The Lightning Snag

A colossal dead redwood split white by a lightning strike, visible above the Greatwood canopy from the ridge-tops — the one reliable bearing-mark in a place that hides the sky.

The strike took it at the crown and ran the scar all the way to the root-splay, bleaching the bark bone-white. Now it stands taller than the living wood around it, which is why it's useful: from a ridge-top you steer by the white snag the way a sailor steers by a lighthouse. The Greenwake carved a simple arrow on its base pointing to the Oak, but they've never told anyone that.