"Well, intelligent is a relative term," Signum says, and then her sword-shaped necklace flashes a little in comradely annoyance.

"The way we use magic is really just as another form of energy. Devices - Intelligent, Armed, or otherwise - are tools for shaping that energy, like a magical lever or pulley. We program them with awareness so they can do the detailed work of shaping a spell," she explains, perhaps oddly good at this lecture. But then again, from a certain point of view, Signum herself is a Device, or at least was made along with one.