The WAL StartedHeight message handler returns early without sending a reply when the requested height equals the current height, causing the RecvErr error in the consensus engine.

Root Cause

In code/crates/engine/src/wal.rs:

Msg::StartedHeight(height, reply_to) => {
    if state.height == height {
        debug!(%height, "WAL already at height, ignoring");
        return Ok(());  // ❌ No reply sent to caller
    }
    state.height = height;

    self.started_height(state, height, reply_to).await?;
}

When the WAL is already at the requested height, it logs "WAL already at height, ignoring", and exits with Ok(()) without sending a reply through the channel.

1. Consensus receives StartHeight or RestartHeight message.
2. Calls wal_fetch(height) and executes:

ractor::call!(self.wal, WalMsg::StartedHeight, height)?

3. WAL handler does not send a reply if state.height == height, which leads to a timeout and the RecvErr error.
4. Consensus gets stuck waiting for a response (code ref).

Consequences

• Consensus ractor::call! at consensus.rs never receives a reply.
• The channel eventually closes or times out, causing Messaging(RecvErr) error.
• Consensus remains stuck, unable to progress.