A hyperspace savant is a rarity, someone who comes along once a lifetime – if that frequently – who has an innate, instinctual (some say Force-derived) understanding of hyperspace, allowing them to perform hyperspace calculations quicker and more efficiently than any number of astromechs or navicomputers. As a result, they can intuit untraditional ways to navigate routes. This includes the ability to find temporary channels (called Paths by some, such as the Nihil) through hyperspace that allow travelers with a suitably customized hyperdrive to safely enter or exit hyperspace near gravity wells or find unknown shortcuts across the galaxy. While these Paths are only available for a short period of time, they can be invaluable to those who have access to them. This also makes the hyperspace savant invaluable to many parties across the galaxy with their own interests and motivations.

The last recorded hyperspace savant was Mari San Tekka, born roughly a century before the High Republic era, and held captive by the Nihil to facilitate their brutal attacks and raids.