I cannot afford the time needed to recover. There are dangers hidden within the Crystal Sea for it is a sea as much as the seas filled with water are.

        Ouwors are abundant here. They glide through the crystals as swiftly as any Dousan vessel does. Mine is one of the fastest, her single sail catches all the wind I need when I am on the surface. And for when I am not, I have perfected the weaving of the bone and crystal to make a pattern that aids in its movement through the shards. I call her The Orahu, which means The Mirage. She has earned this name from the Gelflings that claim to have seen her, but before they can get a second look she is gone, as if she had never really been there.

        Ouwors? Alas, I forget you are not Dousan either and do not know what Ouwors are. The Queen, she was not Dousan, no Dousan Gelflings were strange to her. Ouwors are a nuisance breed of creatures for they can be very small at first, but soon be large enough to swallow vessels whole. They have spirals wrapping their long, tubular bodies that their movements use to propel them through the crystals.

        Very fascinating to watch until they have their sights set on your vessel. Well, they don't actually have eyes, so they don't really have sight, but, you understand I am sure. I'm told they see by vibration, or rather they feel vibrations and then eat whatever has made them. I have studied them extensively hoping to learn their ways of surviving in the desert in the hopes that my clan could utilize these skills and adaptations.

        Dousan Gelflings have learned many things from the creatures that dwell in the Crystal Sea. From the crawlies to the ouwors there are many habits the Dousan have adapted into their daily lives. If not for the desert kaw, the Dousan clan would not know how to use the spiny cacti that grow on the surface of the Crystal Sea as sources of moisture when water cannot be found.

        Dear me, I believe I have deviated from the story I had intended to tell! It is hard to not get caught up in talking about the Crystal Sea. Home holds many, many fond memories, but I was talking about the Queen. The Queen of the Gelfling clans and the day she came unto my vessel.