Status: Ally/Enemy/?
Reality: Aysle
Jack Blue is....well, he's Jack Blue. He's an elf, and a powerful mage, even if much of what he does may be illusion. He dresses in Earth style: jeans and a leather jacket over an old Styx t-shirt (with the cover of The Grand Illusion on it, natch.).
He first met the group in a cave in CyberFrance, where he cast a spell that helped Holmes deal with his mounting cyberpsychosis. Later, he threw an illusion of a dragon to discourage some Church pilots from chasing the group.
When they first met, Holmes asked Jack to look into a spell that would deal with Toshi's unfortunate cybernetic transformation. Jack later contacted Chrome with the news that he had found such a spell, but it required great Arcane Knowledge of Metal, and the only quick way to deal with that need was by acquiring a Metal Knowledge Stone, such as belonged to Malekith. This led to the group's acquiring Malekith as an enemy.
Since then, he has appeared intermittently, often showing himself only to Chrome, who seems to fascinate him. He has provided advice on a number of occasions, and has cloaked Chrome, or even the entire party, from detection at least twice.
All of the above is what Fugitive Group C believed. It's pretty much all wrong. Jack Blue's true name is Alianora tha-Laurellenithin, and he's a she. The spell he/she cast to reduce Washington's cyberpsychosis did so by removing his soul; at the same time, she also cast a spell such that he would never be able to see through her illusions.
In the intervening years, she did help the party, but much of her help was carefully planned, so as to manipulate them into helping her master, Simon Carr. The quest for Malekith's Metal Knowledge Stone, for example, ruined Malekith's plans and took him out of the running as Uthorion's successor. Later assistance likewise advanced Carr's fortunes by damaging other rivals' reputations.
Still, there may have been more to it than that. Many times, Jack/Alianora provided assistance even when it didn't help her or Carr, and many of her castle's defenses were in the form of illusions of Washington in various stages of his life. The group suspects that she feels some sort of affection for, or even a crush on Washington.
Last Modified: 21 May, 1997