"The Azure Dragoon" has only ever been the title for the best of the best, which is the greatest living dragoon at any given time, which is like saying the cream of the crop when the crop in question, Ishgard's dragoons, are the best of the best with regards to the more mundane "lancers" and "knights" of the Holy See. The dragoons are, after all, masters of aerial combat, and now that we have the Heavensward Opening Cinematic, we can actually appreciate what Square-Enix means by "aerial combat".
This basically means Estinien is, at the moment, Dragonslayer Supreme.
The Warrior-of-Light-Main-Character-Who-Trained-Under-Alberic, a.k.a. the stand-in for Derplander, is arguably the only individual to ever match Estinien in potential. "Potential" is a fundamentally different concept from "current competency," and I'd argue that battle-hardened veterans of the dragoon corps, such as they are, are likely not young, but they won't be too old, either. I expect many are hideously mangled in combat on a regular basis during extended conflicts with the Dravanians, and as such they are constantly training new recruits and replenishing their ranks in such times.
I don't think mid-twenties at the youngest is too unreasonable for a fresh dragoon, with their best being in their mid-thirties at the oldest.
This basically means Estinien is, at the moment, Dragonslayer Supreme.
The Warrior-of-Light-Main-Character-Who-Trained-Under-Alberic, a.k.a. the stand-in for Derplander, is arguably the only individual to ever match Estinien in potential. "Potential" is a fundamentally different concept from "current competency," and I'd argue that battle-hardened veterans of the dragoon corps, such as they are, are likely not young, but they won't be too old, either. I expect many are hideously mangled in combat on a regular basis during extended conflicts with the Dravanians, and as such they are constantly training new recruits and replenishing their ranks in such times.
I don't think mid-twenties at the youngest is too unreasonable for a fresh dragoon, with their best being in their mid-thirties at the oldest.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
