The war frames are frames made of living metal. They as a conduit for the power of the teno. Think of the warframe as remote controlled robots that can harness the power of the teno. The warframe are a living breathing creatures made from a metal that bleeds. (Which is in fact infested metal, which is what the bosses for the infested as why the warframe are killing them.) Warframes can't truly die, since they are being controlled by the teno. The Warframes are a live yes but they can not truly work with out the teno. Tho they can do some things on their own. Now the teno, teno are warriors that control the war frames. They were sent into the void and brought back with power beyond anything. They are able to bend reality to their will, they can go into different frames and uses them. The teno powers are many.