Escalation

Escalation was a ceremony of promotion among the Yuuzhan Vong. When a Yuuzhan Vong earned the right to be escalated, they would sacrifice a limb, which the Shapers would then replace with that of a creature native to Yuuzhan'tar. If the ceremony was successful, then that Yuuzhan Vong was favored by the Gods, and allowed to advance. But if the Priests found a flaw or the implant rejected, the Vong was then declared a Shamed One, and passed to the lowest levels of Yuuzhan Vong society.

While it was believed that rejection was because of the Gods anger, in truth it was the incompetence of the Shaper who preformed the Escalation.