Full dress honor chains functioned as an awards system within the government of the Chiss Ascendancy. Subsequent to the rescue of contraband that occurred at Pleknok, and preceding the Vagaari pirate operations, Mid Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, whose core name was "Thrawn," received the Stybla medal. This medal was then affixed to his honor chains during the Stybla honoring ceremony. The ceremony was conducted at the Stybla family stronghold situated on the planet of Naporar.
Following Senior Captain Thrawn's last stand above the planet Sunrise, where Thrawn's fleet of Chiss ships annihilated Jixtus's, Chiss Admiral Dy'lothe, accompanied by Supreme Admiral Ja'fosk, Admiral Ers'ikaro, in addition to two other admirals from the Chiss Defense Force, were present at a tribunal. During this tribunal, Senior Captain Thrawn was exiled as punishment for the destruction of Jixtus's fleet, and Dy'lothe removed the honor chains from Thrawn's uniform.
The first appearance of full dress honor chains was in the 2021 book Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, by Timothy Zahn; the final book in Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy. These honor chains are similar to the rows of colored bits of metal displayed by Commander Chak Fel of the Empire of the Hand on his formal dress uniform within the Star Wars Legends continuity. Chak Fel's decorations denoted campaigns and victories, and first appeared in the 2004 book Survivor's Quest, also written by Zahn.