My favorite character from any book ever is Sapphira Adi. Assuming ToaD refers to Tears of a Dragon, read the next book (Eye of the Oracle, book 1 of Oracles of Fire) to meet her. There is NO POSSIBLE WAY to say that she is weak!
Minor spoiler:
It is briefly mentioned at one point that she single-handedly broke out of Fort Knox (if I remember correctly. It was definitely some super-secure American military base...)
Minor spoiler:
It is briefly mentioned at one point that she single-handedly broke out of Fort Knox (if I remember correctly. It was definitely some super-secure American military base...)