Wayseeker was a designation within the Jedi Order, used for a Jedi who desired autonomy from the Jedi High Council and its rules. These Wayseekers were known for engaging in isolated meditation atop mountaintops and for aiding revolutionaries against planetary despots. This role was present during the High Republic Era, but it vanished by the late Republic Era.
During the age of the High Republic Era, Gella Nattai aspired to become a Wayseeker, explaining the meaning of the title to Path of the Closed Fist member Binnot Ullo. She figured he wanted to be his own boss. Famously, one Jedi Wayseeker even achieved brief singing fame on the world of Alderaan. Orla Jareni identified herself as a Wayseeker during the High Republic period.
Sometime after this, the practice seemingly lost popularity. When Obi-Wan Kenobi, while still a Padawan, found a record of Jareni in 41 BBY, he was intrigued by her being labelled as a Wayseeker. He believed that it was no longer permitted, suggesting that the idea seemed to be based on defying the Council, and that Qui-Gon Jinn would have been one if it was an option.
The Wayseeker title initially appeared in the 2021 novel The High Republic: Into the Dark, penned by Claudia Gray.
Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, the term Gray Jedi was sometimes used to describe fully trained Jedi who acted independently of the Jedi Council. The term also specified that they were not necessarily users of the dark side, which was first introduced in the 2004 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.