The Judji Republic was threatened on all sides.
The plagues killed thousands of people every day. The crops failed to grow under the onslaught of locusts, and all efforts of farmers could protect only a small part of the harvest. Only thanks to the seemingly boundless supply of fish, the country still wasn't starving.
The chicken-dragons have gone insane and began killing people, often destroying entire villages and disappearing into the wild. Those people who survived the plagues, the famines and the attacks often were left with no other means of putting food in their mouth except banditry.
And to top it all off, the Judji senate was too busy debating and fighting for influence to properly coordinate their efforts in stabilizing the country. The Judji army was spending more time questioning whom they should obey than chasing bandits and aggressive beasts.
