Sprout

Every myconid community was organized by age category and had its population under careful control. New tasks were given to the fungus ones as they grew older. Sprouts worked as hands for their respective elders, assisting with daily chores, and responsible for releasing distress spores if hostiles approached. Normal adults, of age 8-12, did most of the basic work and would fight along side their superiors if danger approached. Unlike the fleeing of the juniors, adults only fled in order to conduct an ambush later on or to locate an elder. Elders, myconids of age 12-16, were responsible for supervising the work of other myconids and attempted to prompt conversation when faced with hostility. Typically they would start from the strongest opponent and work their way down to subdue all aggressors.
Myconids grew up in six stages that occurred every four years, and their lives ended sometime after they reached 24 years old. When first spawned, myconid infants were only a few inches tall and resembled giant mushrooms. They lacked any method of ambulation and furthermore were not self aware at this stage. Four year old myconids were dubbed sprouts or junior workers, and were now fully capable of movement. At eight years old myconids gained the ability to reproduce at will via spores, 12 year olds had properly developed rapport spores and at 16 could use pacifying spores. By the time they are 20 myconids underwent a great change in size, becoming much larger and able to prompt hallucinatory effects as circle leaders. Those who lived until the age of 24 usually became sovereigns through a special regiment process.