Sora Maenya is often depicted as a monster, said to wander the Towering Wood. She is known for her strength and her endless appetite; it’s commonly said that she can crush a giant with her bare hands, then eat the whole thing and still be hungry. Stories often depict her through her absence, as an unstoppable force that punishes arrogance or cruelty. The shepherd warns the foolish farmers not to settle in the forbidden meadow; later, he returns to find their bones picked clean and stacked near the hearth, but without their skulls. There’s no need to say who it was or to show the battle. The tale notes the missing skulls, and everyone knows that Maenya keeps the skulls of her victims, binding their souls to the bone and using them as lanterns.
Maenya greatly enjoys games and challenges, and she may spare someone who shows spirit. While she doesn’t lay out schemes as complex as does Sora Katra, there are many tales of Maenya wandering the woods in disguise and tricking travelers into unwise contests. Her endless appetite reflects a broad love of life; it’s not simply that she’s hungry, it’s that she loves to eat. She fights for the sheer joy that comes in crushing an enemy, and in the folk song Edar’s Last Jig, she dances until her partner dies of exhaustion. She seems to have a sense of humor, albeit a morbid one; she may spare someone who makes her laugh, or let someone live because it amuses her to do so. There are stories where a hero beats her in a seemingly impossible contest through cunning and courage; when defeated, she honors any promise she has made. However, a victor would be wise not to gloat; in the tales, this is a sure path to an unexpected end.
Sora Maenya is the general of Droaam’s armies, the iron fist that crushes any rebellion. The core of her power is Maenya’s Fist, an elite corps of war trolls and skullcrusher ogres. Everything about the Fist is shrouded in mystery. Some say Maenya bred and trained them in a buried Dhakaani fortress; others say that Maenya herself forged the imposing plate armor that they wear. Whatever the truth, the members of the Fist are fanatically devoted to Maenya. While Droaam has yet to assemble an army combining the full force of its warlords, thus far, Maenya has shown herself to be a brilliant and unorthodox strategist, one not to be underestimated.
In her natural form, Sora Maenya is an annis hag—a towering, powerful figure. She can assume smaller forms, but rarely seeks to play psychological games with her shapeshifting as Katra does. She appears in many tales as a hungry woman— tall and thin, with ragged clothing and long black hair, seeking shelter and food. While her primary power is her martial might, she does have supernatural gifts; the most infamous is her soulbinding. And perhaps she also has other necromantic skills that haven’t been revealed in the tales . . .
While she’s known for her immense strength, Sora Maenya isn’t just a brute; there are stories in which she actually trains a hero, either teaching them to fight or granting them unnatural strength. While it would be an unusual path, a monk or barbarian could attribute their class features to early training with Sora Maenya. The question is whether they knew her identity when she taught them; was she the Reaver of the Woods, or did she teach them in an assumed form? If a character is from the Eldeen Reaches, might they have met Sora Maenya as a child? Perhaps they ran away from home, and Maenya devoured their village while they were away. Or maybe they made an unwise bargain—asking Sora Maenya to kill a childhood rival, which she did; now the character owes her a debt, and someday she’ll come to collect. Or perhaps it’s the other way around; perhaps as a child, the character defeated Maenya at a game, and it’s she who owes the character a favor.
Source: Exploring Eberron
Sora Maenya is the iron fist of the Daughters of Sora Kell. Her strength is legendary, and tales speak of her endless appetite for flesh and souls. In her true form, she is a massive hag with deep blue skin and steely claws and teeth. Sora Maenya imprisons foes she kills, binding each victim’s soul into its corpse’s skull and hoarding it. Until a soul has been rescued from this captivity, it cannot be raised from the dead.
Source: Eberron Campaign Guide
Sora Maenya (CE female annis, barbarian 10) serves as the iron fist inside Katra’s velvet glove. Her legendary physical strength is often displayed as she makes bloody examples of those who oppose (or simply displease) the sisters. For decades she spread fear through The Eldeen Reaches. Now she serves as the general of the giant army, using fear and force to control those whom Katra cannot win with honeyed words. Many believe her to be a savage brute, but this is far from the case. She is intelligent, if extremely impulsive. She is a sensualist in every sense of the word and thrives on the visceral experience of combat. She often uses disguise self to conceal her true identity while searching for new physical experiences.
Source: Eberron Campaign Setting
Sora Maenya has terrorized the Eldeen Reaches for generations. Her strength and appetite are legendary, and she is said to have wrestled the dragon Saerylak and devoured him raw. Few creatures have survived her iron grip, and she takes personal pleasure in breaking giants and other monsters that challenge the Daughters. Over the centuries she has devoured shifter tribes and left entire villages barren and empty. She takes great pleasure in hunting rangers and other human prey. While many Droaamites adore Sora Katra, far more fear Sora Maenya.
While Sora Maenya is known for her strength, she is no dumb brute. She lets Sora Katra run the nation but Sora Maenya is a cunning orator in her own right. She prefers to ply her skills on individuals, playing games with her prey before tearing them to shreds. She is also an unbridled sensualist, and she is always searching for new tastes and experiences. Of all the sisters, Sora Maenya is most likely to be encountered alone, as she wanders the wilds in search of bloody entertainment.
Sora Maenya prefers to fight with her hands; she enjoys the sensation of crushing bones and rending flesh. However, when leading her war trolls into battle, she may choose to use a battle axe or greatsword. The Daughters have many magical weapons hidden in the vaults beneath the Great Crag.