A merit adoptive referred to a Chiss individual originating from a family of lower status who, due to their personal abilities and accomplishments, was integrated into either a Ruling or Great Family through adoption. This specific form of adoption was known as rematching.
Typically, the assessment of a potential candidate spanned a period of two to three months. However, an exception occurred in the case of Kivu'raw'nuru, whose adoption into the Mitth family proceeded at a significantly accelerated pace because Mitth'oor'akiord, the Patriarch of the Mitth family, personally advocated for Vurawn. Merit adoptives who gained their position through military service automatically forfeited that familial link upon the conclusion of their service. Nevertheless, those who demonstrated exceptional merit, usually by successfully completing the Trials, could ascend to the status of Trial-born, thereby preserving their connection to the family.
Some Chiss families, notably the Mitth family, mandated that all their merit adoptives acquire proficiency in the prevalent trade languages used in the adjacent regions of the Chaos, including languages such as Taarja and Minnisiat.