Loesse (alternatively spelled Loess) is a title within Hyphan culture, given to individuals who initiate others into the Chorus Bond. As such, it signifies both medical expertise as well as a leadership and teaching position.[1] Initially given to Sabil Nodra, it has subsequently become a fixed role within the nomadic Hyphan culture. With the destruction of Hyphan ways of life by the Divine Principality, the social and material conditions of this function ceased existing. However, a more primitive form of Loesse knowledge was preserved within Ashen culture, with the title itself surviving well into the Perfect Millenium, being carried e.g. by the leader of the Sable Court.
In the aftermath of the incidents on Saboria, Deanthe is named Loess of the revived Hyphan fleet after their successful experiment of enhancing Strati. They are said by Dre to be the "first Loess in nearly two thousand years",[2] possibly referencing the fact that while the social role of Loesse might have survived in a mutated form, the associated craft and embedding within nomadic culture had been lost.