A tale within a tale

Question: I supply the facts, but you supply the thoughts. I am also used to describe realistic droughts. My inhabitants are abstract as their places, And I provide details of their words & faces. I hold details in a very complex form, I may cause your mind to conjure up a storm. I hold many different views from different eyes, My facts can be hard to find; as if in disguise. I may tell of facts, but it may be theories I contain, I can inform, persuade, and can even entertain. I tell of a little girl, and of men chasing a whale, and only through me can you find the answer to this tale. What am I?

Question: What tastes better than it smells?

Question: What goes in the water black and comes out red?

Question: What asks but never answers?

Question: Resurrected, they descend by the millions. Sometimes, to nourish and give life. Other times, to take lives or destroy. They have been known to fill entire valleys and block roads only to disappear before executing their long journey back to the top. What are they?

Question: I have 6 faces and 21 eyes, but can't see a thing. What am I?