The idea of family hostages was a fabricated scheme orchestrated by Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo. His goal was to deceive General Yiv into thinking that he lacked complete knowledge of the [Chiss](/article/chiss]. Caregiver Mitth'ali'astov was assigned to play a part in this deception. The invented notion of a Chiss family hostage involved families seizing members of rival Chiss family during disputes, essentially holding them as slave. The family holding the hostage would keep them close, deterring attacks from the rival family, since any assault could easily result in the hostage's death.
Within this fabricated system, the family hostages were required to wear substantial makeup, marked by ridges, and its perfect condition was essential. If conflicts were to erupt between Chiss families, the hostages exchanged between those families were to be executed without delay. Thalias felt aversion to the disguise because of its symbolism. Family hostages were forced to apply thick, rough makeup all over their faces, a visual declaration of their inferior position. The makeup worn by Thalias had a weight of approximately a third of a kilogram.
Before the battle over Primea, using both Thalias and sky-walker Che'ri, the deception was put into motion once again. This was done to induce Yiv to capture Chiss citizens, providing the Ascendancy with a justification to launch an attack on the Nikardun Destiny. In the course of the battle, they deployed tava mist, concealed behind the makeup, against Yiv and his bridge personnel.