Imbued With Magic
The constructs are simple, straightforward creations with linear purpose and ability. The MINR drones deployed here, for example, were equipped with diamond-tipped drills. This enables them to operate, when used in tandem with Charge Stations, nearly indefinitely.
Despite their efficacy, they're dull. Mindless husks fueled by an unrelenting flow of energy, and entirely interchangeable.
We Ancients are different. Our souls, gifts from the Flame, hold our minds. They are finite and delicate, carefully granted to our similarly "constructed" bodies in Proto Vessels. The corpus serves as a shell that contains the spark, imbuing us with warmth and light.
I find these connections between "body/mind" or "mechanical/ephemeral" most fascinating, but I wonder... could the power of the Flame grant ability, even if it were inverted?
The answer I discovered is this Eternal Ice Arrow — but the coldness it exudes is deeply unpleasant to me, so I may set it aside for now.