Gildestia

Splitting from its ancestor, the gildestia has become fully aquatic, floating in the single sunlight sea of Mason and its surrounding waters. It has evolved some new characteristics in order to help it to survive in its new habitats. They have formed massive planktonic clouds in the Mason Polar Sea. First off, it has now become a more complex microorganism, with each "section" of the ring being a separate part. The sections of the ring are two different colors, with the darker ones being the spore producers, while the lighter ones feed them genetic material so that they can "complete" their spores. All the sections can photosynthesize, though the darker ones are less able to, and the energy is shared throughout the organism. A thin photosynthetic membrane has formed in its center, and this helps it to stay "upright" as it floats through the water column, as well as being used to "catch" particles in the water to be used as a nitrogen source. They are capable of "sexual" reproduction as they can pass genetic material between one another should they come into contact, during which they lock onto each other for several minutes before splitting. This can result in a greater genetic diversity in the young both produce.