Old Oak Clearing

Deep in the forest, the trees draw back to leave a rough circle of open ground, and in the middle of it stands an oak so vast and so old it seems less a tree than a landmark. Its roots break the earth in great twisted knots, and its lowest branches sprawl out far enough to shade the whole clearing. Moss carpets everything, and the light that filters through the leaves is green and gold and never quite still.

Paths lead off between the trees in several directions, though not all of them seem to be the same from one day to the next. The widest winds back toward the edge of the forest, while a narrower, damper trail drops down into a hollow choked with ferns.