Sure, yes, OK: it’s a very long time until the fifth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones arrives on air. A very long time indeed. But that doesn’t mean we have to go without updates from The Known Realm — after all, it is 2014 and the Internet exists. As do at times too-keen photographers with a hunger for some series scoop. Which is exactly what you will get from this post if you continue to read it!

Needless to say, the spoilers are strong with this one, folks, so if you don’t want to have any sort of inkling of an idea at all as to what may or may not happen in season five of Game of Thrones, turn away now or never ever ever complain again (only you can prevent spoilers, my friends).

OK, we good? Now onto the fun stuff. The folks over at WatchersOnTheWall and OhNoTheyDidn’t have rounded up several photos of the cast — including Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Michiel Huisman, and Mark Gatiss — cavorting around several Croatian towns, filming scenes in the newly introduced town of Braavos across the sea in Essos. Home to the Iron Bank as well as the The House of Black and White (where Arya’s journey begins as she hopes to join the Faceless Men), Braavos will no doubt be a central focus to many major character’s upcoming storylines.

And changes, as evidenced by Williams’ new costume, are a-comin’. Literally and metaphorically. Natch.

In an interview with Yahoo! UK, Williams explained that we “might not recognize Arya this year.”

Will the little serial killer-that-could make her transition into full-time kinda-baddie status this season? Maybe! “We’re actually seeing that twisted path [of Arya’s evolution],” the actress explained. “Which is almost more disturbing than you hating a character and then realizing they’re actually quite good.”

Suspicions were further confirmed when the actress expounded on that thought. “To actually see one of your favorite characters — of such a lovely young, funny girl, slowly be chipped and chipped away into something completely else, I think, even for me, it was really hard to play, and I’m reading scenes, like, ‘God, this is not the Arya that I thought I was going to be playing.'”

But things aren’t only perilous for Arya. Looks like Daenerys Targaryen will also meet a bit more trouble in the upcoming season, with the International Business Times reporting that a new character — meaning not from the books — is slated to board the good ship Khaleesi as she continues her plight to bring democracy and freedom to Slaver’s Bay. Apparently it isn’t smooth sailing for the Mother of Dragons — gee whiz and wilikers, who would’ve thunk it, eh?

Check out a few of the images below — and click over to Split.com.hr, Dalmacija News, and Sibenik.in for even more photos from the sets.

So — what do we think of these new images? Braavos looks way different than any part of Westeros, doesn’t it? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments.