Upbringing: Chani was born on Arrakis, the daughter of the half-Fremen planetologist Liet Kynes and his full-Fremen wife. She gradually developed into a formidable fighter, and by the time of her father's death was serving under naib Stilgar.

Introduction to Paul: When Paul and his mother Jessica escaped from Arrakeen after the invasion of House Harkonnen they quickly found themselves in the deep desert of Arrakis. There, while sheltering in a cave system from a sandworm they were intercepted by a group of traveling Fremen, which included Chani.

Her introduction to Paul came during a tense stand-off. Chani was familiar to the Atreides heir because of her appearance in his prescient visions prior to his arrival on Arrakis. But to her Paul was initially a stranger.