A person could resist popular belief and stand up for personal principles, and though there may be consequences, not everything would necessarily be lost. In fact, something important might be gained, if only within oneself.
Mog-ur has been spending all day and half the night in the place of the spirits. It must be a ceremony. While Ayla was gone, he wouldn’t go near it; now he hardly ever comes out. When he does, he’s so absentminded he forgets to eat. Sometimes he forgets to eat while he’s eating.
You learn to write by writing, and by reading and thinking about how writers have created their characters and invented their stories. If you are not a reader, don’t even think about being a writer.
Life sometimes gets in the way of writing.