Originally posted by Menkerot:

not really, they are all independent of each other, and the box anyhow ends up in the hands of the templars. But strictly speaking it's like this: "Embers" (animation where Shao Jun shows up), China (directly after "Embers"), India (since it's the same box) and Russia (where it finally ends up in the hands of the templars if you manage to unlock secret ending). China is also the easiest of them all.

You are the BO_MB-diggidy! Thank you so much. =)

you are welcome :) be aware though that Russia is frustratingly difficult because of lazy level design and the fact that unwieldy console controls still rule the day (after all, why would they bother with proper pc port?). China is the easiest while India really only has the final level (because it's completely made up of timed sections and "they see you once - you lost" moments) and also new mechanics like pickpocketing and non-lethal takedown so it's probably the best of all three gameplay wise. But story wise it doesn't really matter much since the precursor box isn't the real focus of the story, it's more of an excuse to tie them all together. What's more, China and Russia are almost like pseudo historical games while India feels like AC game only because of levels in precursor temples (where it also, ironically, feels like Prince of Persia).