The Kardavan penitents were a group of people who began in the Sevastol sector, specifically within the Mid Rim's Kardava system. Humans were among the members of this group. Numerous penitents dedicated their entire lives to easing the pain of complete strangers. By 27 BBY, the Kaminoan geneticist Hali Ke conducted interviews and psychoanalysis with these penitents. Her goal was to gain insight into the Human mental processes that give rise to both extreme cruelty and acts of kindness and altruism, believing these traits stemmed from their genetic makeup. Ke subsequently documented her interactions with the Kardavan penitents in an internal memo written during that year.
Originally, the intention was to introduce the Kardavan penitents in The Essential Guide to Warfare, a reference book from 2012 authored by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart. However, the section that would have included the group was removed before the book was published. This information about the penitents was later made public in 2014 as part of Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut. This series of articles, which featured content that had been cut from the book, was published on the StarWars.com Blog by Fry and Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss.