Straights

The Straights, or simply Straight (singular), Straightoi/Straights (plural) or Straightae (as a whole) were a pre-modern seafaring civilization that controlled much of what is now considered to be Oceania, namely most of the Australasian content, from at least the early 6th century AD until the downfall of the last Straightoi colonial outpost in tbe mid-to-late 12th century AD (~1170).

Having existed for roughly 500 years, the Straights' maritime empire capitalized upon the trade of Braaper parchment, which, as the name suggests, was an expensive form of paper used for fine print because of its high level of absorbance, which made smearing ink more difficult. As such, the Straights' used the wide demand for this product to build their trade influence, which resulted in the enslavement and indenturedness of most Braapers living within their colonies. Over time, however, the thin slicings of the Poletree plant required to produce large amounts of paper contributed to the plant's weakened resistance to insects, and without the shade afforded by Braaper levies, most paper-making farms were decimated by the 9th century.

The decline of Braaper parchment resulted in drastic changes to the trade dymanic within the region, with the Straights and their coastal empire rapidly shrinking for a couple of centuries until the Fall of Straightion in year 1121, during which the Braapers sacked the colonial city of Straightion, located at the heart of modern-day Central Australia, now known to its inhabitants as Braap Doah (Doah is the Braaper word for 'citadel,' with Braap Doah roughly translating to "Braaper City").

History

Since Straightoi civilization spans numerous centuries, it is difficult to piece together an accurate historical chronicle of their civilization without relying upon sources that are directly linked to the Homobro religion of the Braapers. The earliest known Straightoi civilization emerged either in modern-day Tasmania or somewhere along the Bass Strait along the Melbourne coastline which, at the time, would have probably been devoid of any existing form of civilization in that particular region. There were inhabitants in Tasmania prior to the Straightoi, however very little is known to historians about the nature of pre-Straightae Tasmanian culture.

Ultimately, many historians have come to attribute the rise and fall of the Straights to the enormous surplus in profits brought about by the paper trade, which, over centuries, transformed Straight society into one which institutionalized a racial hierarchy, thereby adopting the ideology that they were genetically superior to their territorial subjects. However, Straight supremacy had always been determined by the Straights' dominance of trade routes, which prioritized the exporting of paper. Straight emphasis on exports probably made their economy completely dependent upon the Braaper colonies, which further contributed to tensions between colonial settlers and the native Braapers. In the 9th century, the prophet Clyde Homobro spent years travelling to spread his "wisdoms" among his kindred people, which culminated in the Braapers' total rejection of Straight occupation within just one decade.

The known history of Straightoi civilization is commonly cited as historical evidence of the existence of complex maritime trade in this region prior to the direct influence of the Sino-Pacific and European military powers that would not come until the 17th century.

Religion and cultural practice

The Straights, who were enthralled with the pre-Zernerian ritual practices of the Xanthian religion, a duotheistic belief system. And so, they largely dismissed the cultural significance of Clyde to the Braaper colonies without considering that it would sour colonial attitudes, even for some of the Straights. For example, 10th century Straight emperor Huckslin Vagga, although buried in the Xanthian ritual, was a self-described "student of Clyde" who read the Book of Clyde on a daily basis, believing the text to contain instructional advice for the future course of the Straights. However, Vagga's only son and heir, Beg Begg Huckslin was a proponent of traditional Xanthiani and ordered his father be buried accordingly. For decades after the death of Vagga, his sympathetic nature towards Clyde was discarded from the official Straight dynastic histories.

Etymology

The word 'straight' is cognate with the Latin word stratus ("strewn," from sternere), however, there is no direct etymological connection, seeing as it is derived from a written record of a Straightae pronunciation taken by a 15th-century Portugese speaker unfamiliar with their native tongue.

Using the word 'straight' in reference to the Straightoi people is, in fact, an Anglicized version of "steureateai," the Latin parsing of a tribe observed by Portugese wayfarers in the 15th and 16th centuries.

European discovery

The ethnic Straightoi have not existed as a substantial ethnic group for almost six centuries, with the last self-titled "Sturhaitagaei" (sometimes used interchangeably with "steureateai" for unclear reasons) being observed only once in passing by Portugese wayfarers and briefly documented by explorer Cristóvão de Mendonça in his captain's diary, later converted into a memoir. Mendonça, a member of Portugese nobility, thus captured the tribe's name using Latin phoenetics and went on to discuss of their nature amongst other explorers, but with little documentation to this effect.

By modern understanding, no members of the Straightoi could have come into contact with Europeans after Mendoça's expedition, however, the arrival of the British First Fleet in the late 18th century would invite British archaeologists to conduct expeditions across the Australasian continent. It was not until the year 1894 that the Horn expedition would make the discovery of signs that an antiquated civilization had existed not far from the Braaper colonies, which were well-known to the British at this period. Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer, a British anthropologist, described the prehistoric "straughts" living within small fortifications, making direct reference to Mendonça's text as the historical basis for positing that the civilization had existed for much longer than previously thought, citing archaeological finds which consisted of various tools: a ceramic pot, some shovel-like tools with spearheads, and what Spencer describes as "ornamental imagery carved into short bloques; a unique form of expression indeed."

In the 1929 Angloaustralasian Histories and Archaeology Digest, a page dedicated to the passing of Spencer mentions that "the esteemed, publicly unmistakeable Sir Baldwin Spencer may now rest upon his many collars, one being the first discovery of the now-infamous Straughtae tribesmen and their rather expansive kingdom, which, at Sir's own expense, admits to be more so than previously thought of as such by our cunning scholars." Since Spencer's death, there has been a renewed interest in Straighti archaeological sites, and some historical collectors have pledged efforts to resume excavations, however, the Braapers maintain their ancestral territorial claim to the decimated former constructions; according to one spokesman for the Braaper Historical Society, "Our religious convictions prohibit our local governments from ever allowing for there to be any disturbance of the buried dead, including Straightae. The Clyde taught us to respect all nature."

Modern influence

In the modern period, the legacy of the Straights and their all-pervading way of life has greatly influenced culture all throughout the Pacific, with specific regard for Central Australia, which continues to be sparsely populated with Braaper colonies. In Braap Doh, built atop the historical city of Straightion, there is a 115-foot monument to the Braaper Uprising which depicts Clyde directing the young Braapers to push back Straight legions. In fact, this was an actual historical event in which Braaper students of the Straight colonial institutions successfully pushed approximately 10,000 Straight fraternias (legions) out of the city's walls, after which point the Second Braaper Kingdom was formally established.

Cultural references

Clyde Homobro directly mentions "the Straights," and the influence between these two historical peoples has a standing influence upon both the religion of Homobroism and the Clydeo-centric philosophy of the Braapers. Clyde's interaction with the Straights is often used to characterize the sum of popular Straightoi historical knowledge.

The use of the word "straight" in reference to sexual orientation originates from its use (originally as straught) to describe Straightoi civilization. This is part of a recurring antithesis within the Book of Clyde between "straight" and "homo," and this particular Anglicization has become the standard nomenclature within the discipline of Braapo-Straightae history.