On Artifacts

(N.B. In most languages of the Collective, "artifact" or its equivalent is a catch-all term for a magical item. They are items made by artificers. This term carries no particular connotations of power or complexity; a magical barrette that keeps your hair shiny is as much an artifact as a skyfoil is.)
Artifacts can broadly be categorized under two umbrellas: “fixed” artifacts, which are permanently imbued with magic and function on their own; and “hollow” artifacts, which require some sort of external fuel source.
Hollow artifacts, as the name suggests, provide a framework or a pathway to create a given magical effect. However, they require some kind of impetus or power source to fuel their magic; without it, they are just mundane items. What kind of fuel is needed will vary from item to item: sunlight, coal, lontaka, sometimes blood or other organic materials. This fuel requirement can be a huge limitation on the applicability of hollow artifacts; on the other hand, they do not go febrile, and are much cheaper and easier to produce than fixed artifacts. Some ingenious artificers find ways to manipulate the specificity of the fuel source to make the artifacts even cheaper and easier to create (such as a solar-powered artifact that only functions at a specific time of day, or a flesh-powered artifact that only consumes hobbit).
Fixed artifacts are permanently magical. Once completed, they function forever, whether activated by a command word or physical trigger, attuned to mentally, or functioning autonomously as many constructs do. They are difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to create, but once completed are incredibly durable, usually requiring equally-powerful magic to undo. The creation of fixed artifacts is a much older art form than hollow artifacts, and many wizards see it as more sophisticated. The major drawback to fixed artifacts is that they must be regularly “cooled” via immersion in fresh water. If this does not happen, the buildup of excess magical energy causes the construct to “go febrile.” Febrile artifacts behave erratically and are usually incredibly dangerous. It is sometimes possible to repair a febrile artifacts with the typical water treatment, but often times the change is permanent and they must be destroyed. Generally, the more complicated the artifact, the less frequently it needs to be cooled (some constructs can go for years). Additionally, the water used for coolant must be handled carefully; once the process is complete, this coolant itself contains built-up magical energy that often leads to the formation of elementals. Artifact coolant must be stored and disposed of safely only by expert teams.