Chk Chk (he/him), formally named Chkoresk*, is no stranger to the galaxy’s perils. His father Keskodai was a traveling priest of Pharasma who wielded mystic powers. Keskodai carried baby Chk Chk in a fortified cradle-jar when he left his home on Verces to visit as many incredible worlds as possible—and experience even more incredible adventures. One such adventure got a little too incredible, smashing open Chk Chk’s container during an emergency landing. Fortunately, Chk Chk was safe, but Keskodai felt the existential dread of losing his child and realized it was time to return home and be with their loving throuple.
Chk Chk the Shirren Mystic. Art done by Kent Hamilton
Keskodai’s adventures and beliefs had a profound impact on the larval Chk Chk. As a child, the aesthetics and rituals of Pharasma’s faith awed him. As he grew older, he practiced his father’s faith but felt a restless yearning for something different (ironically, Chk Chk’s questioning mirrored his father’s adolescent rebellion many years ago). As Chk Chk stood on the cusp of self-discovery, the universe provided a brutal catalyst that would change his life forever.
When Aucturn exploded, every telepath under the Fullbright** sun suddenly lost control of their psychic projections. Every intrusive thought, destructive impulse, and damning secret became public as a mysterious psychic contagion spread. Chk Chk was sipping a cappuccino and shopping at the local market when he heard the screams. People all around him–some of them friends and neighbors–were screaming and venting their psychic stress or fighting each other with fists and makeshift weapons.
Panicked, Chk Chk began a prayer to the Lady of Graves but couldn’t recall the sacred words. Keskodai burst into the shop and Chk Chk felt the psychic whiplash of doubt and fear pouring from his father’s spirit. He felt Keskodai remember the pain of believing he’d lost his only child in the crash-landing long ago mixed with his current dread at seeing their neighbors wracked by fear and pain. Instead of resisting the intense feelings, Chk Chk embraced the emotional hemorrhage. As the pain washed over him, he mentally composed a poem. When someone tore the shop’s roof off, the harsh sun brought Chk Chk’s shadow into harsh relief. His shadow changed and spread, growing into tendrils that protected him and his father from the glaring sun. Chk Chk spoke another stanza, and soothing shadowy arms wrapped around his panicking neighbors. Thanks to Chk Chk’s unconventional prayer, the chaos calmed as quickly as it began.
That’s when Chk Chk realized there’s more to the soul’s journey than life and death. Destruction and creation, pain and healing, light and shadow–these dichotomies exist in every spirit. Chk Chk stayed up night after night studying philosophy, listening to music, and writing poetry in his sacred journal, driven to compose a pure expression of the beauty of contradicting unity.
Chk Chk broke his social isolation to join a group of artists he met at a nonstop café in Takoris. At first, Chk Chk got a job as a barista so he could attend the meetings without attracting attention. As he improved his skills at writing dark poetry and brewing dark roast (both topped with colorful sprinkles), Chk Chk gradually became the spiritual glue holding the group of misfit artists together. One night during a midnight jam, the group had a religious experience, feeling a surge of bliss as Zon-Shelyn Embraced them and their work. Zon-Shelyn called on Chk Chk to become their minister by nurturing creativity and creating a safe space for artists to gather. The tiny cafe was consecrated as one of Zon-Shelyn’s first temples (they still serve coffee), but Chk Chk was inspired by the idea of ministering in a new place, feeling the same wanderlust as his father before him.
With his father’s letter of recommendation in one hand and his poetry journal in the other, Chk Chk got an internship with the Starfinder Society at the busy Lorespire Complex. Being on Absalom Station expanded his social horizons, too. He found a new coffee shop to sling beans at, quickly meeting others who felt the Embrace of Zon-Shelyn. He learned how to use a painglaive from a sculptor who creates impressive wood carvings with the weapon.
Chk Chk met his best friend Dae at a pop-up dance party in the Vesk Quarter. The pair bonded the first time they met. Dae’s performance inspired Chk Chk to write a poem***. The poem didn’t do the dance justice, so Chk Chk tore the page from his notebook and threw it away, but Dae found the discarded poem, read it, and confronted its moody author. Now Chk Chk always wears the friendship bracelet Dae gave him. Since meeting Dae, Chk Chk’s opened up about sharing his art with others—you can read part of one of his poems below!
*Chk Chk only lets members of his mystic bond call him Chkoresk, and usually prefers Chk Chk. After all, Chkoresk is the full name his family used when discussing serious or unpleasant matters.
**Fullbright is the scorching, rural desert region of the tidally locked planet Verces. Chk Chk’s family lives in a shaded encampment in Fullbright.***The following is a part of the poem Chk Chk wrote after dancing with Dae.
A prismatic kaleidoscope burns the shadow patchwork wrapped around my heart.
We are dancing lights that shine within a cold and empty void, eternal.
Will your searing brilliance chase away my shadows?
Or will your light be eclipsed by my spirit’s umbral shroud?
Your warm silhouette reaches for my neck,
Only to wipe away my bloody tears.
— The Starfinder Team
-Thurston Hillman, Managing Creative Director (Starfinder)
-Jenny Jarzabski, Senior Developer
-Jessica Catalan, Senior Developer (Starfinder Society)
-Dustin Knight, Developer
-Mike Kimmel, Developer
