BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND — A cold, wet wind whips around a group of black-clad mourners as they huddle before a massive funeral pyre. Pouring rain churns millions of paper snowflakes into tiny gobs of paste that drift through the smoky haze at Castle Black, before sticking to faces, furs, swords — and expensive filmmaking equipment.  But the dozens of actors, technicians and the movie-making geniuses behind HBO’s hit high-fantasy series “Game of Thrones” are used to it. Just as they’re comfortable standing ankle-deep in red shoe-sucking mud.  Scattered thoughout the sopping-wet courtyard are large wrought-iron baskets, piled with thick logs that crackle and smoke as they burn.  Everyone smells like a campfire and they all seem to hold their breath as John Bradley-West raises a burning torch to the pyre.  “His name was...,” says West, who plays steel-hearted Night’s Watchman Samwell Tarly, leading a benediction as the men in black say goodbye to an old friend.  West almost touches the torch to the pile of sticks — at the center of which lays a man — while tubes hidden around the pyre belch natural gas making it look as though the pyre has burst into flame. The fire grows in gaining intensity and height as a mud-soaked special effects tech nearby cranks open a valve.  “Great!” a director yells. “Reset!”  The flames abruptly disappear and as the tension breaks people start to mill about. Many are dressed in winter clothes, but others look like they’ve stepped out of the pages of a fantasy book.  The two dozen or so bedraggled-looking, bearded men in black with long swords strapped to their waists relax their shoulders.  Some put on glasses. One pulls out a cell phone.  In seconds the scene has catapulted from a medieval realm of magic and monsters to an old cement quarry outside of Belfast.  “It’s a magnificent set, isn't it?” says West during the break, gesturing around the fully functional keep known to millions as Castle Black.  Unlike the many one-dimensional facades that can be found on film or TV sets, Castle Black is a complete structure, filled with rooms, a courtyard and two levels. It’s features are intricate, from the rusty nails on the wooden beams holding it together, to the faux spider webs that shiver in the breeze.  West calls the place “luxurious,” despite the dank weather, mud and smoke.  “They were able to do a 360-degree shot in one steady-cam pass,” he says of the funeral scene. “You’re completely immersed in it, it’s very easy to keep your concentration here.”  The scene promises to be one of many tragic twists on the fifth season of “Game of Thrones” which kicks off on April 12.  It’s a show where even the most popular characters are killed off suddenly.  Last year it was the grisly public deaths of King Joffrey (poison) and Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) whose skull made a crunchy, popping sound as it was crushed in his foe’s bare hands. Another tragic loss was Ygritte (Rose Leslie), the lover (and sworn enemy) of fan favorite Jon Snow (Kit Harington).  In 2013, fans winced at the infamous Red Wedding massacre which brutally claimed the lives of Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) and her son, Robb Stark (Richard Madden), the King of the North.  Everyone on the show’s Belfast set says this season promises more even more shocks that will be bigger more mind-boggling. Many note how the production spent more money, built more sets and took the action to such an extreme level that many of the actors — already used to the highs and lows on “Game of Thrones” — were left in awe. Some, including Lena Headey (Queen Cersei), were left feeling fragile. Cast and crew members gave Headey a lot of space for days following the filming of one particularly intense scene.  “Thrones” executive producer David Benioff also warns that the story will begin to break from the one in the popular, complex novels the series is based on, written by George R.R. Martin.  “There’s no way to retain everything from the books and we’re making choices that we think are necessary for the series. And if that means keeping faith with certain aspects of the book, that’s great,” Benioff tells the Daily News. “If that means deviating from the books because it’s in the best interest of the series, then we’ll do that, too — whatever is best for the series.”  That the makers of “Thrones” would dare to eliminate characters or change the story has caused consternation in some fans — as fantasy readers are known to be a rather possessive, vocal bunch.  Benioff smiles. The tall, soft-spoken storyteller is camped on a beach chair in a cold, dark room on the “Thrones” set. Surrounded by glowing monitors as they display an epic scene while it is filmed nearby, Benioff says he doesn’t have the stamina to argue with fanatics.  “I don’t go online to read about us anymore,” he says. “I did our first year and it drove me crazy because you can’t win an argument. I’ve found it safest for my mental health to avoid the debate — I’m very happy for other people to have the argument and complain about what they want.”  As for season five, he smiles and says he likes the idea that any one of his characters can be killed off suddenly.  “In this world everyone can die — and they tend to, especially the ones you like most,” he says. “When you know that the characters are always in danger, it just makes you that much more attached to them because you’re constantly living in fear for them,” he says.  That chance of unexpected horror in the books by Martin was a big reason why Benioff and his producing partner D.B. Weiss wanted to turn “Game of Thrones” into an HBO series in the first place.  “I remember starting to read this book and getting to the scene where Bran is pushed out the window — I was jolted by that,” Benioff says. “I remember looking at the page, not quite believing what I had just read because, that doesn’t happen: Little kids don’t get pushed out of windows. And then getting to the end of the book where Ned Stark gets decapitated! George has this ability to shock you again and again, even when you know these are the rules: Even the good guys die.”  Peter Dinklage — who plays Tyrion Lannister, arguably the show’s most popular character — calls the popularity of “Game of Thrones,” and specifically Tyrion, “absolutely crazy.  “But the reason this show is so good is the storytelling — George Martin, Dave Benioff and Dan Weiss, they're beautiful writers and incredible storytellers,” he says. “It’s a pleasure to go to work every day and that’s what matters. All dragons and swordfights aside, people love these characters because of the way those guys have created them.”
The fifth season of HBO's hit fantasy series 'Game of Thrones' is set to start April 12, and producers say anything can happen.