The Star Wars galaxy is teeming with life. New worlds and alien races pop up with every new entry in the franchise. With Disney +'s Ahsoka set to bring Grand Admiral Thrawn's live-action debut, now seems like a great time to take a closer look at one of the galaxy's most infamous and enigmatic races: the Chiss.
In the decades since the introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn in Tim Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, scores of lore have been written about the Chiss. However, most of that content has been placed in the "Legends" category, meaning it is now essentially fan fiction. For the sake of simplicity and accuracy in relation to current Star Wars content, this article will focus on the canon as it stands since Disney's acquisition of the franchise.
Who are the Chiss?
The Chiss were a species of blue-skinned, blue-haired, red-eyed humanoids native to the Planet Csilla in the mysterious Unknown Regions of the Star Wars Galaxy. Beyond their obvious alien features, the Chiss differed from humans in a number of ways. Physically, the Chiss had sharper hearing, eyes capable of seeing in infrared, and superior reflexes.
Force-sensitivity, referred to as "the Sight," was incredibly rare among the Chiss, appearing almost exclusively in females and manifesting limited abilities when compared to other races. The Chiss understood force abilities to fall into two categories: Second and Third Sight. "Second Sight" was telepathy, the ability to communicate with and read thoughts. Third Sight referred to precognition, the ability to see events before they occur. The nature of both kinds of Sight was a closely guarded secret, and even high-ranking officials in the Chiss government were unaware of what the powers entailed.
Regardless of the level of Sight possessed by a Chiss Seer, the abilities were short-lived, diminishing with age until they disappeared entirely. Thus, girls with the Sight were identified at a young age and trained as navigators for the Chiss fleet, similar to the Guild Navigators in the Dune universe whose precognitive abilities made them indispensable in faster-than-light travel.
The Unknown Regions were nearly inaccessible to the galaxy proper, due to the treacherous nature of the hyperspace routes leading into and throughout the regions. Chiss Seers' abilities made space travel viable as they could anticipate danger, natural or otherwise, and ensure safe passage.
What is the Chiss Ascendancy?
The Chiss government was an aristocratic oligarchy known as the Chiss Ascendancy, ruled by members of the most powerful families. The highest level, comprised of the Nine Ruling Families, was the Chiss Syndicure. Next were the Forty Great Houses and the remaining lesser families. Intra-family conflict and struggles between opposing families drove much of the Ascendancy's politics, with the effects trickling down to every level of Chiss society.
The head of a Chiss was called the Patriarch, though women could hold the position. Beneath the Patriarch, Chiss families were extremely hierarchical and organized according to a system of political and social ranks.
The importance of family over everything was reflected in Chiss naming traditions, with the family name forming the first part of a Chiss' name. The second portion referred to the individual, and the third was determined by other social factors. For example, Thrawn, whose full name was "Mitth'raw'nuruodo" means he is from the "Mitth" family. "Thrawn" was his "core name," taken from the literal core letters. In this case, "th'raw'n."
Family membership wasn't determined merely by blood relation. Ambitious Chiss, hoping to rise above their station, could join another family through a process called "rematching." This process also worked in reverse, with high Chiss families recruiting talented young students to bolster their family's influence. Additionally, Chiss could lose their family name due to shame or upon joining the Defense Fleet. This was because the Ascendancy sought to keep a kind of separation of Church and State between the ruling families and the military.
Extremely isolationist, the Ascendancy kept its existence hidden from other galactic powers despite existing at least as far back as 5100 BBY (before the battle of Yavin). Despite its formidable military, known as the Chiss Defense Force, the Ascendancy focused on exploration and research in lieu of expansion and enforced a strict prohibition on preemptive strikes.
Eventually, fearful of threats beyond the Ascendancy's borders, the Chiss Defense Force convinced the Syndicure to expand the Force's mandate and grant them expansionary powers. This led to the formation of the Chis Expansionary Defense Fleet, which explored the expanse of the Unknown Regions, monitoring threats. Still, the prohibition against preemptive strikes ruled. Concrete proof of a prior or impending attack was required before the Fleet could take action against another star system.
What is Csilla Like?
Thousands of years before the Clone Wars, Csilla was a vibrant world with a moderate climate, presumably not unlike that of Earth's. However, during a brutal war between the Chiss and an unknown enemy, a desperate Ascendancy used an ancient alien weapon known as the Starflash that won the war at the cost of cooling the planet's sun.
By the Imperial Era, Csillia had become a frigid, ice-covered, sparsely populated planet. Most of its cities, including the capital, Csaplar, were located underground in a series of heated, artificially lit caverns. The artificial light was so advanced that the caverns were able to maintain vast underground forests and lakes.
It is estimated that, during the height of the Clone Wars, approximately 70 million Chiss lived on Csilla. However, the Chiss built vast above-ground cities to give off the appearance of a population numbering 8 billion. The Chiss went to great lengths to maintain this ruse and, by all accounts, were successful. Many visitors to the planet believed it was a vibrant world, complete with entertainment districts, military strongholds, and businesses.
What's Next for the Chiss in Star Wars?
Although Thrawn has appeared in several episodes of Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka will be the first live-action appearance of a Chiss. Since rebels ended with Thrawn and Ezra Bridger being pulled into the Unknown Regions, it stands to reason that we may see both the Unknown Regions and Csilla in Ahsoka.
At the start of the show, the manner of Thrawn's return will be a mystery. Perhaps, he navigated back to Csillia or his homeworld of Rentor (a neighboring planet under Ascendancy control) and got help from the Chiss Ascendancy? Fans will find out once and for all when Ahsoka finally premieres on August 23.