Hess'iva'chaf was born to the Hess family on the Chiss homeworld of Csilla. Though not a ruling family at the time of her birth, they still carried a bit of political clout. Growing up, she was given the finest education possible in hopes of developing her mind to better serve the Ascendancy. Iva always possessed preternatural abilities, such as having the ability to sense other's actions before they made so much as a movement. As an early teen, already having matured into adulthood (Chiss develop at a much faster rate than humans do), Iva became part of the Chaf family, receiving her first diplomatic assignment to Byss.