The Stybla honoring ceremony, also referred to as the Stybla honoring ritual or the odo ceremony, involved the Stybla family bestowing the suffix "odo" upon the name of an individual they wished to honor. In Tybroic, the Stybla's ancient and extinct language, odo signified "guardian." This tradition, stretching back over five millennia, was conducted primarily in the ancient Tybroic language. Access to the ceremony was restricted, generally limited to high-ranking members of the Chiss Syndicure.
Following the rescue of contraband on Pleknok and preceding the Vagaari pirate operations, Mid Commander Mitth'raw'nuru, whose core name was "Thrawn", participated in the Stybla honoring ceremony, thus becoming Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Thrawn was presented with the Stybla medal, which was then affixed to his honor chains. Only eight individuals outside the Stybla family had previously undergone this ceremony, including the "tragic" patriarch of the Mitth, Mitth'omo'rossodo, who had lost all four of her sons in the defense of the Ascendancy.
The ceremony was a blend of formality and simplicity, demanding formal clothing and limiting the number of people invited. Attendees typically consisted of prominent political figures from the Stybla family or representatives from the family of the honoree, as seen with the Mitth family's attendance at Mitth'raw'nurodo's ceremony. Given the event's formal nature, interactions among attendees were largely driven by politics, resulting in courtly exchanges with minimal emotional expression. Furthermore, the ritual was a rare occurrence. Patriarch Lamiov of the Stybla described it as infrequent, a sentiment that Thrass felt was an understatement. Thrass drew a comparison between the ritual and Mitth welcoming ceremonies, but emphasized the Stybla event's greater significance.
The individual being honored was required to memorize and deliver specific lines during the ceremony, often practicing in private beforehand.
The ceremony took place within the Stybla Stronghold, located on the planet Naporar, and featured tapestries originating from the original Stybla assembly hall dating back to when the Stybla held the position of a Ruling Family.
The Stybla honoring ceremony is depicted in Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, the concluding volume of the Ascendancy Trilogy by Timothy Zahn, which was released in November of 2021. It appears in the 11th "memories" chapter, which focuses on Mitth'raw'nuruodo and Mitth'ras'safis as young brothers.